Paint Your Space Beautiful

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When it comes to decorating, the only thing more daunting than picking a paint color may be choosing wallpaper. (We’ll leave the wallpaper conversation for a later post.) But it doesn’t need to be. The key to picking a paint color is to start slowly, have a wide lens, and slowly narrow your choices. You really can paint your space beautiful.

Despite the fact we’re inundated with trendy colors and paint finishes, one way to begin is to think about what rooms you’ve been in that just felt good to you. We all have a room in our own place or at a friend’s that makes us feel good every time we enter it. It could be anything from a creamy white to a cornflower blue, but when we’re in it, we find ourselves wanting to sit down and stay a while.

The world will tell us we need to pay attention to color trends, resale value, and particular paint brands. I’d say that while all this is a great place to start, when you’re new to decorating your own space, trends seem like the way to go. Over time, that may change.

But by the time we reach the Middle+ Years, we’re gained some hard-won insight into what works for us. We’ve made peace with too many room colors we didn’t love because we followed trends rather than personal preference.

What is color and why do we all perceive it differently

We all have a very individual and deeply embedded perception of, and reaction to, color. This is why it’s so important to begin with yourself, not the latest trend. There are actually three basic factors that influence how and how many colors we see: color memory, our anatomy, and color psychology.

Color memory

We all know people who can seem to “remember” colors over hours, days, and even weeks. One day, weeks after buying a patterned skirt, they’re out shopping and spot the perfect match for it. We may stare at them, wonder how they could know this.

This is color memory, or the ability to recall a specific color after seeing it. This ability can be enhanced, and often it’s the artists or designers in our circle who have this keen eye. Focusing on color recall, really can improve our ability to “remember” color.

Our anatomy and color

So having great color memory is something we can improve, by focusing on it. But it’s usually most developed in people who have a high capacity for mental imagery.

Color psychology

We already know certain colors make us nearly universally feel a certain way.

Given the power color has over us, it’s no surprise that when things go sideways, color-wise, a room can feel “off” or overwhelming or just plain unsettling to us. In the same way, we’ve all probably noticed when someone wears a particular color, something about them comes alive, or brings out their natural beauty.

We may even have a time-worn, ratty sweater that never fails to garner compliments when we wear it. Undoubtedly, it’s because it’s a ‘good color’ on us.

Color is very powerful. More than just for clothes, but also for our living spaces. It’s not just the large palettes in our lives, like our kitchen walls, but also our furnishings, even the small touches in our homes that make us feel good. So, in large part, who we do have to thank for this emphasis on color in our worlds?

Pantone vs. my tone

I love Pantone. I love the fact an organization devoted to the science and art of color is out there providing direction and keeping the importance of color front and center. I love the fan decks you can buy, and I’ve even had a Pantone calendar that focused on one color spray for each month.

I’ve learned to depend on these decks in my work as a Brand Director. They help create palettes for companies, brands, and products that work for the long haul. And much of this is based on color psychology.

Here are a few of my favorite Pantone products!

When we’re thinking of our own spaces – where we live our lives, what’s most important is what feels good to us and those we live with. I’ll give you an example: Sage green is certainly an “it” color, right now. Clothing, furniture, walls, invitations, etc., are sage green.

But, while green is probably my favorite color, sage green leaves me completely cold. For me, it lacks depth, clarity, statement, and energy. For another, sage green makes them feel warm, peaceful, energized and happy. It doesn’t really matter if it’s the color of the season or not if every time you walk into your sage green room it feels kind of ‘ick’ to you.

With age comes wisdom

This is another wisdom we seem to gain only with age. How a room in our own home or office makes us feel is really far more important than whether or not the color is on-trend. Having a trendy home does not mean it will make it feel like ‘home’ to you.

I love this part of getting older. It really is far easier to shrug-off the constraints of the latest-and-greatest everything.

The human eye and the ‘how’ of color perception

But there’s more to color than personal preference and attention to it. The third part of color memory relies on biological and genetic factors. We all learned about cones and retinas in school and it’s true, some people simply have a broader range of color vision due to the types of cones on their retina.

Color vision is pretty complex, involving the interaction between light, the eye’s photoreceptor cells, and the brain’s processing centers.

Sure, this may be more than you set out to know about color, but it’s the baseline explanation for why and how color can be perceived so differently and have such a profound and different impact on us.

Again, we learned in school about the cornea and lens. Light enters the eye through the cornea, which focuses light onto the lens. The lens then refines the focus, and directs light onto the retina at the back of the eye. This will further explain the photoreceptors that detect light and convert it into electrical signals.

Rods and cones

For our purposes, it’s important to understand that the two photoreceptors responsible for vision and color are the rods and cones in our eyes.

Rods are sensitive to light and are responsible for vision in low-light conditions, such as night driving, but not color.

Cones are responsible for color vision and do best under bright light conditions. And cones are also sensitive to different wavelengths of light which allow us to perceive different colors. There are different types of cones and each is sensitive to a different range of light wavelengths. You can read more about this here.

How many colors can we see

There doesn’t seem to be an exact number we can agree on. But the perceived range can vary from person to person, and be dependent on the number of cones in the retina, their sensitivity, and the brain’s ability to process color information.

What’s your number

Consensus seems to be the range of colors a human can see ranges from a million to well over a million colors.

There are even some people, mostly women, who have been identified as being able to see up to 100 million different hues. This is called tetrachromacy. This rare ability is linked to people who have four types of cones in the eye, versus the typical three.

The power and beauty of color

No one’s life has been diminished because they do not have ‘tetrachromacy,’ or the ability to see many more millions of shades of color than the average person. But I do wonder sometimes what the experiences of a person with tetrachromacy might be like. While we might look out over a grassy field and notice five or six shades or green, they may have the ability to see a hundred. What a world that must be for them!

Back to decorating

So, back to how to choose a shade for your kitchen. Or hallway or bedroom. Start with colors you love and make you feel good. For me, these are the colors of nature and the sea.

If you’re truly not share what your preferred palettes are, start with a mood board, where you begin collecting images showcasing all the colors that speak to you. Over time, as you glance at these clippings, you’ll begin to hone in on exactly what really moves you.

From there, gather some of these examples and head to a paint store where you’ll find chromatic paint chips that will let you further define what you love.

The all-important foam board

Whether you’re used to taping paint chips to your wall, or painting actual paint swatches across your wall, there is a better way. Foam boards. These inexpensive, handy tools make guessing how color will look in different rooms, different angles, at different times of day, etc., a thing of the past.

The only trick with foam boards is you need to treat them exactly as you will your walls. By that, I mean, give them a primer coat first. Then, paint two coats of your paint on them. This gives you the greatest chance of a perfect ‘match’ with your walls.

Then, set them against your wall(s) at different places, angles, times of day, to gauge the depth of color and your happiness when you look at it. It’s amazing how different a color can look from one room, or even one wall in a room, to another.

Light and lighting can be everything where color’s concerned

Of course, the natural light a room gets, the types of lighting you have in the room, and the purpose of the room can add a whole new element to color choice.

To help you choose paint colors that work well with natural and artificial lighting, consider the amount and direction of natural light, and click here to learn more about Light Reflectance Value (LRV), and how colors appear in different lighting conditions. 

Here’s a more detailed guide:

1. Natural Light and Room Orientation:

• North-facing rooms: Receive soft, cool light, so warm colors can help balance the cool tones.
• South-facing rooms: Get intense, warm light, allowing for a wider range of colors, including cooler tones to counteract the warmth.
• East-facing rooms: Experience bright morning light that can appear muted in the evening, so consider how colors will look throughout the day.
• West-facing rooms: Receive warm, golden light in the afternoon, so colors can appear vibrant and warm, but may appear duller in the morning. 

2. Light Reflectance Value (LRV):

• Higher LRV: Reflects more light, making a room appear brighter and larger. 
• Lower LRV: Absorbs more light, creating a darker, more intimate feel. 
• Consider LRV: When choosing paint colors, especially in rooms with limited natural light, opt for colors with higher LRVs. 

3. Paint Color Selection:

• For rooms with ample natural light: Lighter, brighter colors can make a room feel even more spacious and airy. 
• For rooms with limited natural light: Consider warm, neutral colors or lighter shades to brighten the space. 
• Test paint colors: Always test paint colors in the room before committing to a final choice, as lighting can significantly affect how colors appear. 
• Consider undertones: Be aware of the undertones of paint colors, as they can shift depending on the lighting. 

4. Artificial Lighting:

• Mimic natural light: Use artificial lighting that mimics natural daylight, such as LED bulbs with a high color rendering index (CRI) and a color temperature between 5000K and 6500K. 

It all comes down to personal preference when painting your space beautiful

You can follow every guide and prompt there is and still end up with a paint color you don’t like. So, read the guides, do the tests, but in the end, listen to the voice in your head that’s been telling you for years that no matter what anyone else says, sage green walls won’t make you happy.

Last update on 2025-05-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API