Halloween is scary fun. For most people, choosing paint colors is also scary, but not fun. Making paint color choices doesn’t have to scare you to death. All you have to do is start with a great inspiration piece. Fabrics are fantastic color aids. It could be as easy as using a favorite blouse in your closet or finding a gorgeous pattern at the fabric store.

For this article, I used two of my favorite resources, Sherwin Williams paints and FABRIC.COM At either of these, you could browse for hours for something that catches your eye. It’s just easier to begin with a fabric you like and draw colors from that. Don’t worry about what the fabric might be used for, just go for your gut feelings and those “Ooh Ahh” and “Wow” reactions to things.

You may feel like you’re back to square one, with the many colors choices in these examples. But stay calm, these are compact groups to work with, not the entire paint deck! I’m not telling you to use all of the colors at once, but just giving you a nice, narrowed down selection to look at.

Note here, that with everything done online, colors are influenced by computer settings, so it’s always best to do your final shopping with actual samples to view.
REMEMBER, each of the colors mentioned have their own variations and color strip. So once you have a favorite or two, you can find more tints and shades if you want to stay with just one color family.

Only you know what levels of color you’re comfortable with. You may feel safer using lighter colors on walls. Perhaps you have lots of windows in a room, and aren’t afraid of darker colors, either as an accent on one wall or throughout the room.

For several areas open to one another, again consider your natural lighting. You could use darker paints in bright rooms, mid-tones in less well lighted rooms, and lightest tones in darkest areas of your floor plan.

Now consider where and how you could use the fabric. For example, it could be in draperies or window treatments in one room, as chair or chair seats in another, and toss pillows or a throw in yet another connecting room. And don’t forget to give your main fabric some friends, a few coordinating fabrics.

The next example is definitely a “one room” category. At least most people wouldn’t like pink enough to use it throughout the main living areas.

This material/color scheme would be fun for a “girly girl’s” bedroom or in any gal’s dressing room or closet. I can also see it in a sewing room or a woman’s home office.

Owls are trending at the moment. The pattern below could be very cute in a nursery or child’s play room.

Another great inspiration is nature. Resources here are endless. You might find a fantastic landscape painting or photograph on line, or have some personal photos of your own that you could refer to. I’ve given you a couple of mine below.

Have fun with this post. Let me know if you have comments or questions. Email followers will have a Reply section at the bottom of this post. Online visitors can click the little bubble at the top right of the title to reply.

Thanks for visiting. If you enjoy Artzzle.com be sure to spread the word about us.
And try not to stress too much with any project, just have fun and start!

Later – Cheryl

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