So, which end of the paint color picking spectrum are you closer to?

The ‘any ol’ color will do’ or ‘I can’t paint anything until I find just the right shade of perfect’ end?

I would have said I was closer to the end where as long as I liked the color I was fine with it … until this house. I’ve never really been stuck with analysis paralysis when it comes to paint, but I have two strategies that have worked basically fool-proof for me over the years.

Here is my take on how to pick paint colors like a pro.

Strategy #1

For the two homes we’ve previously purchased and lived in I found a paint card that I liked and picked all different colors off of that one card except for one accent room.

Easy peasy. It creates a nice cohesive look throughout the house and really took the stress out of the whole process for me.

For our first house I went shades of beige. AHHHHH! Should I shudder in shame? Well, the way I look at it is that it was the perfect place to start for us. It was our first house, we knew we would need it to appeal to the masses for resale and I really thought (at the time) that the dark Jute tone we painted the dining room was really going out on a limb colorwise. And our accent room was grey.

When we evolved to our second house I went with another earth tone, more in a green color spectrum. The nice, light Fennel color was perfect in the kitchen and bright (with lots of windows) family room and the darker shade was nice in the living room and guest room. We had a cute little sun room off of the living room that we painted a great shade of sky blue (I think we’ll use a similar color here) and we even added a second ‘accent’ room, the third bedroom that I used as a craft room in this yellow color.

Honestly, I didn’t like the color in the bedroom, but the leftover paint was the perfect touch for this kitchen upgrade.

Strategy #2

If you’re living in a rental and want to update the color, but want to do it on the cheap, I use the easiest strategy of all. Anything on the mistint table will do. 🙂  And, I stock up when I see light shades, because they mix well with any color and you, more often than not, need more than one gallon for a room and chances of finding multiple gallons of the same color on the mistint table are slim. So, keep those light shades on hand and then just mix with any color you find that will work.

Obviously, this strategy isn’t for anyone who is super particular about paint colors.

Strategy #3

My new, untested strategy that I’m trying here in Key West … visit a lot of open houses for homes on the real estate market and see what I like. 🙂  It may seem silly, and even somewhat remedial, but we are working with a lot of old architecture and charm with the Dade County Pine walls and ceilings, and we’re hoping wood floors. We really want these features to have the spotlight, and not a paint color.

So, we decided a fun way to peek into our neighbors’ houses get inspiration for looks we love with Dade County Pine is to see what others are doing. 🙂  So far I’ve learned that if we’re going to paint the wood, I really like the lighter shades, almost just a tinted white. That leaves us open to strip a few walls and have fun accent walls without be overwhelmed by wood everywhere.

Here are a few fun looks we’ve seen.

Wish us luck. 🙂

I’ve also enjoyed reading these other great resources that you might find helpful.

10 tips for picking paint colors by HGTV.com.

Favorite tips and tricks for choosing a paint color by The Creativity Exchange

How to pick paint colors by Domestic CEO

How to choose the right colors for your rooms by This Old House

And, if you already have an inspiration piece in mind that you want to pull colors from, the Chip It tool could be helpful, there are lots of details on it in How to pick paint colors {where to begin} from Jeanne Oliver.

And for the color we ended up using above our board and batten wall … Sherwin Williams Rainwashed mixed 50% lighter in Glidden eggshell paint.

And tell me, how do you pick your paint colors? What shades do you think we should go with in this old Key West conch house? We want Key West charm, without it being Key West tacky, ifyouknowwhatImean.