How to Pick Interior Paint Colors (and Keep Your Sanity)

Choosing wall colors can feel dizzying – even paralyzing – especially if you’re trying to do it under the harsh fluorescent lighting of your local paint store (sorry for the shade, guys). Add northern exposure or a polar-vortex-grey sky and suddenly that perfect greige looks like three-day-old lutefisk. Here’s a fool-proof, designer-approved roadmap to getting your paint color right.

1. Start with Stuff, Not Swatches

Pull hues from your Persian rug or quartz countertop. It may come as a surprise, but your walls should play wingman, not diva.

2. Mind the Light

Don’t underestimate the impact of natural lighting. North-facing spaces should lean warm: creamy whites, blush taupes to offset cool blue lighting. South-facing rooms with ample lighting should target cool greens or airy blues to keep glare in check.

3. Build a 60-30-10 Palette

Try to follow a time-tested design principle for achieving a balanced color palette in any room: 60% dominant (such as your walls), 30% secondary (such as your ceilings and cabinets) and 10% accent (trim with personality or a gutsy powder-room door) for cohesion room-to-room. For example, with a north-facing kitchen with less natural sunlight, you can choose a warm, neutral beige color for the walls, a soft gray that’s noticeable, but not overwhelming for the cabinets and a deep navy on baseboards and window casings to add some zing.

4. Test Like a Scientist

Buy ½-pint samples and paint 12×12 in. squares on poster board. Move them around at 9 am, 3 pm, and after you’ve switched on those dimmable LEDs. Paint is cheaper than therapy for “color regret.”

5. Twin Cities Trend Watch

2025’s buzz leans warm-earthy: cinnamon browns, soft mauves, and muted chartreuse. But classic never fails: Benjamin Moore White Dove or Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige still rule listing photos in places like Linden Hills, Wayzata and Edina.