I admit it, I’m a color snob. This is not to say that I don’t love color — quite the opposite. But, I am particular about the colors I choose for my home. I have specific desires for an emotion that I want each room to invoke.

Our bedroom must be restful and relaxing:

Our kitchen has to be cheery and sunny:

And our living room has the perfect balance of warmth and comfort:

As an artist (I majored in illustration), you might think that picking colors comes easy to me. Actually yes and no. I can usually narrow down the color family that I want for a room, but finding the exact shade, hue, and saturation can be tough. I am drawn to colors that are bold, but when they are large scale on the walls, I find them to be overwhelming.

This is why I’m in love with the new My Colortopia widget from Glidden! My Colortopia asks a few simple questions about personality, mood, design tastes, etc. Within minutes, it dishes up a suggested palette to explore.

When I took the quiz, I was rewarded with these suggestions:

Imagine my surprise! This is the color palette of our mudroom! Light neutral lavender on top of the chair rail, a medium lavender-mauve on the bottom, and the bench is a warm mahogany color.

Why don’t you try taking the quiz for yourself?

A few tips for test driving the color:

1. Pick up a few similar paint swatches. Stick them behind the light switch cover or beside the window and door trim in the room. Try the swatches on different walls and different times of day. A color that looks good on a sunny wall may not look so great on a shady wall.
2. After a week, do you still like the swatches? Which is your favorite?
3. Whoa now, don’t purchase a full gallon yet. Now is a good time to pick up an 8 oz. tester of the color. Paint a 2′ – 3′ section next to the trim in the room and repeat on different walls in the room. (If you are fearful of painting directly on the wall, pick up some white poster board to paint on instead.) Live with the paint squares for a few more days to make sure you truly love the color.
4. If you aren’t quite ready to commit to painting your wall, go ahead and buy some poster boards and paint the swatches on the poster board and hang or prop them up in your room.
5. A few things to keep in mind while you are looking at a color. Be aware that the color may change as the seasons change. Winter yields brighter and cooler colored light in our home because the trees are bare. In the summer, our light changes to a greener cast and less harsh lighting as the trees fill out with leaves. Personally, I wait for summer to roll around before choosing any colors in the green or yellow family. That insures that they still look good with the light reflecting off the leaves and into the room.

If you follow all these steps you are sure to find the perfect color for your room!

If you are still nervous, try asking the Colortopia Team (a group of highly trusted design bloggers!)

Now, go ahead and purchase that gallon of Glidden paint for your room!

You may be interested in these posts for more tips on painting like a pro:

1. How to Prep Before Painting
2. Picking Your Paint and Sheen
3. Painting and Touch Ups

Best of luck on your color adventure! I’d love to see what colors My Colortopia picks for you! Send me a photo or upload it to my Facebook page or Google+.

Disclosure: I have been sponsored by Glidden brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.