Choosing Wall Paint Colours

You may have noticed by now that over here at Gussy HQ we LOVE colour! And one of the easiest ways to add colour to your home is with paint. If you’re an adventurous DIY-type, it’s relatively easy to do the paint job yourself as long as the walls are in good nick. But even if you opt to outsource the painting, you want to make sure you've picked a colour you'll enjoy for years to come.

What next? Well, before you start spending your hard-earned dollars on sample pots, here’s a great way to narrow down your colour choices first to prevent your money going straight down the drain with the paintbrush water.

Create a mood board

Yes, I know! I'm always banging on about mood boards and Pinterest yada yada - but there really is no substitute for good planning. So get started with finding images you like as inspiration for your paint job.

Source: Apartment Therapy   Source: Hellø Blogzine   Source: Emily Henderson   Source: Côté Maison

Paint swatches

Once you've narrowed down your options, go to your local hardware or paint store and pick out a whole range of paint swatches in different colours and shades – swatches are free, so go crazy! 

Hex codes

Once back at your computer, go to https://encycolorpedia.com/ and type in the paint brand and colour. Like magic, you’re given all of the colour information, including the hex code right here:

Design your room

Next, go to Canva and set up your free account: https://about.canva.com/. Go to ‘Create a Design’ and pick something simple like a presentation. Select the blank page and go to the colour wheel and enter your hex code – voila! Here is your wall colour:

Now – upload images of your own furniture and art (or use the elements provided on Canva, adapting the colours as needed) to give you a clear visual of how the colour will work with your furnishings – and changing the wall colour is as simple as changing the hex code, even once you’ve uploaded your images. 

Here’s a very quick example:

Once you’ve narrowed down the colour options, then you can feel much safer spending your hard-earned dollars on sample pots and make less mess trying just a few out on the wall.