Alana Light's A La Carte Design
  • Welcome Home
    • Refresh >
      • It's Just Paint
      • Space Planning
      • Adding New Pieces
    • Building or Reno
    • Staging
  • About
  • Radio
  • Events
  • Links
  • Blog
  • Contact

B L O G

beautifying, loving, organizing & good things
for your home & life

Choosing Paint Color, Easy as 1-2-3

8/1/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
If there is one thing you can do to completely transform any room, it is paint. It doesn’t cost very much, and it’s probably my #1 go-to tip when a client wants to refresh a space economically. 

We go off to the paint store and grab a paint card and say, "Yeah – that’s pretty good. I’ll take a gallon of that."  We get home and start painting and (cue record scratch).  "Oh my gosh…. What have I done?!?"
​
Sound familiar? Dejectedly we trudge back to the paint store and reluctantly grab a gallon of boring, blah beige. We might as well stick with Arizona White.  Sigh.  I say, "Heck no… don’t settle for Arizona White!" Or abalone, alabaster, biscuit, china, cotton, dewdrop, early snow, fog, frosting, gauzy, hush, igloo, juniper, linen, marshmallow, mist, nuance, oyster, pearl, sand, snow, shell, wheat….etc.  Yes, those are real names of blah, boring beige.

Your rooms should lift your spirits, and make you happy to be there. God made so many gorgeous colors – don’t settle!  A drab beige, taupe or greige, might suck the light right out of your room. But there is a trick to choosing paint colors. 

Here are 3 simple steps to choosing the right paint color. It’s really as easy as 1-2-3.

Picture
STEP 1  LOOK FOR CLUES: Look around the room and look for color clues. Be a detective!  The right color is probably already in front of your nose. Maybe the perfect color is in a painting that you have on the wall. Maybe it’s in a throw pillow on the sofa or chair. Maybe it’s the background of that great family portrait. Wherever you find that perfect color – remember this – it’s your inspiration piece.  The happiest color is already in your home – you just have to find it.  Be a detective and find that inspiration piece. Look for clues in what you have already.

STEP 2  CHOICES: Now that you’ve identified the color, go to the paint store and grab several paint cards that are close to the color you have in mind. Let’s say you’re looking for a soft green. Grab all the paint cards that are clear green. Then grab paint cards that are yellow-green.  Go the other way and get some paint cards that are blue-green.  Now you have a beautiful palette from which to choose your perfect color. Take the cards home and hold each one up to the inspiration piece you found in step #1.  Some of the cards will look dirty or grungy compared to your inspiration piece.  Then you know that’s not the right color.  Try the next card…. If the paint card looks fabulous and looks like it came right out of your inspiration piece, then you have the right color! Most paint cards have 3 or so versions of the same color – don’t use the lightest – it’s a case of why bother.  It is so pale it'll look like beige. The deepest color can be a bold choice so when in doubt go with the middle tone.

Picture
painting by Donna Burrows

STEP 3  TESTING, TESTING, 1-2-3.   Go back to the paint store and get a little test pot of the chosen color.  I suggest you paint a 3’x3’ sample onto the wall. Maybe paint it into the corner of two adjacent walls – light changes the color on different walls…. Look around your room right now, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The exact same color can look like 4 different shades, all due to how much natural light there is, and what is in shadow.  Do you see it?  After you’ve painted your 3x3 sample on the wall, live with it for a few days. I know, this requires our least favorite word – patience.  Why? I want you to live with the color and see how it looks in the clear light of the beautiful morning sun.  How does the color change when it’s high noon? What does the color look like at night, with your room’s artificial lighting? Something that looks great in the daytime might turn muddy depending on your lighting.  A little patience in this process ensures you will love the final paint color.
Picture
The perfect paint color is in your existing artwork. Choose which color makes your heart smile.

​Following this simple 3 step process will help you choose the right color for your space. You can do it! If you need a little help, then of course I’m happy to help you. I love color consultations – I have paint libraries of larger samples we can play with to help you get just the right color.  But I think you can do it. And now you know how.
​
Send me your before & after photos.  I love to hear from you. 

~Alana Light
1 Comment
Olivia Smart link
5/31/2022 09:54:07 am

Thank you for explaining your three steps to choosing the right paint color. I've been wondering how to choose a paint color for our kitchen. I'll have to keep these steps in mind while I narrow down our options.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Alana Light

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All
    3 Steps: Refresh Your Home
    7 Steps - Perfect Christmas Tree
    ABC
    Accent Light
    Accessories
    Affordable
    Alana Light
    Alexandra Stoddard
    Alzheimers
    Ambient Light
    Andy Gonzales
    Anne Frank
    Archangel Raphael
    Area Rugs
    Art Of Display
    Artwork
    Authentic Self
    Bad Blinds
    Baltimore MD
    Ban Builders Beige
    Barn Doors
    Bathroom
    Bead Board
    Beauty
    Behr Paint
    Beyond Beige
    Be Your Own Designer
    Books
    Bows
    Break It Up
    Budget Decorating
    Buyers Features
    Ceiling Ideas
    Choosing A Listing Agent
    Choosing A Realtor
    Choosing A Selling Realtor
    Choosing Paint Color
    Christmas Lights
    Christmas Poem
    Christmas Tree
    Closet
    Clutter Free Gifts
    Coffee Tables
    Collections
    Color
    Color At Home
    Color Meanings
    Color Of The Year
    Color Your World
    Conversational Arrangement
    Cooking
    Coordinating Paint Colors
    Correcting Mistakes
    Cozy Spaces
    Crafting Corner
    Creating
    Creativity
    Dalai Lama
    Declutter
    Decorating
    Decorating Mistakes
    Depersonalize
    DIY
    DIY Steve
    Donating
    Donations
    Double Duty Furniture
    Double Duty Spaces
    Easy
    Eugene Field
    Expired Listing
    Farmhouse Sink
    Fast Food Friend
    Filler
    Fixing The Ugly
    Furniture
    Furniture Arrangement
    Give Back Snack
    Giving Back
    Good Job
    Good News
    Gratitude
    Gratitude Jar
    Great Kids
    Green
    Hammer Time
    Hanging Artwork
    Holiday Decorating
    Home
    Home Blessing
    Home Decor
    Home Is Your Sanctuary
    Home Maintenance
    IFAA
    Interior Decorating
    Interior Design
    Jest 'Fore Christmas Poem
    Joanna Gaines
    John O'Donohue
    Joy
    Kitchen
    Knick-Knack
    Laundry Room
    Less Is More
    Light
    Lighting
    Lighting Layers
    Like With Like
    Make A Difference
    Make Your House A Home
    Matchy Matchy
    Matchy - Matchy
    MDF
    Meditation Not Detention
    Metal
    Monday Morning Motivation
    Mother Nature
    Mother Teresa
    Moving
    Moving Furniture
    Music For The Home
    Music MYHH
    Mystical Arts Of Tibet
    Nature's Beauty
    New Home
    New Y.E.A.R.
    No Cost Decorating
    Not Decorating
    No Wallflowers
    Organic
    Organization
    Ornaments
    Paid In Full
    Paint
    Paint Colors
    Pantone
    Paying It Forward
    Plaid
    Plants
    Popcorn Ceilings
    Questions To Ask
    Random Acts Of Kindness
    Real Estate
    Realtor Questions
    Rearranging
    Refresh Your Home
    Rethink Reuse Repurpose
    Ribbon
    Rug Size
    Santa Fe
    Scale
    Schools
    Secret Santa
    Secret To Heaven @ Home
    Selling A Home
    Selling A House
    Selling Your Home
    Selling Your House
    Side Tables
    Small Space Solutions
    Spend Vs Save
    Spirit
    Sponging
    Staging
    Staging For Sale
    St. Michael's High
    Subway Tile
    Tables
    Task Light
    This Bar Saves Lives
    Toll Brothers
    Tools Of The Trade
    Trends
    True Confession
    Turning Point
    TV Armoire
    Updates
    Uplifting Note
    Visible: Make It Lovely
    Wet Bar
    Window Valances
    Winston Churchill

    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Picture

Photos used under Creative Commons from dutruong.t733, MarkMoz12
  • Welcome Home
    • Refresh >
      • It's Just Paint
      • Space Planning
      • Adding New Pieces
    • Building or Reno
    • Staging
  • About
  • Radio
  • Events
  • Links
  • Blog
  • Contact