Kids’ bedrooms are often an exception to the general wall paint rule of “keep it neutral”. First of all, kids tend to love color--and lots of it--so sometimes neutral walls are a tough sell for the juice box crowd. Second, I always advise selecting fabrics and inspiration pieces before selecting wall color, and bedding and artwork designed for kids tends to be bold and bright (ie: it will not play nicely with many gray and beige wall colors, or even with the more colorful neutrals)!

Compare the two photos below to see how the bright paint colors in the first photo look right at home with the bright bedding, while the neutral paint colors in the second photo—though they have the same range of undertones—look like they flew in from another planet:

I'm a big believer in allowing kids to personalize their rooms, even if it might involve a Disney-inspired wall paint color. However, if you want to offer your child a chance to choose a fun color but don’t want to repaint the whole room every couple of years as your child's color preferences change, you might consider allowing them to choose a color to paint a single accent wall (the headboard wall is the best candidate), and then paint the remaining walls white or another neutral. That way, as your child's tastes change, the accent wall can be repainted in an afternoon.

Another benefit of this approach is that a single bold wall is easier to live with and doesn’t create quite the same intense “immersive” experience as painting all four walls can, especially if the color is either very bright or very dark!

This is especially important for kids who struggle to focus and might feel overly stimulated by a bright red room or neon yellow walls.

As I said in regards to kids’ rooms, I always advise selecting fabrics before selecting wall paint colors. If your home is in a fun beachfront or tropical location, or if your fabrics and artwork feature primarily bright, bold, "clean" colors, you may find that many of the paint colors in the neutral section of the fan will fall flat next to your fabrics (as demonstrated in the example photo above in the discussion on kids’ rooms).

In this case, white wall colors offer a great “main neutral” option (as discussed in this blog post), or you can explore—with caution and much paint sampling—incorporating a couple of wall colors from the “Clown College” section of the paint fan deck.

Just avoid the temptation to paint each room a different color, or you’ll create a disjointed look that designer Betsy Helmuth calls “The Skittles Effect”! Remember that less is more when it comes to paint colors, as discussed in this post!

As I've said before, there are many ways to introduce color in your home without painting it on the walls. The colors in the “Clown College” section of the fan can make wonderful accent colors! Just think of them as seasoning rather than the main course. Just like a dusting of black pepper on your salad makes it interesting, but you probably wouldn’t gobble up an entire bowl of black pepper, these colors are great as accents even if they would feel like “too much” for many people on all of the walls.

Painting furniture with these colors is one way to introduce a pop of color without covering all of the walls. The primary bedroom photo below shows a headboard painted using this homemade chalk paint recipe prepared with a sample jar of Sherwin Williams' "Wondrous Blue". (The walls in the photo are painted with Benjamin Moore's "Cotton Balls".)

I worked with another client who wanted a pop of color in her kitchen but couldn’t find a paint color for her island that complemented her island’s stone countertop. I suggested incorporating bold navy blue stools at the island instead to offer the "pop" that she sought.

What do you think? Are you sold on the idea of sticking to neutral wall paint colors for your home, or will brighter, bolder wall colors forever have your heart?