Some rooms just feel good when you walk into them. Maybe they’re warm and welcoming, light and cheerful, or quiet enough to make you want to stay awhile. Paint color can have a lot to do with that feeling—and choosing the right one is less about following a rule than creating a room that feels like home to you.
Before choosing a color, think about what happens in the room. Who spends time there? How do you want them to feel? Warm, cool, muted, light, dark, and saturated colors can all contribute something different. And because light, flooring, furniture, cabinets, and other finishes affect the way a color appears, bring a few samples home before deciding. The color you love in the store deserves a chance to meet the room where it’s actually going to live.
KITCHEN
For many families, the kitchen really is the heart of the home. It’s where mornings begin, meals are shared, homework gets finished, and conversations somehow last longer than expected. Cool or muted neutrals can create an inviting backdrop, while light blues, greens, and taupes pair beautifully with many light and dark cabinets. A deeper muted blue can be especially striking with crisp white cabinetry and countertops. If you’re looking for inspiration, browse the latest kitchen color ideas from Sherwin-Williams and check the “Expert Picks” for even more possibilities.
LIVING ROOM
A living room should feel like an invitation to come in and stay awhile. Soothing neutrals, blue- or green-tinted grays, light browns, warmer beiges, and other muted shades can create a comfortable background for the people and things that give the room its personality. And if you love color, bring more of it in through artwork, pillows, throws, and furniture. Those are often the touches that make a room feel collected and lived in rather than simply decorated. You’ll find more living room color ideas here.
BATHROOM
A bathroom may be one of the smaller rooms in your home, but that doesn’t mean it can’t feel like a retreat. Lighter or muted greens, grays, and blues can create a peaceful backdrop, particularly with wood, bamboo, stone, and other natural-looking materials. If you prefer something richer, a deeper blue, green, or another carefully chosen color can make the room feel wonderfully cozy and personal. Let the lighting and finishes help you decide how far to go. You can find more bathroom color recommendations from Sherwin-Williams here.
BEDROOM
Your bedroom is one of the most personal rooms in the house. It’s where the day begins and, hopefully, where everything gets a little quieter at the end of it. Muted colors in warm or cool tones can create a restful setting, while deeper shades can make the room feel cozy and enveloping. Pay attention to the colors in your bedding, furniture, and flooring, but also pay attention to yourself. The best bedroom color is one you’re happy to wake up to and comfortable falling asleep around. Browse these bedroom color choices from Sherwin-Williams for inspiration.
CHILD’S ROOM
A child’s room doesn’t have to look like it came out of a decorating magazine. It should look like it belongs to the child who lives there. That might mean bright walls, soft pastels, one bold accent, or a quieter color surrounded by favorite toys, artwork, patterns, and bedding. If they’re old enough to have an opinion—and they probably are—let them be part of the fun. Years from now, that wonderfully specific room may be one of the things they remember about growing up there. Here are some color ideas for children’s rooms to get the conversation started.
OFFICE / DEN
Your office is another room that should work for the person who actually uses it. Blues, greens, grays, and other quieter colors can create a comfortable backdrop when you want fewer visual distractions. If you prefer a room with more energy and personality, teal, orange, or another stronger accent may feel more like you. There’s no reason your workspace has to feel like somebody else’s idea of an office. Martha Stewart offers more ideas for office colors in this article.
Once the wall color is chosen, the room still gets to evolve. Pillows, throws, artwork, linens, towels, and other accessories can introduce complementary colors and change with the seasons or simply with your mood. Neutrals can give stronger colors some breathing room. A beige sofa against blue walls, for example, can create just enough separation for orange-toned pillows to feel intentional rather than overwhelming.
There’s one time when the person you’re decorating for may change. If you’re getting ready to sell, you’ll want to think not only about the colors you love, but also about helping buyers imagine their own lives in the rooms. Neutrals are a dependable choice, but muted blues, greens, and other thoughtfully chosen colors can also feel welcoming when they complement the home. You don’t have to remove every bit of personality—just consider whether an especially intense or personal choice might make it harder for someone else to see the possibilities.
That’s one of my favorite things about paint. It becomes part of the background of everyday life—the kitchen everyone gathers in, the bedroom where you finally unwind, the child’s room you’ll someday remember completely differently than they do.
If you’d like another opinion on your color choices, need help finding someone to do the painting, or you’re wondering what might help your home feel more inviting before a sale, let me know. The right paint color doesn’t just change the way a room looks. Sometimes it changes the way you feel when you come home to it.