Deciding on paint colour

It all depends on personal taste, purpose of renovation, for example renting and budget really.
For rental properties you are best sticking to neutrals such as cream or white. These are cheaper and available in bulk and allow prospective tenants to visualise living in a property as it is essentially a blank canvas.
The same applies for selling.
If it's a property for you to live in, I would personally paint everywhere white anyway. This gives a good base on the walls for starters!
Live with it for a while if you are unsure about colours. You will soon get a feel for where can handle bold darker colours or where is in need of something bright to bounce light around. Living somewhere first will enable you to see how the light changes at various times of the day. And the hard work of a decent base will already be in place!

 

It's a mine-field, Mike.

All I can suggest is do a Google search for summat like 'neutral colour schemes', select 'images' and see what you get.

Or stick yer nose in to as many other people's houses as you can!

Actually, a good thing to try is to visit 'show' homes on new build estates - they are usually very clever at selecting good colour schemes that will suit most people.

 

Go to your nearest 'Trade' paint center and take a look at their swatches and ask advice. Some great people in those places. (Dont ask in B&Q!)

 

One word. Magnolia. Or something like it (plain, neutral, inoffensive).

Having said that, I've seen Magnolia colours range from quite yellow to just off-white.

 

Magnolia is light so brightens a room and it isn't pure white so you don't feel you're in a mental institution.
And it's cheap.

Why go for "Cornish cream in the sunshine" (I made that name up), or some other more expensive Magnolia knock off when the colour of a room is as much determined by the light sources as the paint?

Take two rooms with identical light walls where you can see both rooms together. Often the rooms will appear to be different colours depending on the amount of natural light, the time of day and the types of artificial light.

I think there are a lot of colours which are really magnolia, but want to appeal to the market which is snobby about magnolia (because it's so common).
Yes, "Dulux Warm wheat fields", I'm looking at you (I don't know if that one exists either).

Magnolia. It's common because it's good.

 

Me: I'll paint it Magnolia,
The Mrs: No I hate Magnolia, I'd much prefer a warm creamy off white sort of colour that more "modern".
Me:

 

Although having said that, the "in" colour seems to be a kind of coffee "latte" colour, more a whitish brown. So off-white brown rather than cream/yellow.

 

Prize Plum ....

 

So more Light Black than Dark White?

 

Recently decorated all interior walls in a bungalow Dulux Trade 'Jasmine White' with white ceilings and woodwork whilst another job was painted all through with Dulux Trade 'Nutmeg White' again complemented with white ceilings and woodwork, pale Grey tones are also popular at the moment. Little Greene & Co 'Linen 33' also a good choice.

 

There are a few shades of remoaner blues.
Or Brexit Sunshine.

 

Both go well with B & Q's own branded paint 'Do I Smell the Brown Stuff'

 

Light Oak being a good neutral colour will pretty well suit most colour shades