If there’s one choice in life that can cause you stress and sleepless nights (besides what to name your kids), it’s picking the right paint colors. It seems to be the one decision that’s hardest for people to make in their own homes. Although paint isn’t the most expensive investment you’ll make, painting does require some effort, which makes it seem like a commitment.
I get it. It’s always been easier for me to help clients choose their paint colors than it is to decide what’s going on my own walls. So, where do I get my inspiration?
Often, it starts with a great fabric:
Country Living
Or, from the floor up. I pulled the wall colors in our old family room from this Pottery Barn rug:
And, sometimes, I choose paint based on the overall feeling I want the room to convey.
Light, bright and calming (via Lonny magazine) 
Warm and cozy (Brian Watford via Houzz)
So, if you’re the one who agonizes for days/weeks, staring at swatches on the wall, you may be excited to learn about a new tool developed by Glidden Paint that can help you find the colors that best suit your personality and lifestyle.
You can get started on the “My Life, My Colors” quiz right here:
I took the quiz, and according to Glidden, it looks like I’m on the right track with the gray color palette I’ve chosen for our current home:
And, for more help, Glidden Paint has recently launched a web site called My Colortopia that provides inspiration, tools, and relatable advice from the Colortopia Team (some popular bloggers you’ll recognize).
Hope you’ll take a minute to take the color quiz. If you do, I’d love to hear how your results match up with the colors you usually choose for your home.
I have partnered with Glidden/Akzo Nobel Paints to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
PS—Since we’re on the subject of paint colors, I’m finally putting together a complete source list for the paint colors I used throughout our last home. Will post soon!
I have the hardest time picking paints and always seem to go with my favorite standbys...they never look on my wall like I think...loved seeing these beautiful images!!
ReplyDeletewhat a fun quiz! I had some of the same colors as you {the greys} but also had purples mixed in instead of the corals. And yes colors for my own home take forever to pick out! And so do baby names, our second son's name was changed a day after he was named his original name {the name we announced when we first found out we were having a boy}... I'm so glad we changed it, we've never looked back. Our 3rd son we didn't name until we saw him! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMeg
What a great tool. I find it easiest to choose colors for other people as well. I'm looking forward to taking the quiz!
ReplyDeleteSuch good advice, thanks for sharing! And that quiz is so fun, I got a lot of greys too, which is my favorite color :-)
ReplyDeleteeileen
www.acreativedayblog.com
Picking paint color is so difficult...haha. My husband always dreads it.:) I loved the quiz---I actually got the same results as you. I love the shades it picked and is actually the colors of our master right now. Im off to check out the colortopia website. Thanks for the suggestions.
ReplyDeleteIt is the hardest thing to do in your own home. I wish paint companies would release their top 10 colors in different shades. It would make my life a lot easier.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I ended up with a lot of pastels, which aren't my favorite. The grays it chose are nice, but I love deeply saturated rooms! I think I was probably too all-over-the-place with my answers. Oh well, still fun!
ReplyDeleteso funny - i agonized and agonized. i am such a neutral, warm and fuzzy, trying to get away from shabby chic but can't kind of girl and when i finally chose my paint colors out of the multitude of swatches on my wall, they all looked the same. i will definitely try this tool!
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see the paint sources from your old house and see more of your new one!
Emily a great source and quiz for deciding on paint colors. I also think painting a Large area with a sample post is important.
ReplyDeleteOff to take the quiz.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I'll definitely be checking out the quiz! I'm always looking for some fun colors. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas- thanks for sharing! Choosing paint is something that I agaonize over in my own home! I am starting to lighten things up around here and go towards the light grays! I'm off to take the quiz to see if I'm on track! :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a neat tool! Thank you for posting that gorgeous chair as well--love it!:)
ReplyDeleteHa, I could have used such help recently! Janell
ReplyDeleteSo timely Emily! I'm helping a friend choose paint colors and it's been tough (learning experience for both of us) but she's off to get some more samples today that I think will be better in the ballpark. I need to find out the source of the paint in that first photo from Country Living w/ the chiang mai chair.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun quiz. So interesting how it can predict things like color preferences! It was right on with mine - the exact color palette I am changing my entire house into. Guess that means I am predictable? :)
ReplyDeleteIt's best to be patient when it comes to paint. If you can get a sample, you can try putting a bit of paint on the wall. See how it looks, how it changes due to the light and all. That way, picking from so many colors becomes a little less hard.
ReplyDelete-Norbert Floth
Thank you for the fun quiz. Right off the bat I knew it wouldn't work, none of my actual answers were listed as choices. And it gave me all ice-cream coloured pastels. Ick. lol Choosing paint is so difficult but at least this gets a person thinking about it rather than delaying the difficult decision longer.
ReplyDeleteHello! Thanks for posting the photo of my kitchen!
ReplyDeleteHolly, I used Ralph Lauren's Chocolate Souffle on my walls. I bought it at Home Depot.
It's held up really well.
Susan Windsor Jones
You have great taste in color! I like how the combinations convey feelings and set the mood in your rooms, with the right set of furniture to go along. By the way, the quiz you shared made color choosing more fun and exciting! It's a great thing to do, considering how difficult it is for some people to decide which color combination is right for them.
ReplyDeleteAnselm Armando