You may have heard that to demystify the process of choosing a paint color, you should begin by choosing a color you love.

But is that...a color you love to wear or a color you love to surround yourself with in your home? Since women make most paint decisions, and they often prefer to wear black, you can see why this distinction is important.

You can also see why it's wise to return to the premise: the process of choosing a paint color for a home painting project is precisely that: a process. It's also a process that shouldn't be rushed. While paint is one of the more economical improvements you can make to your home, you don't want to go through multiple gallons of widely varying paint colors if you don't have to, either.

As long as you're willing to embrace the process, allow the home painting professionals at Experts in Your Home to share some of our best advice about choosing paint colors so you can color your world with confidence.

Our Best Advice for Choosing Colors for Home Painting

Our Best Advice, Part 1:

Realize from the start that the Experts will provide you with painted poster board samples before we apply paint to your wall. This will give you the chance to prop the poster board against the wall and assess how the color strikes you at different times of the day as natural light conditions change. We mention this pointer first to ease the fears of customers who are so nervous about picking the wrong paint color that they cannot focus on picking the right color. Take a day to assess your color choice. Take a week to assess your color choice. Then ask us to alter the color slightly or alter it radically. We encourage our customers to take all the time they need because we know that choosing paint colors is a process that deserves time and reflection.

Our Best Advice, Part 2:

Decide on the room's personality. Yes, we're Californians, but we believe that color establishes a mood. (How could it not?) So we think it's important to use personality and mood as a backdrop. Do you want a color to calm and soothe you (often appropriate for a bedroom) or engage and energize you (often appropriate for a home office)?

Our Best Advice, Part 3:

If you can't isolate a color you love – and love in your home – then look for inspiration. Some ideas are probably right in front of you while others may require some searching. Consider:

• The color of your upholstery, rugs or throw pillows
• The dominant color in a favored print or work of art
• The trim on a piece of furniture you'd like to highlight (since choosing a complementary paint color will make that furniture “pop”)
• Magazines, catalogs or Pinterest (a treasure trove of ideas, as long as you have the time to browse)

Our Best Advice, Part 4:

Be prepared to “play” with a color wheel. We'll put one in your hands so you can see, right before your very eyes, how every color has a complementary “cousin.” Spending time with a color wheel can help you choose a color palette for your home painting project. Also known as a color scheme, it can guide many of your purchases, and not just for paint, but also for accessories and window treatments.

Our Best Advice, Part 5:

Learn to “dial back” a strong color like the pros. Many of our customers initially say they are eager to infuse their homes with color, but lose their confidence mid-way through the selection process. They fear that even warm, inviting colors like pumpkin-coral or meadow green will overpower a wall and fall back on a “safe choice” in the off-white/beige/deep ivory family. This is fine – unless it leaves you yearning for the warmer color you sought in the first place. In this case, try confining a splash of color to one wall – the dominant wall – or choosing a lighter shade (or two) of the same color.

To begin the enjoyable, creative process of selecting paint for your home painting project, call Experts in Your Home for a consultation. We'll begin with a color you love – and promise to end up with a home painting job you'll love, too.