How to choose colours with Paint & Paper Library’s Head of Design, Andy Greenall
The process of choosing colour is often a challenging one. When exploring images of beautiful, professionally styled interiors, it can feel like the possibilities are endless. These images provide an excellent source of inspiration, but it’s easy to overlook some of the fundamental considerations when planning your own scheme.
Read expert guidance from Paint & Paper Library’s Head of Design, Andy Greenall, as he breaks down the process of choosing colour and helps you to navigate how you can confidently use lifestyle images for inspiration…
Consideration 1 - Choosing colour is a process
Selecting the right colour can be simplified by making a series of careful considerations about your space, requirements and vision.
Andy writes: “For many, the exercise of choosing paint colours is a daunting one. Here we look at some first steps to allay some of the fears and help invigorate the creative buzz. It can (and should) be an enjoyable experience…”
Lifestyle and interior design photography – in print or online - provides an important source of inspiration for any project. Use these images to explore innovative design trends and discover new ways of using or combining colours and other interior design elements. It will really help you to tag pictures that you like, even (or especially!) if you can’t say why you like them.
Consideration 2 – Consider other elements within the space
Andy writes: “Paint is still the most dramatic and most efficient way to transform a space. But at the highest end of luxury interior design, everything is considered. Every tiny detail. Nothing is there by accident.
The colour on the walls has been carefully chosen to work with the furniture, curtains, flooring and any accessories that may have been ‘randomly’ (meticulously!) ‘thrown in’.
Wall: Grenache
Ceiling: Lady Char’s Lilac
Woodwork: Grenache
This elegant bedroom is a good example of a cohesive, integrated scheme. The pink throw, cushions and bedding all loosely coordinate with the dusky Ruse on the walls. There is a relationship between the fabric of the headboard and the colour of the panelled shutters, and all these shades are found in the rug which at first glance appears fairly neutral. The elegant form of the white pendant is framed by the pink behind it (off-setting against a strong colour is an excellent way to show off a nice piece of design, especially if the artefact is white). All elements have been selected to work in harmonious combination, and the overall effect is an immersive, encompassing feel that lends itself beautifully to a calm, bedroom setting.
Walls: Ruse
Shutters: Topi
Ceiling: Stone II
Consideration 3 – Light changes things
Andy writes: “When styled rooms are photographed, the lighting has been set up to show all the elements at their absolute best. But in reality, natural light changes throughout the day, and artificial light can bring another shift in appearance to your chosen colour.
Bear in mind that the solution you’re looking for is a dynamic one. Paint colours can and will appear to change in strength, and even hue, at different times of day. Whilst a dark blue may move around a little but always look dark blue, a nuanced grey or stone colour can shift more noticeably from one dominant undertone to another.
Back Wall & Skirting: Sobek
Left Wall: Steel III
Architectural Highlight: Steel I
This movement in colour is in fact a cherished quality of highly pigmented paints, bringing charming character to your walls and tangibly contributing to the ambience of the room. Getting this right can feel like a long process, but the joy of using paint to transform your home more than makes up for the effort that goes into getting it right…”
Read more about considering the effect of light on colour.
Wall/Trim: Brimstone, Salt III
Door/Trim: Salt IV
Ceiling: Clean White
The source of light cast into your room also affects the way the colours will read. In this image, the striking green-blue, Iguana, has been used all over to create a compelling living space with a tranquil ambience. In a south or west-facing space, this shade will look bold, vibrant and sumptuous. But to achieve a similar feel in a north-facing space, you could consider a stronger shade such as Teal which will have an equivalent sense of vibrancy in the cooler, flatter light.
Find inspiration on using blues and greens for a tranquil atmosphere.
Walls: Iguana
Ceiling/Cornicing: Cotton II
Order sample pots to test in situ
![Iguana](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="262px" width="350px"><rect width="350" height="262" style="fill:%23627e7c" /></svg>)
![Deep Water Green](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="262px" width="350px"><rect width="350" height="262" style="fill:%2384BAB0" /></svg>)
![Teal](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="262px" width="350px"><rect width="350" height="262" style="fill:%23296668" /></svg>)
Specific Tips for Choosing Colour
Here are three tips from Andy to give you confidence in your colour choices…
Tip 1 - DON’T try and commit to a specific colour too early in the process
Andy writes: “In highly styled images, furniture and accessories have often been judiciously selected to work with a specific paint colour. Whilst a design scheme might come together like that for a photoshoot, it rarely works that way round in real life. .
Maybe a friend has used a specific shade very successfully and therefore you feel confident it’s also the one for you. Or perhaps you feel your interior update should feature the latest ‘Colour of the Year’ to ensure it is bang on trend.
Do let these influences inform your choice, but don’t assume a shade you’ve seen looking great somewhere else will be exactly the right one for your project. Initially, focus on identifying the look and feel of your vision, rather than the exact shade.
It’s much easier - and more efficient - to find a specific paint colour to work with your scheme, than it is to try and make a scheme work for a specific paint colour.”
Walls: Jaipur Pink
Cornicing: Kasbah
Fireplace: Salt III
Tip 2 - DON’T overlook what’s already there
Andy writes: “In reality, most re-design projects contain several elements that won’t be changed. It could be the floor or floor covering, key pieces of furniture or curtains. Or it might be tricky areas that won’t be decorated – for example, your ceiling, a natural surface such as stone or exposed brickwork, or perhaps a large expanse of wall in an interconnecting space.
Wall: Marble I
Block Colour Left: Yesterday’s Flower
Block Colour Right: Caddie
A fresh new paint colour on your walls is only part of the final scheme. Try closing your eyes and picturing your repainted room, then remind yourself that a quarter or even a third of that view could be the ceiling, and the same again is the floor.
Any static elements can, or should, drive the scheme. Don’t pretend they’re not part of the re-design, just because they’re not new to the re-design. If you are using a mood board to plan your scheme, make sure that you incorporate these elements in it, to ensure everything works together.”
Wall: Parasol
Ceiling: Clay III
Trim: Clay I
Tip 3 - DO use sample pots to inform your decisions
Andy writes: “You really can’t overestimate how important it is to use sample pots as part of the process. There are so many factors unique to your room that will affect how a colour reads. What feels right in your mind, or even looks right as a chip on the colour card, might not be the correct shade in the context of the room – the orientation of light, pre-existing colours and different surfaces.
See the sampling stage as an investment to get your colour choice right, and to avoid the headache of getting it wrong.”
