Repainting a room is one of the least expensive ways to change its look and feel. Many people, excited by the idea of redecorating, rush off to the nearest paint store to find swatches of colours they like. Others scour home magazines for trendy color schemes and ideas. But how do you know whether a color will suit your space, or whether you will tire of it on your walls?

Here is a tip for selecting a color that will appeal to you: Pick a small item you own and love, and use it as the inspiration for your new color scheme. This could be a piece of art, a throw blanket, a decorative pillow or a knick-knack. I once did an entire room based on the colors of my favorite mug. Since you are picking an item you like, the colors will appeal to you. Since this item probably contains more than one color, you now have a ready-made color scheme of several hues that complement each other nicely. Since it is an item from your existing decor, it probably matches well with other things you own. Once you have chosen your item, you can head off to the hardware store to find swatches that match the colors.

Because you now will have several colors to choose from, here are some ways to help you decide which will be best on your walls. If you like neutral colors, you could simply pick the most neutral tone from among your swatches. If your inspirational object was made up entirely of bright tones, you can find a neutral shade by choosing the lightest shade on one of the paint swatches you now have (most paint swatches come with several shades of the same color, ranging from dark to light). If you prefer deeper colors on your walls, choose a deeper shade from among your swatches. One tip for painting a room in darker colors is to choose paint that is one shade lighter than the one you want. Colors tend to look darker on your walls than they do on swatches, because large areas are not lit up as easily as tiny ones, and because the walls reflect some of the color onto each other.

Lastly, I would like to offer some advice about what objects to pick for inspiration. It is very easy to think: I will choose my sofa, that way my room will all match. Be wary of choosing your sofa. It is large and probably already the focal point of your room. Painting your walls to match with make your room look bland. Also, most sofas have only two or three colors, and your room will look contrived and boring if you are limited by these. One way to get around this is by playing with shades, such as using a pink tone if your sofa has red in it, or you could choose a color that only appears in small amounts on your sofa rather than one of its main colors. These same warnings apply if you are choosing an area rug as your inspiration. All in all, it is more exiting to choose a smaller object with a more varied palette. Chances are there is a shade somewhere on it that will go well with your existing furniture or floor covers.

Once you have chosen your wall color, you can use the remaining colors from your chosen object as accents - perhaps for trim, curtains, rugs, throws, or cushions. If you are purchasing new furniture you could consider these colors as well. Remember to include your inspirational object as part of the decor in your new room - it will look great and will tie the whole scheme together!