The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Paint Colors

Wall color is the design element with the most impact in a room. It covers the most surface area, making it the primary factor for how a space looks and feels. It is also the cheapest design upgrade you can make, delivers instant results, and is the easiest to change, making paint color one of design’s happy stories.

There are a few ways to choose paint colors: pick your favorite, choose common colors suited to your design style, or blend both by using different variances, tints, tones, and shades of your favorite color to build a palette. Still, keep one thing in mind: how a color feels.

The emotional impact of a paint color can shape comfort and how you interact with a space. For example, if you have a home office – a topic I write a lot about – there are a range of colors that support productivity.

In this article, I lay out standard colors for a range of design styles and touch on some aspects of color theory to help you find the best colors. I also show you how to create a color palette with a color wheel and list some favorite paint brands. You’ll have everything you need to choose a paint color that is right for you in any room in your home.

Color Palettes for Interior Design Styles

Here is a list of home styles and their common color palettes. You can follow this as shown, or get more creative by picking particular colors and using them to find other blends you like on a color wheel. (I cover how to use a color wheel toward the end.) If you have a favorite paint color, you can use the palettes as a guide to create a cohesive color scheme with the same color, though you may benefit from shifting the tone a bit for a better match. (The wheel will show you options.)

Some homes have architectural features and design details like crown molding, which you may want to differentiate from your main color.

NOTE: Before you run to a paint store for samples, keep reading to learn about the emotional impact of color so you can choose what best fits your design style.

Japandi

Read more about Japandi here

• Neutral Palette: Soft beiges, off-white, muted gray
• Bold Palette: Deep charcoal, forest green, indigo
• Traditional Palette: Earthy taupe, warm clay, pale sage
• Modern Palette: Greige, cream, smoky blue

Mid-Century Modern

Read more about mid-century modern here

• Neutral Palette: Warm gray, cream, beige
• Bold Palette: Teal, mustard yellow, burnt orange
• Traditional Palette: Olive green, chocolate brown, soft ivory
• Modern Palette: Charcoal, white, dusty rose

Minimalism

Read more about minimalist design here

• Neutral Palette: Crisp white, soft gray, warm beige
• Bold Palette: Black, deep navy, olive
• Traditional Palette: Taupe, cream, muted slate
• Modern Palette: Cool gray, pale blush, icy blue

Traditional

• Neutral Palette: Cream, light taupe, pale yellow
• Bold Palette: Navy blue, emerald green, burgundy
• Traditional Palette: Camel, rich beige, soft sage
• Modern Palette: Cool gray, dark green, warm ivory

Rustic

• Neutral Palette: Warm beige, stone gray, sand
• Bold Palette: Barn red, forest green, ochre
• Traditional Palette: Muted brown, sage green, golden yellow
• Modern Palette: Charcoal gray, white, deep terracotta

Ranch Style

• Neutral Palette: Tan, light brown, pale green
• Bold Palette: Brick red, cobalt blue, warm orange
• Traditional Palette: Beige, khaki, soft white
• Modern Palette: Slate gray, muted olive, creamy white

Scandinavian

Read more about Scandinavian design here.

• Neutral Palette: White, gray, pale beige
• Bold Palette: Soft black, blush pink, midnight blue
• Traditional Palette: Cool gray, dusty mint, cream
• Modern Palette: Icy white, light sage, stone gray

Contemporary

• Neutral Palette: Warm white, greige, dove gray
• Bold Palette: Black, cobalt blue, vivid yellow
• Traditional Palette: Charcoal, tan, muted blue-gray
• Modern Palette: Pure white, smoky gray, pale taupe

Industrial

• Neutral Palette: Cool gray, dark taupe, ash
• Bold Palette: Black, rust orange, steel blue
• Traditional Palette: Earthy brown, brick red, muted green
• Modern Palette: Charcoal, white, slate blue

Coastal

• Neutral Palette: Pale sand, off-white, seafoam
• Bold Palette: Navy blue, coral, turquoise
• Traditional Palette: Light gray, sky blue, creamy beige
• Modern Palette: Soft white, teal, driftwood gray

Bohemian

• Neutral Palette: Warm white, tan, blush
• Bold Palette: Deep plum, mustard, peacock green
• Traditional Palette: Terracotta, navy, muted gold
• Modern Palette: Smoky gray, mauve, olive

Farmhouse

• Neutral Palette: Warm white, soft gray, creamy beige
• Bold Palette: Barn red, forest green, deep navy
• Traditional Palette: Taupe, wheat, muted sage

Colonial

• Neutral Palette: Soft beige, cream, muted yellow
• Bold Palette: Navy blue, barn red, hunter green
• Traditional Palette: Warm ivory, sage green, pewter gray
• Modern Palette: Cool gray, deep blue, pale taupe

Georgian

• Neutral Palette: Pale ivory, light gray, warm beige
• Bold Palette: Burgundy, dark teal, forest green
• Traditional Palette: Soft white, warm taupe, muted olive
• Modern Palette: Charcoal gray, crisp white, dusty blue

Paint Color and Its Impact

Paint color has psychological impact, though it isn’t universal. Cultural and personal experiences can shape how we think of it. Red might signify energy and passion for some or anger for others. Even within one color, different tints, tones, and shades can minimize or maximize the effect like a volume knob. Burgundy is a type of red, but it feels calmer and richer than flat red. And the more paint color you use in a room, the stronger the effect (and the smaller the room feels)

All that said, here are some basics to color:

• Neutral Colors (White, Grey, Beige): These provide a sense of calm that aids concentration, balance, sophistication, and complements most other items in the room. They also evoke a natural feel, which has made them popular in Japandi.
• Warm Colors (Red, Orange, Yellow): These colors are energizing and stimulating and can boost creativity and motivation. They also have a playfulness to them, much like primary colors, which is why they are often used in modern and mid-century styles that value “fun.” But use the colors with caution. They can feel overwhelming, so use them for accent walls, furniture, or small accents.
• Cool Colors (Blue, Green, Purple): These evoke calm, focus, and tranquility, making them ideal for reducing stress and improving concentration.
• Dark Colors (Black, Dark Brown, Dark Purple): Though attractive, like a black dress, they can easily become somber and bring your energy levels down.

Here’s a breakdown of popular colors in alphabetical order and their effects:

• Beige: Calmness, simplicity, and neutrality
• Black: Noble, mysterious, cold, masculine
• Blue: Wisdom, hope, reason, peace
• Bronze: growth, stability, experience, connection with nature
• Cream: comfort, serenity, elegance, and sophistication
• Gray (grey): Calmness, balance, stability, modesty, self-restraint
• Gold: luxury, success, achievement
• Green: Nature, growth, freshness
• Orange: Warmth, kindness, joy
• Pink: Soft, reserved, earthy, love, health, femininity, innocence, youthfulness
• Purple: Mysterious, noble, glamorous
• Red: Passion, excitement, love
• Terracotta: Nature, calming, nurturing, protection
• White: Truth, indifference, unspoken (white paint is the same as a blank canvas)
• Yellow: Hope, femininity, joy

Using Color Psychology

Many theories about color exist, but overall, they work the same way. Many explanations use primary colors (red, yellow, blue, green). If you don’t plan to use those exact colors, knowing the traits behind each one will help you choose colors to create blends, like colors for art. You can also add tints, tones, and shades to achieve the perfect look and feel. But let’s start with some basics.

The Four Colors of Emotion

Here are four colors of emotion laid out as primary colors:

1. Red: The Color of Energy and Passion

Red is a high-energy color associated with excitement, strength, and urgency. It can invigorate and stimulate creativity, making it a great choice for accent pieces in a home office.

2. Blue: The Color of Calm and Focus

Blue is known for its calming and stabilizing effects. It evokes feelings of trust, serenity, and dependability, making it one of the most popular colors for professional environments. It also comes in a wide range of tones, from pale sky blue to rich navy, each with varying effects. The bolder the tone, the stronger the effect. But overall, it is a good color for maintaining focus and reducing stress.

3. Yellow: The Color of Optimism and Creativity

Yellow is bright, cheerful, and associated with positivity and innovation. It sparks creativity and uplifts your mood, making it an excellent choice for brainstorming areas or collaborative workspaces.

4. Green: The Color of Balance and Renewal

Green embodies nature, growth, and harmony. It’s a restful color for the eyes and promotes balance and well-being. Green is perfect for home offices where you want to reduce stress and maintain a healthy work-life mindset.

Using Goethe’s Color Theory When Choosing Paint Colors

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a poet, also believed that colors evoke specific emotional responses. His book Theory of Colour (1810) is an approach to understanding how colors impact emotions and perceptions. Artists, interior designers, and architects often adopt his work. (The artist Kandinsky used it.) Sometimes his theory shows up in advertising and marketing (aka: color marketing). He focused less on the scientific properties of light and more on color’s psychological and aesthetic effects.

• Red: Symbolizes passion and energy, but Goethe warned against overuse as it can be overstimulating in large amounts.
• Blue: Suggests depth, tranquility, and focus, aligning perfectly with tasks that require concentration
• Yellow: Represents warmth, optimism, and creativity, making it a great choice for brainstorming areas or creative workspaces.
• Green: Seen as the balance between yellow and blue, it evokes harmony and stability, ideal for reducing stress in your home office.

I wrote an article for Design + Decor Magazine on a home called The Cocoon that puts the principles into full action. Here’s a look at the home.

Goethe is particularly useful for interior design because he also emphasized the relationship between colors and their surroundings. For example, blue paint on a wall with warm accents like wood or brass can create balance and energy, combining cool calm with warm vitality. In many interior design cases, we aim for color balance, also called color harmony. Color isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about the interplay of emotion, light, and environment. When designing your home office, applying Goethe’s principles can help you craft a space that feels balanced and inspires the right mindset for your work.

A Color Wheel: A Designer’s Best Friend

Now that you know the basic color emotions, you’ll want to pick up a color wheel. It is cheap to buy. The circular diagram fans out colors based on their relationships. You learn about hues and complementary colors, as well as different tints, tones, and shades for each paint color. I’ll go over each aspect in a second, but here’s how to use one.

Hues

Color hues are primary colors and how they combine to create other colors. You can use them to make color combinations that achieve a visual balance.

• Primary colors are basic colors, like red, blue, and yellow.
• Secondary colors combine primary colors. Orange combines red and yellow, and green combines blue and yellow, etc.
• Tertiary colors combine secondary colors even further, like an orangy-red or a greenish-yellow.

Designers often adopt tertiary palettes and follow the three-color rule:

• A dominant color takes up 60% of a space, primarily found on walls and cabinets. It is often a neutral base with enduring undertones, making it easier to change out the other two colors over time as trends come and go.
• A second color takes up an additional 30%, typically on furniture or backsplashes.
• A third color fills the remaining 10% in whatever way the designer sees fit.

Designers also often enjoy engaging the eye with colors that are fresh and attractive, but also enduring. This can be tricky, but that’s where their talent comes in. Trends come and go, and relying on them too much can mean a quickly dated look. Often, designers focus on the spirit behind a new style or color blend and find ways to reference it in their own creative way for a more enduring look.

Complementary Colors

Scientifically, complementary colors are a bit complex and come in different forms, but in interior design, we’re basically talking about color harmony: an opposing color that helps create balance. For one color, its complement sits opposite it on the color wheel, but you can have multiple complements, too, depending on your scheme. Whatever the paint color is, it has a complementary primary, secondary, and tertiary color, each indicated by triangular open slats you can move around.

The Effect of Tint, Tones, and Shades

These terms may sound interchangeable, but each has a different meaning and its own designation on a color wheel.

• Tints are when you add white to a paint color
• Tones are when you add gray to a paint color
• Shades are when you add black to a paint color

These three elements are essential for good design and can make a bland paint color feel unique. Here’s an example of how they affect the color red. One reads as more energized, while the other reads as calmer.

Types of Paint

There are many brands out there, but some of the most recommended are Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore. I do like Farrow and Ball, but it can get expensive. I use Behr since it looks fantastic, isn’t overly expensive, and is easy to pick up (or have delivered) from Home Depot. Some brands let you take pictures of your room to see how a color looks on the wall in a realistic setting.

Color’s Interaction with Natural Light

Where you place the color can affect how it reads. You may find your favorite color doesn’t look the way you expected, and you may need to go a bit lighter or darker, or adjust the tint, tone, or shade, to get the right look. Here are some tricks worth knowing based on how the sun interacts with the space:

Natural light dramatically influences how paint colors appear in a room, depending on the direction of the light source. Here’s a breakdown for each orientation:

North-Facing Rooms

• Light Characteristics: North-facing rooms receive cool, indirect light that often has a bluish undertone. These spaces tend to feel darker and cooler throughout the day, even on sunny days.
• Impact on Colors:
  • Cool Colors: Blues, grays, and greens can feel even cooler and darker, sometimes taking on a shadowy appearance.
  • Warm Colors: Warm tones like yellows, creams, and soft beiges can balance the coolness and add warmth to the space.
  • Neutral Colors: Neutral tones can appear slightly grayer or cooler in this light.
• Best Choices: Choose warmer or mid-tone shades to counteract the light’s coolness. Avoid overly dark or muted colors unless you want a moody effect.

South-Facing Rooms

• Light Characteristics: South-facing rooms are flooded with warm, golden light for most of the day, making them feel bright and inviting.
• Impact on Colors:
  • Cool Colors: Blues, greens, and purples soften and warm, creating a balanced, pleasant look.Warm Colors: Yellows, oranges, and reds can feel very vibrant and intense in this light.
  • Neutral Colors: Neutral tones retain their warmth and look especially luminous.
• Best Choices: Most colors work well, but softer hues or cooler tones can temper the warm light’s intensity.

West-Facing Rooms

• Light Characteristics: West-facing rooms receive warm, golden light in the afternoon and evening, while mornings are often dim or shadowy.
• Impact on Colors:
  • Cool Colors: Blues and grays may appear muted or dull in the morning but come to life with warm highlights in the afternoon.
  • Warm Colors: Warm tones can feel overly intense in the afternoon light, creating a glowing effect.
  • Neutral Colors: Neutrals like greige and taupe are more stable and appear warm and inviting in the afternoon.
• Best Choices: Choose colors that look good, both muted and vibrant. Cooler tones can balance the warmth of the late-day light.

East-Facing Rooms

• Light Characteristics: East-facing rooms receive soft, warm light in the morning and cooler, shadowy light in the afternoon.
• Impact on Colors:
  • Cool Colors: Blues, greens, and grays look fresh and vibrant in the morning but may feel cooler and duller as the day progresses.
  • Warm Colors: Warm hues shine in the morning light but may lose their glow and appear more muted in the afternoon.
  • Neutral Colors: Neutrals adapt well, appearing soft and cozy throughout the day.
• Best Choices: Warm or neutral tones maintain coziness and balance the cool afternoon light.

Paint Color: A Big Benefit at a Tiny Cost

Paint costs practically nothing compared to other room upgrades, and it is easy to change, so grab multiple swatches and sample pots to find the right look for you. Don’t forget to consider different tints, tones, and shades to get the exact color you want – you can even mix your own by adding white to go a few shades lighter or add gray or black for medium and dark tones. I’ve done this before and created an immersive color so rich that friends and I stared at it and admired it whenever we sat in the room. It’s incredible how powerful color can be. It’s worth the trial and error to get something wonderful, so have fun with it!

Be sure to check out my article on this year’s latest color trends and my top picks for colors that excel in the most crucial room for productivity: your home office.

Happy painting!