Tips for choosing paint colors in This Old House Magazine : Annie Elliott Design

“Read This Before You Pick a Paint Color,” reads the title of Kathryn O’Shea Evans’ excellent article in the September/October issue of This Old House Magazine. Putting aside the fact that I participated, (thank you, Kathryn and This Old House!), the article is chock full of helpful tips.

As you know, Gentle Readers, painting a room is the cheapest, easiest, most instant-gratification-est of home improvement projects.

Me painting my former office in 2009 (!)

Even painting a radiator can make a difference! My brother James, Georgie, and Ruthie, circa 2011. Georgie gives me that look a lot now that she’s 16 ;)

You probably already know my favorite tips for selecting paint colors. The one I repeat most often is to choose the paint color last, after you know what else is happening in the room. The other is to paint a sample on posterboard (leaving some white around the edges) and move it around the room so you can see it on different walls at different times of day. It’s not as effective as painting a huge area of the wall white and then putting the paint on that, but it sure is easier.

But here are some tips for choosing a paint color that you may not have known:

Paint finish affects how dark or light a color appears. Paint in a matte finish appears darker than the same color in a glossy, high sheen finish.

Can you see how the satin finish makes the blue shelves look a tad lighter than the matte blue on the walls? It’s subtle, but it’s there

Contrast, not a dark wall color, makes a room appear smaller. More contrast between colors = a smaller-looking room. If you want to enlarge a room, use all dark colors or all light colors. (That’s from Bonnie Krims, a color consultant in Boston. Good one, right?)

Use warm or cool tones throughout your house for a cohesive flow. Choose, then be consistent.

https://annieelliottdesign.com/bethesda-traditional/ — Warm tones: limestone floor and rich green wallpaper (by Zoffany) in the foyer, red and orange rugs everywhere, and a WARM blue – Robin’s egg – in the adjacent dining room

For tips specifically about trim colors, take a look at this blog post: 7 Sanity-Restoring Rules About Trim Color, first written in 2011, and last updated in 2016. It’s my most-read blog post OF ALL TIME. Even today. Isn’t that nuts? At least we know the information has held up!

The pandemic continues…it’s time to paint. Now you’re armed.

Thank you to all who attended the ASPIRE House! It was so fun to meet you. Thanks also to you, Gentle Readers, for sticking with me on my show house “journey” (said ironically, if the quotation marks aren’t enough). It was quite an experience.

Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, DC, and we travel for fun projects. Annie’s design work and insights have appeared in numerous local and national publications, including HGTV Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Washingtonian Magazine.