Lauren Hom thinks you should paint your bedroom. The Clare Collective ambassador, known for her whimsical and vibrant style, is a big believer in paint’s ability to transform spaces and take them from blah to breathtaking. Picking the perfect paint color (or colors) is more than just a decision; it’s a journey and a fun one at that. Take her latest paint project, a colorful guest bedroom, featuring Frozen, Sriracha, Golden Hour and Pop. Once an all-white space, each wall has taken on its own personality thanks to a coat of paint.

Before

After

Consider Your Guests

Lauren met her friend-turned-client, Zipeng Zhu, in college. The fellow designer wanted to elevate his guest bedroom, make it feel more fun, and provide friends and family with a special place to rest their heads at the end of the day. Initially, the room’s design was an afterthought (as guest bedrooms sometimes can be) and was purely functional for out-of-towners.

Unlike the rest of Zipeng’s home, which is maximalist and filled to the brim with color, this room wasn’t. Physical spaces affect our mood and color is a big part of that. Lauren wanted to make the room feel cohesive with his space, but showed off his personality too.

Match Paint With Your Personality

When it came to choosing the palette, Zipeng’s own work provided the inspiration. His graphic, boldly colored designs featuring bright primary and secondary colors were easy to match with Clare colors.

As the room has a small window and light varies throughout the day, they swatched each color to make sure they looked good under all lighting conditions. They chose Frozen, a cool, icy blue, Sriracha, a red-orange, Golden Hour, a golden yellow and Pop, a peachy pink. Rose Season, Before Sunrise, and Baby Soft were all original contenders for the pink shade, but the rich peach-toned notes of Pop won out, holding its own against the others.

Paint the Outlets

While the paint added a new dimension to the guest bedroom, Lauren took the extra step of painting the outlet covers and the screws to make the whole room feel a bit more luxe and considered.

Pro tip: Don’t paint the outlet covers on the wall or they will stick. Remove the covers and paint before rescrewing to the walls.

Think About a Dual Purpose

When Z’s guest room is not in use for guests, it acts as an office for taking calls, for photoshoots, and for giving online talks. Since each wall is a unique color, it makes a great backdrop that not only matches his style but is way more intriguing than any Zoom background.

The room’s dual purpose was top-of-mind when it came to deciding how to paint. A pattern or mural would’ve enlivened the room, but a new color on each wall offers multiple backgrounds. When painting a guest room, consider your guests, but also how you’ll use the room after they head home.

Go For Visual Contrast

When using multiple paint colors in one room, think about how they will look together and which colors should be paired. After arranging via Photoshop, Lauren and Zipeng decided to on Golden Hour near the window next to the strip of Srirarcha. If Srirarcha was pressed up against Pop, the coral and red would look too similar.

Planning your own paint project? Remember to swatch in different lighting, paint your outlets, and pick colors that speak to your personal style for a winning look every time.