5 Paint Color Guides to Read BEFORE Choosing a Color
By Kylie
January 9, 2026
LRV, undertones, exposures, lighting, personal tastes – there’s a lot to consider when choosing paint colors. While this blog post touches on these topics, you’ll get links to FULL-BODIED articles (you know the Ginger loves to talk) to help you choose your best paint color.
Because it’s not as simple as sampling colors and crossing your fingers. There is a method to the madness when looking for paint colors – and I’m here for the method…and the madness!
So whether you’re just beginning your paint color journey or are neck-deep in samples, let’s get this color party STARTED!
#1: WHAT MATTERS THE MOST WHEN CHOOSING PAINT COLORS?
Aside from sampling properly and choosing the right finishes for your walls, there are a few important things to consider when choosing a paint color: your interior finishes. That’s right, if your paint colors don’t suit the room they’re in, your home won’t look its best.
This is why knowing your room’s BOSS is an important part of your color search.
Choosing Paint Colors – Who’s The Boss?
#2: FIGURE OUT YOUR ROOM’S BEST DEPTH USING LRV
LRV refers to how light or dark a paint color is on a scale of 0-100. Every paint color has this magical number. Once you learn the basics of LRV, your paint-pickin’ life will be SO MUCH EASIER, as you can narrow down to certain groups.
It’s about a 10 min read and worth every hot lil’ minute…
A Color Expert’s Guide to Choosing Paint Colors Using LRV
#3: HOW DOES NATURAL LIGHT (EXPOSURE) AFFECT PAINT COLORS?
Natural light can have less impact on interior walls than on exterior walls, but there are still significant considerations when it comes to which direction your room gets its natural light.
The level of impact natural light has on your room can depend on…
- the size of your windows
- landscaping, i.e., a wall of trees filtering the natural light or tall shrubs outside the window
- a tall fence, overhang, or otherwise blocking some of the natural light from coming through the window
- Your region, i.e., some areas receive a lot of rain/clouds
To learn more about how exposures can affect paint colors, check out…
North, East, South, West: Which Paint Color is The Best?
#4: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO UNDERTONES
A paint color’s undertones are one of its most important details! What undertones does gray have? How about cream and beige? And did you know that even BLUE and GREEN have undertones?
If your paint samples aren’t quite connecting with your interior finishes, learning about undertones could be a valuable tool in your search for the best paint color for your room.
The Ultimate Guide to Paint Colors & Undertones
#5 HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LIGHT BULBS FOR YOUR PAINT COLOR
Did you know that the KELVINS of your light bulb will affect how your paint color looks? If you aren’t loving how your samples look or are wondering why they don’t like like they should, it could be your lighting…
How to Choose the Right KELVINS For Your Paint Color
And lastly, a bonus, to help you sample easily and affordably…
#6: SHOULD YOU USE PAINT SAMPLE POTS OR SAMPLIZE PEEL & STICK?
While there is a small space reserved for sample pots (which I’ll touch on shortly), SAMPLIZE PEEL & STICK is hands-down the best way to sample paint colors.
- SAMPLIZE uses paint from the actual brands to make their samples.
- SAMPLIZE is less expensive and QUICKER than paint pots. No more running to the store to grab pots, sample boards, and brushes – Samplize delivers to your FRONT DOOR (usually by the next day).
- Peel & stick paint samples make it easy to see what a color will look like on your walls; flexing with rounded corners and adjusting to your wall’s texture – and you can move them around!
Visit the SAMPLIZE website HERE
WHEN ARE SAMPLE POTS A GOOD IDEA?
Sometimes a paint color needs to be made a bit lighter or darker. In this case, I would have a QUART of paint made in the exact line of paint/finish you plan to use and ask the employee to lighten/darken it as needed.
Want to learn more about lightening and darkening paint colors? Read this…
How to Perfect Your Paint Color in 3 Easy Steps (LIGHTEN & DARKEN)
Remember, I have an awesome SEARCH area on the right-hand side of my blog that can take you to ANY of the main keywords you punch in, i.e., gray/greige/cream/beige, as well as most of today’s most popular paint colors.
READ MORE
5 Reasons You Keep Choosing the WRONG Paint Color
How to Choose Colors When You Overthink
The Best Paint Finishes for Walls, Cabinets, Trims, & More
Get the best paint color advice with Kylie M’s ONLINE PAINT COLOR CONSULTING!
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Meet Kylie
Do you need help, but aren’t quite sure what ‘help’ looks like? Are you drowning in paint samples and decision fatigue?
Does every color you like at the paint store look terrible in your lighting or pick up a funky undertone? I’d love to help.
Hi, I’m Kylie
For over 24 years I’ve helped 12,000+ homeowners and renters make more confident decisions on paint colors and affordable home updates using real home examples and practical, experience-based advice. My goal is simple: help you love the home you have.
Do-it-yourself, the smart way
Grab one of Kylie’s guides
Affordable, downloadable shortcuts to the colors and combos I’d pick for you. Yours to keep, forever.
Homeowner’s Guide: White Kitchen Cabinets
This isn’t another ’10 Best Cabinet Colors’ list, because there is no SINGLE best white for every home and every kitchen.
Learn how to choose a white cabinet paint color that works with your countertops, backsplash, flooring, trim, lighting, and home—so you can rule out the wrong whites, sample fewer colors, and choose with confidence.
158-page PDF – Instant Download
$34.95Accent Colors – And How to Use Them
This isn’t about plastering your home in the ‘Color of the Year’ or following the latest trends (unless you really want to).
It’s about finding accent colors that work with YOUR home, YOUR style, and YOUR comfort level.
Because the best accent color isn’t one you love on a paint chip, it’s one that makes everything around it look better.
118-Page PDF – Instant Download
$34.95
Homeowner’s Guide: Exterior Paint Colors
Painting your home’s exterior is a BIG investment and choosing a color based on a tiny paint chip, a trend or the house down the street can be an expensive mistake.
Learn how to look at YOUR roof, YOUR windows, YOUR brick (or stone) and YOUR home as a whole so you can understand what colors make sense.
The goal? Less guessing, fewer samples and a lot more confidence before gallons of paint go on your home.
206-page PDF – Digital Download
$44.95Exterior Trim Paint Colors
This isn’t a list of ‘the best trim colors’, although you’ll get a ton of links to great shades!
You’ll learn how to look at your home and understand whether it needs contrast, repetition, connection, or a little visual peacekeeping to pull it all together.
Because trim might seem like a small detail…but spread it around all four sides of your home on multiple surfaces and it suddenly has a pretty big job.
118-page PDF – Instant Download
$24.95
Comments
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Why are all your “hire me” packages sold out? Are you not providing this service any more?
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I am! I’m just a one-gal show, is all, and I have a lot of big projects I’m working on that I need the extra time for right now ;).
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What do you do if you are building and you have to make selections without walls up yet I don’t know what my house is going to need how do I pick cabinet wall colors I don’t know if room will be dark or bright.
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Great question! I highly suggest choosing your countertop in the kitchen first, along with any fireplace surround as these can be GREAT guides for your best paint colors. Once you have those in place, and a general idea of whether you want white cabinets/non-white/etc. it’s easier to focus on specific color ranges 🙂 If you plan on white cabinets, choose that, and then use it on trims/walls/ceilings (with few exceptions). Then you can look towards wall colors! In situations like this, I would likely start with wall paint colors around the 65-74 range and see how these look 🙂
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