Choosing paint colors for you home can be stressful. What will look best? Will it go with the carpet or hardwood? Will it show fingerprints?

Interior decorators and other decorating professionals have some tricks that they use to create continuity and beauty in the homes that they are hired (for big bucks) to decorate. By using these same techniques in your home you can have confidence that your rooms are at their best. The first and most important tip is for you to trust your instincts and have confidence in your ability to choose the right colors for your home.

Looking at galleries online and pictures in magazines can help you find the look that you love. 

If it is time to paint a room you need to decide whether you love to color and just want a fresh look or you are ready for something new and fresh.

Even if you like to overall color of the room you may want to change the paint shade. By choosing a darker shade or a lighter hue in the same color family you may be able to get a new look without having walls that clash with the carpet and sofa that is all ready there. Some ways to get a different look using the same color are:

•  Using a shade darker or lighter
•  Sponging a slightly lighter or darker shade over the same color
•  Stenciling an all over pattern with a color that is a shade darker or lighter

There are benefits to using the same color or a very similar one. There are no worries about nicks and chips in the paint showing a different color. It is also easy to cover; you don’t have to worry about any bleed through of the old paint color or priming.

So, you are sick of beige and you are ready to try something dramatic, mysterious, and wonderful, or at least something different.   How do you decide which colors to get to pull your room together?   Choosing paint colors that are totally different from what you are used to can be a high stress activity!

The easiest way to do this is to choose a wallpaper border or a fabric and match the wall color to one of the colors in the design.   Choosing a paint color can be difficult because you have to narrow it down from so many but generally speaking, choosing a wall paper border is a matter of choosing between two or three of your favorites.

Once you have chosen a border cut a good sized piece off of it to take to your favorite paint store.  The piece should be big enough to be a good representation of the design.  Choose several paint chips that you like and that seem to match the border well.   Now choose chips that are in the same color families but are darker or lighter than the ones that match exactly.

Take them home and unroll the border in your room.  Lay the chips on the border.  Which ones do you immediately dislike? Remove them.

Look at the ones you like the best.  Sometimes one will stand out more than the others and the choice will be easy.  Other times you may find that you are having a hard time choosing between two or three.  If this is the case try taking the chips over to your sofa, curtains, or other fabric to see how it matches with these.

If you have narrowed it down to one color, great! If you are still trying to choose between two or so, go back to the paint store and buy a small amount of each of the three.  Paint one foot square of each of the colors on your wall, close to each other but with space between them so they don’t reflect on each other.  By looking at them on the wall for a few days you should be able to quickly decide what you like the best.

When you begin to hyperventilate over choosing the colors, remember that is really isn't a life or death decision. Paint is not all that expensive and you can cover up a poor choice in less that a weekend if need be.

New paint is a quick, relatively inexpensive way to update the look of your home. matching colors, blending, and creating a look that you love can be easy if you remember to choose your fabric or border first.