Wall Makeover: 

How to choose the perfect color for your home

Recently, my husband and I began our house makeover a couple weeks early. We realized we had a lot to do over a little amount of time, so we got one room out of the way. Well, almost! For now, I will show you the "before" process. 


I use to call this room the "Red Room", simply because it was red (go figure) and it made me feel unhappy. It was far too dark for such a small area of our home. Literally, a few steps and you were in and out. It's more of the in between room that divides our dining room and kitchen. I believe it was a telephone room at one time during the 40s and 50s. It's cute and has lots of personality, but what to do with it!!!! 


I first started following Elsie Larson on Instagram a little while ago. I loved her images because they were inspiring and unique. Then I decided that I just loved everything she was posting, so I began to follow her Blog and Pinterest as well. I have found a lot of helpful things so far! One of them being her tips for choosing color, which I will share with you today and how I applied them to myself! 


Tip 1. Saturate your mind with images of interiors and color stories you feel excited about:


One of the wonderful things about having a Pinterest account? You can pin thousands of pictures that inspire you! I found myself searching for the perfect wall color, inspiration for small rooms and unique ways to utilize those awkward spaces in your home. I found this tip extremely helpful and it paid off. I found a theme I wanted to base my room off of, gray (or grey....same thing I suppose). 


Tip 2. Break up lots of color with neutrals:


This tip had me stumped at first because I felt like it was too late to consider. My family room (conjoined dining room) was painted a bright and lively yellow. How could I break up that?! Then it occurred to me, the gray that I had been considering for my new "Red Room" had to be selected very carefully. It couldn't be too dark, too light and had to have a very neutral tone. The base couldn't be too blue or green. It had to be perfect! That's where I STRONGLY recommend you go to a specialized paint shop where the employees know a thing or two about paint and colors. I will never go back to Lowes or Home Depot (no offense) because as nice and helpful as their employees can be, they don't know a whole lot about picking out the perfect paint color for your home. Trust me, my house is proof of that! I made three trips to my new favorite paint shop. Why? Because the employees insisted I take home paint chips (lots of them), buy a test sample when I thought I found the right one and then come back and think it over once more. I finally settled on Benjamin Moore Aura Paint (which my sister-in-law and father-in-law swear by). The color was a light and neutral gray called Fusion. This paint is AWESOME! It only took one coat to cover the red (we did two for good measure). 

Tip 3. Repeat your colors throughout your room:


This is something I am going to be looking forward to, since our couch looks more gray since we painted our "Gray Room" (no more red!!!!). The living room has dulled down considerably! I am planning on adding more elements of gray throughout the house to make everything feel balanced. Surely this will create a strong theme and design throughout our ever-evolving house! Make sure not to get too obsessed with this step, teetering one way or another could off-set that perfect balance. If I put too much gray, my house could look too sterile which is ok for some, but it's just not me. I am a sucker for bright color and funky patterns! Just remember, it's all about perfect balance!! 

Hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, you can click on Elsie Larson's link above to read her tips yourself!! Thanks for reading!

xoxo