I hired an interior decorator, who picked different colors for every room in my 1550 sq ft house, 10 colors total. I am pretty clueless, but feel this will make the house seem smaller and disjointed even if the colors are complementary. The decorator picked Thunderbird (greenish) for the living room, Little Dipper (yellow) for the Kitchen, Palm Coast (pale yellow) for the Staircase going upstairs and upstairs Hallway. Several people have said I should go with a neutral color throughout (Worldly Grey was one of the neutral colors recommended).

I have no plans to buy a new couch so not sure neutral (grey) would work.

Any help would be appreciated...tired of living like this.

Lay the color chips down side by side to get a feel of how well they work together. Your different shades of yellow look good and should work well together. The Thunderbird really throws me, I would want something a little softer with the yellows, but it may tie in better with one of the other colors. Having rooms different color gives them more depth and can make your space fill bigger. Having everything the same color can make your space seem flat all one surface.

Currently, the floors are a light oak laminate downstairs with the exception of the kitchen which is a light tan/cream colored tile. The stairs & upstairs are carpeted, light tan color. I may be replacing the flooring but that is what I have for now.

I did get a sample of the next color down from Thunderbird, Spring Sky 674 and liked it better...not as bold as Thunderbird.

Also, what about resale? Though I plan to live here at least another few years, will I need to repaint if I choose the colorful palette vs. neutral color throughout?

What style are you going for? (ex: if you want it modern and fresh, white or very light colors work for those kind of spaces. However, if you want a more traditional look, a darker grey may be better.)

While I certainly think all the colors you use should be complimentary as a lot of your rooms are visible from the other ones, you don't need to stick to just one color. I have done it both ways, a different color for every room (which was too much contrast) and all the same color (which was too boring) This last time I used 3 colors in my downstairs space, 2 were complimentary shades of gray for the foyer and hall, which open into the family room and kitchen and the third was a beautiful blue with gray undertones for the living room and dining room. The third time was the charm and I'm finally happy with the turnout. Good luck and please post after pics so we can all admire

Gray is a cool color, so be sure not to put it in darker rooms that don't get much light. I agree with the poster that said don't do so many different colors - try to have a neutral color in between, at the vey least. I think you just have to bite the bullet and chose a color. Yes, neutrals do sell houses better. One thing you could do is put neutral colors throughout, and add color in huge wall art and accessories. If your colorful colors are very light, or have a lot of neutrals in them, you may be able to get away with more variety than just neutrals. You'll have to have a heartfelt conversation with an excellent color person. Make a few calls first to find such a person. Once you find a good person who's willing to engage you in a good conversation about this, go in and they can help you make a choice. My Ace Hardware has brochures with color stories to help with just such a dilemma. Of course, paint stores can help as well. I'm sorry, I don't think gray would go with your couch. Your couch is a more traditional style and warm color (sand). Gray is a little more of a modern style and a cool color. I'd prefer to have either all cool colors in a room or all warm, not both.

If you KNOW you will be selling in less than five years paint it to sale. If you will be there for more than five years paint it to live in.

If you have been living with your home like this for a year because you are feeling uncomfortable about painting the home 10 different colors - then listen to yourself - I think it's telling you it's not the way to go, even if a "decorator" advised you to do so.

Maybe paint one room in the color you are leaning towards and go from there.

Listen to your instincts ...............

10 colors is too many. Your sofa and your kitchen tile will fine tune the color family. If the current color feels too dark in the family room a light to medium khaki tan like Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan or Hush might work. A tan/yellow in the kitchen could be about the same depth as the family room but the yellow will help define the kitchen from a khaki family room; maybe Putnam Ivory for example. It is hard to tell with monitor calibrations, but try to avoid a pinky beige side of tan as the tiles look like they could pull pink. With usually less wall space in a kitchen with more natural light the wall color can be darker. If you limit the colors to three or four the lightest will do well in a hall or darker room. Grays probably will look flat or drab. Light taupes or tans with a gray could be the neutral. Trust like you like---use the colors you find in your closet; favorite shirt, sweater etc---Good luck finishing the walls to help make your house your home.