Q & A for Kera

My friend Kera had a lovely little design question and I wanted to give her some feedback!
Let's set the color mood, shall we...

Q.
"So I've heard that there's an unwritten, or maybe in the design world a written rule, that the paint colors of your house need to go together. Do you suggest using similar shades or using complementary colors? Whats your thoughts on this? I ask this knowing what color I want my living room to be (sea foam) and my bedroom (medium-toned lime), which leaves my kitchen and bathroom. Do you think I should stick with one of these two colors or use a lighter yellow or a blend of the two." - Kera

A.
Well My little Purdue Princess, it may just be an unwritten rule, however there are ENDLESS ways to make it work. Here are some options that may work for you:

1. Choose your paint colors based on what will be going into a specific room (such as favorite pieces, fabrics, shower curtains, paintings, window views, etc.) - This is probably the easiest way because designs often fall flat without inspiration and a concept.

2. If areas are open to one another, it can be a little more tricky. Sometimes, you can look at the paint deck (where your sea foam color came from) and choose a color that is adjacent to (left or right) or on the same strip (up or down).

3.You can also choose a complementary color by looking on the color wheel (I believe salmon is sea foam's partner in crime.) Just stick with the same color intensity (lightness and brightness vs heaviness and darkness).

4. Another option is to bring out or tone down your existing finishes, such as choosing a color that is the background of the wood grain in your cabinets or flooring (in your case, those would be neutrals).

Try uploading a photo of your room using Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer, and see how it will look before you make that big color commitment.

6. And of course, if you really want some straight answers from your truly -

Living room - Sea foam! It's working!

Bathroom - A soft melon, or turquoise (to enhance the curtain and still complement the living space)

Bedroom - A rich taupe (if you keep the pink, black and orange) also keeping in mind that us girls love to change our bedding, so color commitment is sort of hard - for me anyway.

Kitchen - A soft lime only a few shades away from your sea foam would be beautiful (perhaps a lime with a hint of brown undertones). I think it would also bring out the color of your cabinetry in a cool, chic, retro kind of way.