The color of a room is one of the most important components of its design.
"Color is really the best way to bring a sense of life and a sense of your own personality to your home," said Amy Panos, the senior editor of Home Design at Better Homes and Gardens.
Better Home and Gardens put out its first-ever color palette with April's collor issue as well as a promotional video with some advice to those choosing colors for spaces.
Even for those who are design-savvy, picking the right tone or hue can be daunting. It's important to make the decision for yourself though.
Fortunately, Better Homes and Gardens and a number of paint suppliers have made it a little easier with palettes and interactive color visualizers.
"There's no wrong way. It all works together and it's like they're their own interior designer," Eddie Ross, the East coast editor and producer for Better Home and Gardens, said of the palette and visualizer. "I cannot tell you the color you need to live with, you need to be happy with the colors you choose."
Here are some of the color visualizers we liked:
My Color Finder, Better Homes and Gardens: Probably our favorite of the bunch. You can upload a photo of your own room as well as choose sample interiors and exteriors on the website. There is also tab that takes you to rooms BHG editors have designed and one that helps you find a local painter. You can go to My Color Finder by clicking here.
Sherwin-Williams Visualizer: The paint company also offers "scenes" or rooms you can paint, in addition to a feature that enables you to upload your own room. Visitors can also download the company's ColorSnap Studio, an iPad app with the same features. To use the visualizer on the website, click here.
Personal Color Viewer, Benjamin Moore: Like the others, visitors can paint sample room or upload their own photo to mix and match paints to choose the right one. Check it out here.
Online Visualizer, Olympic Paints: Has similar features to the others but differentiates itself by enabling visitors to browse color families and collections (or palettes) it has chosen. If you want to see them or upload your own, go here.
Paint Color Visualizer, Pittsburgh Paints: You can upload a photo of a room to paint, like other websites, but another feature sets the company's website apart. Visitors can also upload a photo of a color and the website will match it to the closest it has. It also shows its most popular colors and enables users to share colors with friends. Visit the website here.
