So the day has come when you have to take a brush, mix up a motley of colors and start painting the walls of your home or office. Wait a minute! Don't you do that every year (or at least once in a few years)? What's new about this time? May be nothing. May be, you like to go for the same old color which has been draping your walls for years. But this time, you are welcome to do something different, something out of the blue that would definitely fish for compliments. Painting your house is an important ritual; your house can just come alive with the right kind of combinations of varied hues and perfect interior decor. So, you would definitely want to give some serious thoughts while choosing the color combinations for your house. Types of Interior Paint Colors Interior painting is an interesting task when you have done everything right, that is, you have shopped for the right kind of paint, got the matching wallpaper and suitable lighting etc; then it is just picture perfect for you. For this to happen, you should know a thing or two about picking paint colors. Colors are graded into two kinds, one set is clubbed as warm colors and the other set is called the cool colors. The warm colors may not be everyone's cup of tea. On the contrary, you might be just the person whose walls can be animated with the right color of green or deep ocean blue. The cool colors may give a soothing feeling to the whole decor of the room. Pink, white, peach are all those colors whose combination have been tried and tested by many people. Warm Colors Red is the warmest of all colors. It sure can make anyone sit up and notice. Although, as a paint color, you might want to avoid it as it can be pretty harsh to the eyes. Mix it with peach, white or any other light color to get a lighter shade of scarlet or crimson. Yellow is another color which will give warmth and calmness. These days, golden shades of yellow are making the headlines where paint colors are concerned. Combinations of yellow with orange, green or red can give an trichromatic effect to your room. Violet, gray or turquoise are some of the other colors which may add grandeur and luminance to the walls. Brass, khaki colors, chestnut or even terra cotta are some popular paint colors. Cool Colors Now coming to those colors which can lighten up your spirits when you enter your room, the so-called cool colors are easy to choose and you can hardly go wrong with them. Colors differ according to moods and occasions. But since, you can hardly paint in every season, the best option is to go for evergreen colors like pastel colors, i.e light green, light orange, shades of pale yellow and of course, light mud brown colors. Make sure that it matches with your furniture and home decor. Pink, even though, loved by all (especially women), is a strict no- no. If you think shades of light pink can change the look of your walls, then you have to be really careful while playing with this color, as it can easily turn out to be an eye-sore. Same applies to lilac and taupe color. So tread carefully while choosing colors for your home. Colors like light rose, tangerine, cyan, peach, coral shades, and dark champagne color are good to go. The Whitening Effect If above colors doesn't interest you, and you are quite gaga about white, then let me tell you that white is not a bad choice after all. White is not just one color, but a chromatic assortment of different colors. White adds slick and neutral impression to the room. You can also easily experiment with white by sprinkling a dash of any other color. Cream, beige, cosmic latte, alice blue, are some examples of the white shades which are considered as the best interior house paints. All the same, keep in mind that your interior decor should be bright and lively to go with white walls. Tips for Picking Out the Right Paint Color There are always some dos and don'ts which need to follow to get the color scheme right the very first time. There are hundreds of colors and innumerable color combinations which can paint on your walls. However, to pick out the right color that reflects your personality and mood, you need to do little homework and buy some sample cans to check out their combinations. Here are some tips that you may find useful:

• Choose one color as primary color and complement it with its light shade (dark green and light green) or contrast it with another color (like red and green).
• Color the walls and other parts of the room a shade lighter from the floor to prevent it from looking too stark.
• If you want to create an impression of a higher ceiling, then paint it with a lighter shade than the walls.
• You can choose one wall as the focal point of the room. For instance, in the bedroom, you can choose the wall which is adjacent to the bed.
• Before you buy any paint color for your home, make sure that you see it in different types of lights. Be it sunlight, incandescent or fluorescent light, the paint color should look exactly as you want it to look on your wall. So, it's best to check the paint color under the lighting of the room you want to paint.
• While testing the paint, you might find the paint color a little darker than expected. Let the paint dry and then only decide whether it is good enough for your house interiors or not.

Deciding the paint color is not enough, you should also have a look at the texture of the paint. There are many different types of paints that are available in the market. Liquid gloss, satin or matte finish paints, latex paints etc. are types of paints, to name a few. You can also create your own paint color. Combinations of colors like maroon with white, can give exciting shades of lavender, whereas violet and red mix would get you, your very own magenta. Thus, follow your instincts while creating your own colors and ideas. If not, you can always revert to your same old familiar interior painting colors, which you earlier had. (I hope not!)