Best paint colors for any room in your house

"It sets up the temperature, the depth, the mood, and the atmosphere for all the other colors to be layered and featured." In other words, choosing the right wall color will make or break your room, and given the thousands of paints on the market, it can be a daunting task.

We asked two color experts, Schauffler and Puji Sherer, to help simplify the decision-making process. An artist by trade, Schauffler started her paint line in 1998 out of her Portland garage, and Devine Color’s 136 hues are now manufactured and distributed by Valspar.

Sherer is the President and Chief Color Nerd at Colorhouse Paint, a line of 128 shades crafted for interiors from a non-toxic formula. Below, they offer tips for selecting a personal color palette, as well as some of their favorite schemes.

To avoid results like this, review potential shades in the space, by painting a swath on a big poster board or section of the wall. "When you’re choosing color from a small paint chip, it’s hard to recognize the undertones," says Sherer.

It’s a bright, untinted white, so no pesky undertones to decipher, and it works well on walls, trim, and ceilings.

She assesses the color of the flooring and wood tones, as well as the furnishings, fabrics, and accessories that are staying put. In her living room, she ended up selecting neutral walls (Nourish .03) that were somewhat "muted and subdued." Paired with the light pink Devine Poodle, it makes for a sweet little girl’s room.

Combined with a charcoal or chocolate color, like Devine Cocoa, it gains sophistication. Sherer points to Almost Ripe, Colorhouse’s 2017 color, which is a "yellow-green bordering on fluorescent." For restful retreats, go with cooler hues, like blues and greens, which promote calm and peacefulness. "Any colors that are a little bit on the cooler side are great for bedroom spaces," Sherer says. Warm and energetic colors, such as yellows, reds, and oranges, are great for social spaces. They are "gathering colors, so they’re good to put in spaces like dining rooms or kitchens, where people sit around the table and share stories, or cook and eat together," Sherer says.

Pro palette: Burnt orange walls, warm white trim, light beige ceiling