I’m having a painting/decorating dilemma. I’ll admit the decorating will have to come later… much later…  but, I’d like to get the paint right first.  My downstairs is painted bold colors - clay red kitchen, dark sage living room and deep purple full bath.  My bedroom is a dark army green.  I want to paint my gameroom and my daughter’s room.  I love the dark/bold colors, but I’m afraid that if I go too muted and/pale that it will not flow.  ~ Erica

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Erica, paint is one of the largest design elements in a room and one of the easiest and cheapest wats to make a change. And it is tempting to want to do that immediately, to get started, to see some results.

However…

I know you said the decorating would come later, but I would discourage you from getting too far ahead and investing time and money in paint without first having something to based your color choices on — usually a fabric or a work of art that you love.  Paint can be mixed to color match anything, but if you start with a paint color, trying to find a sofa or fabric to match is much much harder. If you want to get the paint “right” then you should work on getting some of your larger furniture first.

As far as your bedrooms, since they are not public spaces, you should paint them whatever color you love. I usually start with my bedding fabric as a basis and then work from there in choosing colors.

As far as your gameroom, if it is visible from the public spaces of the house, such as your living room, then I would go with a color that is related in some way to maintain a sense of continuity and visual flow that you want.