Selecting Paint Colors For the Interior and Exterior of Your Home

One of the most important decisions you'll make when it comes to home decor is interior and exterior painting. You want your home to have just the "right" colors, the ones that are perfect for your family and lifestyle. There are literally thousands of colors out there for you to choose from and sometimes it feels overwhelming. Every design expert has a different opinion about the best color for the exterior or interior of your home. So what are the ideal color choices for the interior and exterior of your home? Listen to our own color scheme expert share their advice with you.

It's not just neutrals: brights are very popular too. It used to be that rooms would be cream, beige and other soft colors. Today you can have a fiery cinnamon colored room or even a deep purple eggplant colored room. There are so many choices. Look for colors that have warmth that draws you in and reflects the light. You'll feel the light throughout the room.

Choose colors that are comfortable. When it comes to both exterior and interior home painting, you want to choose the paint colors that you are the most comfortable with. Remember when we were younger and had favorite colors - often we would use these in artwork or maybe our room was even painted this color? Now that we are older, we still have favorite colors and this is an ideal way to express ourselves. Your home should be comfortable, like a pair of shoes you love to slip on that look great and feel even better. Select colors that make you smile a mile wide.

Know that picking colors is emotional. You may not know it, but there is actually something called color therapy. Color is very emotional, and we react to colors in an emotional way. People in orange and red toned rooms eat more than in other colored rooms. People in blue toned rooms feel calm. A lot of these reactions are intuitive and instinctual. You may not totally understand why you react to a paint color but you just do. You either love this color for the inside or outside of your home or you really don't. Trust that feeling and remind yourself that people often have emotional reactions to colors, even if they don't fully understand them.

Select colors that compliment your overall decor scheme or exterior. One of the biggest challenges people will have is when they fall in love with a paint color and it doesn't go with their decor. You have two choices: you can redo your decor to go with the new paint color or you can select that paint color as an accent color (like for the moldings). The very best paint colors are ones that compliment the rug, couch or other objects in the room. This doesn't mean they are the exact same color these objects are - simply that they compliment these objects.

Don't be afraid to get creative with paint. We've all seen it: the house that takes our breath away. Somehow, they've created a bit of painting magic. The house is painted in a light color of lavender you just wouldn't think would be ideal for the exterior of a home, but it totally works for them. As you go through the rest of the home it gets even better. Your shoulders sink as you see this home and then look at yours. But they shouldn't - because you can do this too! Take inspiration from the homes in your neighborhood and notice what they've done - don't be afraid to get a little creative with paint.