Picking a paint palette you can live with for years

Susan Hable approaches color as a textile designer and artist, not an interior designer, and is the author of the recently published “A Colorful Home: Create Lively Palettes for Every Room.” But it’s not just her artistry and expertise that draws you in. When talk turns to the challenges of picking paint colors for walls, she offers terrific advice but adds, “At the end of the day it’s just paint. It’s not life or death and it should be fun.”

For Hable, there are two approaches to color in a space. Minimal spaces are white rooms that drop in a burst of color; maximalist rooms are wrapped in color, a full commitment. And where does choosing paint colors go wrong? “Looking at the small paint chip and not thinking that you’ll be engulfed in this color is a big mistake,” she says. And so is painting the walls bright and colorful in a child’s room when children already have many bright and colorful things in the room. “So the walls don’t have to do this,” Hable says. “If orange is a favorite color you can use color a few steps down that will enhance it, like a pale coral wall.” Here’s some advice from Hable’s book and our chat with her.

Look to your favorite things

Create a palette for your home by gathering up four or five of your favorite objects. You’ll start to notice that you’re drawn to certain colors. Then pick four or five colors from this group to start a palette.

Step outside

A store’s lighting will affect your take on the colors shown in paint chips so step outside the store to get another look in natural light and a better feel for the color’s undertones.

Factor in finish

The paint’s finish absorbs light or reflects it, says Hable, adding that high gloss walls draw your eye up and adds impact while a more matted, eggshell paint has a softer appeal for open space.

Zero in on the palette’s core color

Paint sample colors on heavy paper to use as your backdrop. Add in inspiration you’ve collected—swatches, natural elements, and spices—to figure out the combinations you want to create. Live with the palette for a few weeks, observing the effects of changing light on the colors throughout the day and swap colors, as you like. Happy? Now you can translate the palette into a room.

Think how you want to feel in this space

“I’m not afraid of color but consider that you are going to be wrapped in this color,” says Hable. “There are emotions that come with colors and how they make you feel. A red room to sleep in?” She leans to pale blue since she finds it calming. Do you want to feel calm, relaxed, happy, or energized in this room? And how will you use this space, what activities will occur here?

Consider the room’s location

Take a look at what the room connects to and what the room you’re going to paint looks like from other rooms. “I like rooms to flow somehow. I stand in each room and see the color in the next room,” says Hable.

Be patient

“I came about a pale pink room after many tries,” she says. “Buy the small paint samples and test on your wall. Let it be there for a day or two. If you’re trigger happy and pick a paint you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak, even interior designers take their time.” Paint big swaths in different areas of the room and notice the effects of the changing light throughout the day.

And as Hable says, have fun. Check out our interior paint Ratings to find the best and worst paints we tested. Our ratings include Behr, Valspar, Clark+Kensington, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, Farrow & Ball, and more. Our tests found that a brand's flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss paints perform similarly overall, so we've combined the scores to make it easier for you to compare. Questions? E-mail me at kjaneway@consumer.org.

—Kimberly Janeway

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