4 Fun Ways That Really Do Help You Select Colors For Your Home

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the thought of selecting paint colors for your home, project, or building? Here are four fun & easy ways to make the process a little less painful.

As a color consultant, I help people all the time with their paint color selections. I find that most of whom I work with tend to be overwhelmed with the abundance of available colors and are also intimidated and afraid of the process. Everyone is worried that they will choose the wrong color(s).

Over time, I have found a few tried and true ways to help find the perfect color scheme and I would like to share these with you. Here are four of my favorite online tools that aid me with this. I've mentioned them before, but they are well worth repeating. We will discuss each one in more detail. Let's jump in.

1. Inspiration Pictures

2. Check Out Nature

3. An Online App To Find What The Colors Are In The Photo

4. Virtually Painting At The Sherwin-Williams Website

1. INSPIRATION PHOTOS!

Before I begin a color consultation I first request photos of the project, some details about it, color family preferences, and inspiration photos.

Of all the things that they send me, the Inspiration Photos are the most telling. I can glean a lot from the photos what they like and hope to achieve with their own project. I compare the photos of their own home with the inspiration photos and see what I can do to get the same feel, mood, and look of their own space.

I recommend going to pinterest.com and creating a "Home Inspiration" board. Pin each and every single photo that you find that has colors that really appeal to you, even if it is very different then your current space. Find homes, buildings, and even nature scenes that have colors that you like. After reviewing them, a theme will start to appear and you will get a clearer picture of which are the best colors for you. The colors in the photos moved you for some reason, so trust that.

2. CHECK OUT NATURE FOR COLOR INSPIRATION!

This I know to be true and firmly believe: the colors in scenes in nature, in natural settings, are just about always perfect. Check out the examples below to see what I mean. Notice the little details, various hues, and shades in each scene.

Look at the details in each photo and you will see a variety of colors that pair well together, some are soft and subtle, others are complementary, and others contrasting. Yet, they still work in perfect harmony.

Okay, so now what? Check out the next tool, one of my total favs!

3. COOL APP TO FIND THE COLORS IN YOUR PHOTOS!

So, now that you have found your nature scene photos, what's next? A super cool app that allows you to upload your photo, snap it, and then tell you which Sherwin-Williams colors are closest to those in your photo.

https://snapyourcolors.com/ You will need, to install the SNAP IT TM Browser Button to get started. Use the link here or find it on the Sherwin-Williams I used.

Notice, how the app pulls out each of the various hues and shades in the photos. Even though some of the colors are hard to perceive with your eye, they magically appear with the help of the snapyourcolors app. All of a sudden you become aware of the hues and shades in each photo. Now that you have the names and numbers of the colors, you can use them as a guide to pull together your own personal color palette.

Okay great, now you found some colors that you like and feel confident that work together, now what?

Naturally, you want to know how they will look in or on your home? It's time to paint it, virtually of course.

Look below for some tips on doing this.

4. VIRTUALLY PAINTING YOUR HOME!

There is a fantastic tool on the Sherwin-Williams.com website. It is called the ColorSnap Visualizer. They have one for the web, your mobile phone, or even your iPad.

You have the option of "painting" one of their rooms or exteriors, or uploading your own photo. You then add the colors that you want to virtually paint, proceed to use the little colorization tools, and paint your house. There is a slight learning curve in using the visualizer, on your own uploaded photos, but with a little practice, you can get the hang of it.

Note that the colors can look a little different on electronic devices than they do in real life, but this tool can help you get a feel for the overall look of the project that you are working on.

Here is a before and one after that has been virtually painted.

So here are the 4 fun ways that really do Help You Select Colors For Your Home! I truly love working with color and helping others understand color. My goal is for you to also be comfortable selecting it for your own personal space. I'm sure that if you spend a little time and practice some of these ideas, you will become a color wizard in short order.

As a professional interior designer and color consultant I write articles that help you with your design decisions, please check out my other posts about color and design on my Interior Design, Blog Page,

Until next time,...