You finally did it. After weeks spent driving around North Carolina looking at Charlotte houses for sale, you are now a proud first-time homeowner. You can hardly contain your excitement as you start thinking of all the ways you plan to turn this house into a proper home, all the ways you will transform it to match your personality. New carpets. New fixtures. New décor. And, of course, newly painted rooms.
So you head to Home Depot and start looking through paint sample packs. But, oh wow, there are so many more shades to choose from than you ever thought possible. How do you decide what color to paint each room? Ultimately the choice is yours. Your house should be just as specific, distinctive, and unique to you as the scenario above. That said, if you’re looking for a little advice, we have some recommendations that might help you make up your mind.
For the bedroom: DEEP BLUE
A good rule of thumb to use when picking paint colors is to try and match the “energy” of each room. The bedroom, for example, is a personal sanctuary, a place of solitude and relaxation. Psychologists have discovered that the color blue has a natural calming effect on most people, creating an atmosphere of peace and security. What’s more, deeper shades are particularly good at blending into darkness when the lights are off, making it all the easier to fall asleep at night.
For the bathroom: ROSE or SEAFOAM
What atmosphere do you want to evoke in your bathroom? Cleanliness? Freshness? Light, pale colors like rosy pink or minty seafoam green give any room a feeling of bright airiness. Pink is especially complementary against skin tones, while seafoam evokes the luxurious ambience of the spa. Also, since bathrooms tend to be relatively small, choosing lighter colors goes a long way toward making the space feel more, well, spacious.
For the kitchen: SUNNY YELLOW
Like the bathroom, the kitchen is a place where you want to evoke a sense of cleanliness and freshness. Unlike the bathroom, however, it’s a good idea to pair that not with a relaxing spa-type vibe, but something more energetic and cheery. Sunny, if you will. Yellow has long been a popular color for kitchens, and for very good reasons. Not only is the color yellow believed to be strongly motivational, but it also has the effect of stimulating appetite.
For the dining room: PURPLE or MAROON
There’s an inviting warmth to sitting down to dinner with friends or family, whether it be for a fancy holiday feast or a simple meal of takeout. For that reason, richer colors like royal purple or deep reds (think burgundy or maroon) are ideal for dining rooms. Brighter shades are too intense, but darker ones create an immersive coziness that can also double as an attitude of formality when the situation calls for it.
For the living room: LIGHT GRAY
Since the living room is, for many, the main area of the house where familial interaction takes place, it’s important that the room itself isn’t too “noisy.” Something as subtle and neutral as a light gray creates a blank backdrop that people can fill in with their own conversations or other activities. Gray might seem like a “boring” color, but that’s the point. It allows you and your loved ones to remain at the center of one another’s attention.
