Finding Your Hue: A New Day Reno Guide to Choosing the Perfect Interior Color
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a fresh start. At New Day Reno, we see it every day—the moment a client walks into a newly transformed space and their face lights up. It’s a “new day” indeed. And often, the single most powerful element in that transformation is color.
But with thousands of paint chips and an endless sea of inspiration online, choosing the perfect color can feel overwhelming. Do you go bold or play it safe? Warm or cool? How do you make sure you still love it in a year?
Don’t worry! We’ve guided countless homeowners through this exact process. Here are our top tips to help you choose a color you’ll adore for years to come.
1. Start with a Feeling, Not a Color
Before you even look at a paint deck, close your eyes. How do you want the room to feel?
· Is it a living room meant for connection and comfort? Think warm, inviting neutrals or earthy tones.
· Is it a home office that needs to foster focus and energy? Consider calm blues or greens, or an uplifting pale yellow.
· Is it a bedroom designed for rest and relaxation? Soothing shades like lavender, sage, or soft gray are perfect.
Your color should be a backdrop for the life you want to live in that space. At New Day Reno, we always begin our design consultations by understanding your vision for the room’s mood and function.
2. Play with the Light
Light is the magic ingredient that changes everything. A color that looks perfect in the store can look completely different on your walls.
· North-Facing Rooms: Get less direct sunlight and can feel cooler. Warm up the space with shades of cream, soft yellow, or warm gray.
· South-Facing Rooms: Blessed with abundant, warm light. They can handle both warm and cool colors beautifully, and even deeper, richer hues.
· East-Facing Rooms: Get bright, warm light in the morning and cooler light in the afternoon. Warm whites and mid-tone neutrals work well.
· West-Facing Rooms: Have cooler light in the morning and intense, warm light in the evening. These rooms glow in earthy tones and rich colors.
Pro Tip: Always test your paint! Paint a large poster board or a 3×3 foot section of your wall. Observe how the color changes throughout the day with the natural light, and how it looks under your artificial lighting at night.
3. Look to Your Largest Furnishings
Your color doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It should complement the key elements that are staying in the room, like your sofa, a favorite area rug, or a statement piece of art. Pull a subtle accent color from your rug’s pattern or draw inspiration from the wood tone of your flooring. This creates a cohesive and professionally designed look.
4. Understand Undertones (The Secret to Getting it Right)
This is the advanced class, but it’s a game-changer. Every color, even white and gray, has an undertone.
· Gray can have blue, green, purple, or brown (greige) undertones.
· White can be stark (no undertone), creamy (yellow undertone), or crisp (blue undertone).
A common mistake is pairing two colors that clash because of their undertones. For example, a gray with blue undertones might fight with a beige that has yellow undertones. When in doubt, stick with colors from the same color family or consult a professional to help you see what your eye might miss.
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Go Bold (in the Right Places)
Accent walls are a fantastic way to incorporate a daring color without overwhelming a room. A deep navy in a study, an emerald green behind the bed, or a vibrant terracotta in the dining room can add incredible depth and personality. Powder rooms are also a perfect place to have fun with a bold, dramatic color—it’s a small commitment with a huge impact.
6. Create Flow with a Whole-Home Palette
While each room can have its own personality, you want your home to feel connected. A great strategy is to choose a central neutral for your main living areas (hallways, living room) and then select complementary colors for adjacent rooms. Using a consistent trim color throughout the entire home is one of the easiest ways to create a seamless, polished flow.
7. Trust the Process (and Your Gut)
At the end of the day, it’s your home. While trends are fun, choose a color that speaks to you and makes you happy. If you’ve done your homework with light and undertones, the color you’re most drawn to is usually the right one.
Ready for Your New Day?
Choosing a color is a journey, but you don’t have to take it alone. The team at New Day Reno is here to bring our expertise, from initial concept to the final brushstroke, ensuring your remodel is as joyful and stress-free as the result.