Scared to select a color? Here’s a no-fail guide to choosing your hues.
You know the scene: You’re standing in the paint store with the paint chip rainbow stretching out as far as the eye can see. You spot your color (you think) then a chip two rows over calls out to you, and before you, know it, you’ve got all 20 yellow, green or red strips in your pocket. At home, you try to pick one of the hundred before you, and get more confused than ever. Barbara Richardson, director of Color Marketing for Glidden, gave us some simple steps for selection success.
1 Ask yourself: How do you want the room to feel? If the goal is a soothing, serene space, then seek calming colors like greens and blues. One place to be a bit careful with these hues is in a bath or powder room, where they can cast an unflattering tone on skin, making it tricky to apply makeup. Good lighting can help offset the effects. For an energetic and lively room, like a kid’s or dining room, go for primary colors.
2 Head to the paint store and find the color strip that most appeals, and take two or three from the left and right of it as well. After that, pick up a piece of inexpensive foam core at an art or photo supply shop.
3 At home, cut up the strips into individual colors and randomly fix them to the foam core. Bit by bit, eliminate the ones that do nothing for you until you’re down to just a couple. Take a few days to do this, and be sure to check the board at different times of the day to see how the changing light influences your choices. If you feel confident that you’ve found what you’re looking for, you can skip the next step and head back to the paint store. (Take a few days to do this.)
4 If you’re still feeling unsure of how the color(s) will look, head back to the paint store and buy the smallest possible amount of the color(s) you like (some paint manufacturers are now selling sample sizes for just such a purpose). Pick up some more paintable foam core (or use scrap pieces of sheetrock or wood, poster-size) and paint two panels  in the same color. Prop them in a corner so you can see how the color reflects against itself; move them around to compare how they look against adjoining walls, carpets, etc. When you’ve found your color, it’s time to paint. •
Illustrations: Sally Mara Sturman
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