10 Common Color Mistakes

Designers share the color decorating mistakes that make them cringe.

1. Ceiling Paint
"I never paint a ceiling dead white because all white paint has a bit of gray in it, and it takes the room down. Paint the ceiling a cream shade." –Athalie Derse

2. Matching Shades
"You never want to match your walls to a color in one of your fabrics. It will be too strong. Find a grayed-out version of the color." –Sallie Giordano

3. Neutral Balance
"The biggest mistake people make when they're trying to be colorful and exciting is to forget that you need to balance it with neutrals – otherwise it ends up looking like a color wheel." –Todd Klein

4. Continuity
"Even when I don't use the same colors everywhere, I still like the rooms to feel connected. The bedroom should never feel like it's in a completely different house from the living room – the whole house has to make sense as one." –Mona Ross Berman

5. Contrast
"One of the biggest mistakes people make with neutrals is not using enough contrast. A room of creams and beiges needs something stark and shiny white. And something black. You have to interject elements that add intense personality. Make it gutsy, or else it's boring." –Betsy Brown

6. Don't Go Overboard
"When any color scheme is taken too seriously, it loses its power. You need to know when to pull back. A two-color scheme can be great, but there has to be some relief, or it comes across as too pat and makes everything seem stiff." –Tom Scheerer

7. Picture Yourself in the Space
"People don't take into account how they'll look in a room when choosing a color. I just did an apartment where the woman has blue eyes with a bit of a purple tint them, so everything is lavender to purple. She simply glows." –Stan Topol

8. Let a Room Evolve
"When it comes to color, I say, 'Go big or go home.' You have to trust yourself. But you don't have to commit to color all at once — you can play with it as the rooms evolve. Start with one palette and then mix things in." –Ashley Whittaker

9. Choose the Right Finish
"Darker colors in general can read very flat, so use a high-luster finish. Good prep is key to any high-luster paint finish, so skim-coating the walls really helps. If the walls are well prepared, you can get a deep, rich gloss without going to the expense of lacquering." –Meg Braff

10. Depth
"Deep colors contain many other hues, and you have to be just as concerned about the secondary shades that are blended in. Colors that have no depth are oddly fluorescent. They will leap out at you, rather than pull you in. It's a subtle difference, but failure to recognize it is what sometimes makes people afraid of using color." –Suzanne Kasler

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