Color Sets the Mood

• As you choose a new paint shade for your family room, keep in mind that color has a great deal to do with the mood of a space. Cool colors such as blue and green create a feeling of relaxation and calm. They can make a space seem bigger, so they are a good choice for a small room. Warm colors such as orange, yellow and red are friendly and inviting, and give a room a cozy feeling. The depth of a color can also affect the feel of a room -- light shades give a feeling of expansion; deep shades pull the walls in. If you are interested in trying a bold color, but aren't quite sure about having it throughout the room, consider using that color on just one wall, and painting the rest with a coordinating but calmer hue.
  
  

Coordinate With the Rest of Your Home

• Consider the color scheme of the rest of your home. Choosing a shade that harmonizes with the existing colors in your home creates an easy flow from your family room to the rest of the house. If you already have family-room furniture, you may find inspiration for a paint color in the pattern of your couch, or a rug or pillow. You may even find a color from a piece of artwork you wish to hang in the room.
  
  

Helpful Websites

• There are numerous paint company websites, such as BenjaminMoore.com, Sherwin-Williams.com and TrueValuePaint.com, that offer inspiration in choosing shades and combining colors. Some sites even allow you to upload a photograph of your room and "virtually" change the color to help you visualize how it will look.
  
  MyPerfect Color.com lists the best-selling paint colors used in family rooms. The majority of colors are neutrals in the ivory to tan range, including beige, bisque, cream, sand and buff. A few darker colors on the list are moss, stone, sage and russet. This website might be a good starting point in choosing the shade for your family room, but it is most important to choose a color simply because you like it and it reflects the mood you are after, not because it is popular.
  
  

Try Paint Samples

• Paint chips from the store are helpful when you are narrowing down color ideas, but you never really know how a shade of paint will look on your walls until you apply it with a roller and view it in different lights. Many paint companies now offer sample containers of paint, mixed to your choice of shades, so you can paint a small area of the room to see how it will actually look in the light of your own home. If you prefer, you can apply the paint to some white posterboard, then place it on different walls to see the effect. Paint samples are an inexpensive way to test out different options. Be sure of your choice before you commit to purchasing a whole gallon of paint.