Color Trends & Combos

Just about any wall color can work in a room with the right eye. Even neon accent walls can look good when put together in a classy way, but there is an appeal to trending colors, and can make bringing the space in a room together without over complicating it. It's your job to appeal to your client's needs, but to do it in a way that the final result ends up looking beautiful. Whether they want soft pastels or bold shades, below is a list of the top trending wall colors to inspire you for the right color combos. 

You can always search sites like Pinterest for trending colors, since palette preferences are always changing. And when decorating a home, you want to make sure your decor always fits the seasons. Seasonal changes can make a huge difference in what colors your client may want at the time. Be sure to advise them to stick to an easily changing color palette, so they aren't stuck with Christmas red year round. 

- TRENDING WALL COLOR PAINTS -

- TRENDING COLOR COMBOS -

TRENDING PASTEL SHADES

TIPS WHEN IT COMES TO HOME COLORS

1. Remove color clutter. You want to have a flow of colors throughout the house that blend well together. If you have shades of pastels throughout the home, and have bright red stools in the kitchen, you want to replace these. The energy of colors in a home need to blend well together.

2. Don't just go white. Most people think when it comes time to refreshing a house, you just need to plaster white paint all over the wall. In fact, these days, a fully white house can seem harsh. If you decide to go neutral, look for shades that are off-white or light grey/beige.

3. When decorating a part of the home, in the prior modules, we went over creating a moodboard. Make sure your moodboard and color palette for the room you are working on works well with the rest of the house. It doesn't have to be matchy-matchy, just make sure it coordinates well together.

4. Use bold colors as accents. Not throughout the whole house. You want to showcase features in a home by using bold colors to liven up one room or an accent wall.

5. Make sure you purchase sample paint and paint it onto sample boards to see the final dry color. The dried paint color can vary from what you see in the can at a store. Especially since lighting in a home will be different than in the store. 

• Incandescent light will typically add a warm yellow cast to colors. 

• Fluorescent lighting will add a cooling gray cast. 

• Halogen bulbs produce a very white light and have little effect on color tones. 

• Colors that look vibrant in natural light will often wash out under incandescent lighting. 

• Be wary of using dark colors in rooms facing north--they will appear darker. Warm paint colors will cheer up a room with a northern exposure.

• Paint colors will seem lighter and brighter under a southern exposure. Tone them down by painting in cool neutral colors.

6. Use the 60/30/10 rule. 60% of a room should be the dominant color. 30% should be a secondary color. This can be used in the furniture, drapes, or rugs. And 10% should be the accent color. The random pops of color you use throughout the room.

7. Be careful for undertones in paint colors! If you decide to get a light paint color and apply it over another light color without a white primer, the undertone of the color can change your new color to make it take on a shade you may not want. Always go with a white primer and apply it generously to remove any undertones of the old shade.

8. Complimentary colors should follow the 80/20 rule. One color should take on 80% of the design, and the complimentary color should take on 20%

9. Select a monochromatic color scheme. Doing so will help with the flow from room to room. Try to stick to a color palette of no more than 3 to 5 different colors in your entire home.

10. Color is the key to all successful decorating— it can work magic by visually expanding or shrinking space, raising and lowering ceilings and even effect client's dispositions. You can trick the eye by using certain colors in the right places. Color can make objects visually advance or recede, and knowing where and how to use them can help you highlight focal points or camouflage ugly features of your client's house.

• For instance, a hideous brick fireplace will, most likely, be the focal point in a living room. Your client may not be able to afford to tear it down at this time, but wish they could disguise it. You can visually make that fireplace recede and diminish in size if you paint it the same color as the walls beside it.

• Proper color combinations can deceive the eye into thinking that a small room is larger than it really is, or take an awkward space and make it less noticeable. 

• Pale colors reflect light, and when combined with lots of natural light can visually expand a small room by giving the impression of pushing back the walls.

• Dark colors absorb and deflect light and give the impression of the walls closing in on you.

• Cool colors appear to retreat, while warm colors seem to advance.

• Interior colors for home staging should have a combination of cool and warm colors in the design palette, but one or the other should dominate.  

• Minimize the length of a long narrow room by painting the long walls a light color and the end walls in a darker warm shade of the same color. Because darker colors advance, this gives the effect of "squaring" the room.

• Paint a too high ceiling in a dark paint color and bring that color down a foot or so onto the wall-- you really won't notice the line on the wall. The dark color will make the ceiling appear closer.

• Paint colors that work well in small spaces are whites, neutrals, pale grays, blues, lavenders and greens.

• Visually lift a low ceiling by painting it white or a light pastel hue.

• To make a small room feel larger, paint the walls the same color as the drapes.

• If the room has ugly window trim or is broken up by numerous doorways, windows, and nooks, paint them the same color as the walls to unite all the broken areas.

• For over-sized rooms, use a combination of warm and darker colors. The dark colors will make the room seem cozier and more intimate. 

• Paint the basement and hallways in light colors, since they are usually too dark.

• Try a coordinating color on an accent wall to add excitement to a room or to draw attention to a lovely window, fireplace, or other architectural detail.   

• If there are a lot of bumps and dings in the ceilings and walls, use a flat paint. Because it doesn’t reflect light, imperfections on walls and ceilings are less noticeable. Unfortunately, flat paint is not very scrubbable.

- PAINT FINISHES - 

Flat is a low-sheen paint with a non-reflective finish that touches up well and hides minor surface imperfections.  It's ideal for low traffic areas, interior walls and ceilings.

Matte has a low luster reflective finish that is durable, easy to clean, touches up well, and also hides minor surface imperfections. It is great for low to moderate traffic areas, such as bedrooms, and interior walls.

Eggshell Enamel has a soft, velvety appearance and is a good choice for moderate traffic areas such as living rooms.

Satin Enamel if you desire a pearl-like appearance, and are painting moderate to high traffic areas or areas that have some exposure to moisture, such as kitchens.

Semi-Gloss Enamel if you desire a sleek, radiant sheen that is great from cabinets and trim, high-traffic areas and high-moisture areas.

Hi-Gloss Enamel creates a brilliant, shiny appearance with a glass-like finish. This is great for high-use surfaces