How to Start Painting Your Room or House

Before looking at paint chips, look around you. The colors people live with happily usually come from somewhere familiar: a walk in the woods, the sea on a gray day, a terracotta pot, worn leather, linen, old brick, a favorite painting or a place you went on holiday.

• Nature: moss and fern greens, sky and water blues, sand, stone and clay. Nature rarely uses pure, bright colors; most of its colors are slightly gray or muted, which is why they are easy to live with.
• Materials: wood floors, stone counters, brick, tile, brass and fabric are in the room whether you paint or not. Pick wall colors that get along with them, not against them.
• Your house: an older house often has its own character (dark wood trim, built-ins, plaster walls). Historic palettes such as the Benjamin Moore Historical Collection were made with those houses in mind.

Save photos of anything that catches your eye. On a moodboard, Extract palette finds the real paint colors closest to the colors in a photo, so a picture of a forest or a beach becomes a list of paints you can buy.

Ask how you want to feel in each room, not only what color you like. The same person might want a calm bedroom, a bright, lively kitchen and a cozy, enclosed study.

• Calm and restful: soft, slightly gray greens and blues, warm whites, low contrast between walls and trim. See sage greens and warm grays.
• Cozy and enveloping: deep greens, navies and earthy browns, often on the walls and trim together. See dark greens and navy blues.
• Bright and energetic: clean whites, clear yellows, warm corals, and more contrast.
• Light and airy: whites and pale colors with a high LRV (how much light a color reflects); every color page shows it. See colors for small or dark rooms.

Then turn the feeling into a moodboard: a few photos, the materials in the room, and three to five candidate paint colors side by side. Start from a template like the Japandi bedroom, moody dining room or spa bathroom, or a blank board. Seeing colors next to your sofa, floor and curtains tells you far more than a chip on its own.

For a whole house, think about the view from room to room. Colors that share an undertone (all warm, or all cool) flow better through open doorways. Planning every room in one plan makes this easier to see.

If you are stuck between options, or you are planning a whole house, a color consultant can help. Many paint stores and interior designers offer color consultations, in person or by video, and paint brands have their own color advice services. A good consultant looks at your light, your floors and furniture, and how the rooms connect.

Colorplan is also building an AI Color Consultant: describe your home or add photos, answer a few questions about the style and mood you want, and it suggests a whole-house scheme room by room from real paint colors. It's in beta and not open to everyone yet. Whichever you use, treat the advice as a shortlist to test, not a final answer.

A color can look completely different on your wall than on a screen or a small chip, because of the light in the room and the colors around it. This is the step that saves the most repainting.

• Narrow it down first. Try candidates on a photo of your own room (every color page has Paint your photo), and compare two colors side by side.
• Go big. Use large samples (peel-and-stick sheets, or paint on a large piece of poster board) rather than small patches. Two coats, like the real wall.
• Move them around. Look at each sample on more than one wall, next to the trim and floor, in the morning, in the evening, and with lamps on.
• Mind the light direction. North-facing rooms get cooler, softer light and make colors look grayer; south-facing rooms get warm light most of the day. Each color page shows how the color tends to change with the direction your windows face.

Adjust as you go. If a color reads too strong, try one a step lighter on the same paint strip; if it looks dull or gray, look for one with a warmer undertone. It's normal to go through a few rounds.

Sheen is how shiny the dried paint is. More sheen is easier to clean and more durable, but it also shows every bump and patch in the wall.

• Flat or matte: no shine, hides imperfections well. Ceilings, and walls in bedrooms, living and dining rooms. Older plaster walls often look best in a flat or matte finish.
• Eggshell: a soft glow and easier to wipe. A common all-round choice for walls in living areas and hallways.
• Satin: more sheen, stands up to scrubbing. Kitchens, bathrooms, kids' rooms and busy hallways.
• Semi-gloss: durable and wipeable. Trim, doors, cabinets and bathrooms.
• High gloss: very shiny and hard-wearing; for doors, furniture or a deliberate lacquered look. Needs very smooth surfaces.

Most interior walls today are painted with water-based (acrylic or latex) paint: low odor, quick drying and easy cleanup. For trim, doors and cabinets, a harder-wearing enamel is worth it. Use a primer over patched areas, bare wood, stains, or when changing between very dark and very light colors. Buy a better-quality paint if you can: it usually covers in fewer coats.

Older homes: houses built before 1978 may have lead-based paint under the newer layers. Don't sand or scrape old paint until it has been tested; in the US, contractors paid to disturb paint in these homes must be certified under the EPA's lead-safe (RRP) rule.

Hiring a painter. Ask friends and neighbors for painters whose work they have seen. Get two or three written estimates that spell out the prep work, which paint and sheen, how many coats, who buys the paint, and what is and isn't included (ceilings, trim, doors, patching). Check that the contractor is licensed and insured (in California you can look up a license on the Contractors State License Board website), ask for references or photos of past jobs, and keep the deposit small. Share your plan with them so everyone works from the same list of colors.

Doing it yourself. Painting is a learnable skill, and most of a good result is preparation:

• Start with a small room or a closet to practice.
• Clean the walls, fill holes and cracks, sand the patches smooth, and prime them.
• Protect floors and furniture; tape only where you need it.
• “Cut in” the edges with an angled brush, then roll the walls, keeping a wet edge so the paint doesn't leave lap marks.
• Plan on two coats, and let the first dry fully.
• Write the color, brand and sheen on the lid of leftover paint, and keep it for touch-ups.

Colorplan estimates how much paint each room needs from its size, so you buy close to the right amount.

Painting is one of the cheapest, most reversible ways to change how a home feels, so it's fine to experiment. If a color isn't right, you can paint it again. Take before and after photos, live with a new color for a few days before judging it, and enjoy watching the rooms come together.

Ready to start? Plan your rooms, browse paint colors, or start a moodboard.