You've decided to repaint your living room. And after searching through an overwhelming selection of samples at the paint store, you make a decision based on a tiny color chip.

You have gallons of the paint mixed and take it home, but as the color goes onto the walls, you realize something has gone horribly wrong. What you thought was a nice, soft green on the little sample becomes a vivid shade of chartreuse when it covers big areas of the wall and your lighting hits it.

Devine Colors (ENLARGE)

This is the living room before being painted.

Devine Colors (ENLARGE)

The living room after a new coat of paint.

Devine Colors (ENLARGE)

The dining room before being painted.

Devine Colors (ENLARGE)

The dining room after.

RELATED LINKS: • Choose paint colors with help from a pro • Consumer Reports' top paint brands • More shopping stories

Does this scenario sound familiar? Many people struggle over choosing the right paint colors for their homes. There are literally thousands of paint colors out there — enough to confuse and intimidate almost anyone.

By taking some precautions, though, you can make sure the color you choose is the one you really want.

• Try not to make a snap decision. Atlanta interior decorator and color consultant Daryl Thompson advises taking home a variety of color samples and studying them in relation to the furnishings in the room.

• Once you single out a paint color, Thompson recommends having just a quart of the color mixed and painting a large poster board with it. She tells people to tape the poster board to the wall to make sure it goes well with the furnishings and lighting in the room. Sometimes, underlying tones in the paint can be detected that may not have been seen at first glance.

"Color can be a funny thing. It can look different in different lighting. It can even look different on different walls of the same room. Take the poster board from wall to wall and look at it at different times of the day," Thompson said.

• Dark colors tend to make a room look darker, so it is best to use those in rooms with plenty of light. Thompson recommends dramatic dark colors for well-lit, informal areas, and more subtle neutral colors for formal areas, but she said it's all about individual preference.

"You're not boxed in on what you can do with color. There really are no absolute rules," Thompson said. "Let your home express your personality."

• It's cheaper to change a room color than to change furnishings, so Thompson recommends finding a color that complements furnishings rather than overwhelming them.

"See how the color blends with the rest of the room. The color should tie everything together. Walls are like the canvas of your home — the backdrop for furniture and accessories," Thompson said.

• Many paint brands offer consumers help with color selection. Companies have their color lines displayed on their Web sites. Consumers can choose colors and paint sample online rooms for free. For a small fee, shoppers can upload pictures of their own rooms to paint. These systems can give buyers some ideas, but it is not a good tool for final color selection because the colors on computer monitors usually look different than the actual paint.

• For those who still feel uncomfortable about choosing colors, many companies or interior designers offer color consulting services. For an hourly rate, designers will walk through homes, meet with homeowners and recommend specific paint colors.

Atlanta muralist and decorative painter Caroline Camick often does color consulting for people who are agonizing over colors. Instead of getting individual color samples, she recommends getting a paint wheel to look at the colors in relation to each other. She said it helps to look at the colors surrounding a sample to determine what underlying tones the color might be hiding.

"I have seen so many people get really frustrated with color," said Camick. "It seems so simple, but it is strangely complicated."

DO TRY THIS AT HOME

Some companies sell special sample-size cans of paint for testing.

If a sample size is not available, buy a quart-size can to try out the color in your home. Expect to pay anywhere from $8 to $14 for a quart, but remember, buying a sample is cheaper than painting an entire room in the wrong color.

Here are a few companies that sell samples on their Web sites or in stores:

• Benjamin Moore has 2-ounce paint samples in many of its colors for $4.99.

• Sherwin-Williams sells sample paints called Color to Go for $4.99 that will cover about 75 square feet.

• Ralph Lauren Paints offers a 2-ounce test packet of color for $3.99.

• Behr sells Preview Samples, which are 8-ounce cans of colors that come in a package with a paint roller tray, roller, handle, application guide and matching preview swatch for $6.95.

• Devine Color has Mini Paint Pouches, which cover about 4 square feet. They cost $12 for three colors. Devine also sells 8-by-10 preprinted paper sheets of its colors for $2.99.