This way you won’t limit yourself to traditional color schemes for specific decorating styles.

Here are tips and tricks to help you know what paint color to choose for your walls.

Find Paint Color Inspiration

Magazine and catalog pictures have always been the staple of decorating inspiration.

vibrantly painted living room

The Spruce / Jesi Lee

Rev up a neutral color palette by being creative with how you use the colors.

A striped wall using neutral colors adds a ton of style but keeps the room relaxed.

Throw pillows, bedding, and even table linens provide paint color ideas.

color inspiration

The Spruce / Jesi Lee

If you’re creating an accent wall, look to the boldest colors in the print.

Take a fabric swatch to the paint store to choose paint strips to view at home.

Look Outside for Ideas

Bringing the outside indoors is a popular inspiration for color schemes.

using the color wheel to choose an interior paint color

The Spruce / Jesi Lee

If you’re using your landscape as inspiration, observe somedos and don’ts of decorating with green.

Most artists are masters of color and light, creating color schemes for their pieces.

you might also choose complementary colors from the same work of art to create a color scheme.

Showcase Home Interior looks inviting.

Patti McConville / Getty Images

Historical paint colors are offered by many of the paint industry leaders.

Use these collections as inspiration and tailor them to your decorating style.

This wall features Sherwin-Williams Muddled Basil.

matching paint to fabric

The Spruce / Jesi Lee

Undertones are the colors lurking beneath your favorite paint color.

A simple beige may have a strong green undertone, for example.

Undertones from other surfaces in your room can reflect on the walls and change how your paint appears.

Green walls in a dining room/office space

Zia Soleil / Iconica / Getty Images

see to it you knowhow undertones workand why they matter when choosing interior paint colors.

Do Your Homework Before Shopping

Choosing the right interior paint color starts at home.

This will keep you from grabbing too many paint colors on your first trip to the store.

Living room with brown furniture, neutral walls, and two abstract paintings

Spaces Images / Getty Images

The hardest part of choosing a paint color is having too many options.

This step is crucial to finding the perfect color.

Keep flooring similar from room to room, and consider molding to tie everything together.

Look to Historical Color Inspiration

Benjamin Moore

Ask the consultant to visit at a particular time to see the challenges and lighting patterns of the space.

A consultant may also suggest changes to your lighting to correct color problems in the room.

Look for extra tools like paint-buying tips and basic DIY videos.

Dark grey walls with green chairs in a sitting room

Sherwin-Williams

Choosing a color is a process that requires patience.

Try color-matching apps provided by paint companies to find the paint you need.

Instead, considerchoosing one wall as an accent wallunique to the rest of the space.

How to Use Undertones to Find Your Perfect Paint Colors

Wayfair

Or,paint joining walls a different colorthan the rest of the room to create a “zone.”

Bedroom interior. 3d illustration

Stockernumber2 / Getty Images

testing out paint swatches

The Spruce / Jesi Lee

View from living room into kitchen

Astronaut Images / Getty Images

North London Victorian conversion

Andreas von Einsiedel / Getty Images

Blue bathroom

Sherwin-Williams