Home Decor: Paint sets the mood for your home…. but you know, no pressure.

Paint colors really set the mood and atmosphere of home– but you know, no pressure.

You may recall how badly paint drove me to drink back when we first moved into our home last year. I sounded completely insane, I’m sure friends and family considered having me committed. I stared at paint swatches for WEEKS, you guys…. W-E-E-K-S.

Not kidding.

With the long winters we have here in New Jersey, I wanted to make the most of the natural light we get. I wanted the rooms to be bright, airy and at the same time warm and cozy– which sounds a little contradictory when you’re starting with blank walls and 2117 paint swatches.

Now a year later, we are at the corner of settled-ish and still settling. The good news is that I’ve become more comfortable making decorating choices and have learned some valuable things about color schemes along the way.

So for those of us who sometimes feel overwhelmed by a home decor project, I wanted to save you from staring at an absurd amount of paint samples for an embarrassing long time, because I took one for the team and did that useless stuff so you don’t have to.

Choosing A Paint Color in 1-2-3

Start with a color scheme– DO NOT visit the swatches!

Trust me on this one. It is the golden rule, you guys. I will tell you why.

It is way easier to visualize a room by looking at a group of complimenting colors vs. a card of 5 shades of the same color– especially if you are like me and are better at looking at the full picture vs. piecing together the details.

Starting this way also makes it easier to choose which colors you want to accent with and which you want to be your main wall color.

Do a search on Pinterest for color pallets.

To hone in on what you love, be descriptive and search with a color and/or words like “Cozy”, “serene”.

Below is the the “Pinspiration” I found for our living room.

Sigh. Every time I look at this pic, it reminds me how desperately we need new couches… but you know– puppy. toddler.

One day.

Consider Where The Walls Can Be Seen

This was the hardest thing for us. The way our home is set up, standing in the kitchen you can see the foyer, living room and a wall of the dining room.

My head hurts just thinking about it.

Wether you are going with bold or neutral, if you are painting a shared/main living space, stick to a basic color scheme from room to room.

This DOESN’T mean you can’t have rooms look completely different. Just make the colors compatible so they are pleasing to the eye and don’t clash.

Compliment With Contrast

Consider painting door frames and molding, a shade or two lighter than your wall to give dimension and contrast. We did this with wainscoting (I’ll leave that for another post, but it was crazy easy! Don’t be intimidated).

Built-in shelves are great to create an eye catching focal point.

I am OBSESSED with built-in shelves and sadly do not have any.

Though this bookshelf tutorial on Just A Girl Blog has my mind daydreaming about Home Depot and Lowes (which is always scary, because I can’t build things)… but.. Gahhh!! … look at this gorgeousness!?!?

If you have one of these bad boys or can whip one up with the tutorial- DO IT (then send me pics to make me jelly).