Choose Paint Colors with Confidence — Not Guesswork
Color By The Numbers™ is a self-paced online course teaching a practical, objective method to evaluate color in your own home.
No trends. No “just trust your gut.” Just a repeatable, evidence-based process you can use again and again.
Prefer a quick overview?
Watch this 1-minute walkthrough of how Color By The Numbers™ works.
Understanding Paint Color—Made Clear and Practical
Color By The Numbers™ teaches a clear, evidence-based method for choosing interior paint colors without guesswork, trends, or overwhelm.
Designed for homeowners, home sellers, real estate agents, and home stagers, this self-paced course breaks color evaluation into 7 focused lessons you can use immediately in real spaces.
You’ll learn how to:
- Evaluate color using hue, value, and chroma
- Identify undertones without second-guessing
- Use spectral data to compare paint colors objectively
- Choose neutrals that stay neutral
- Select the right white paint for your space
- Understand how light affects color perception
What This Course Helps You Do
Most paint advice is subjective. This course isn’t.
You’ll learn how to:
- Apply a repeatable method for evaluating paint color
- Make confident decisions without trends or guesswork
- Understand when details like LRV actually matter and when they don’t
This course is not:
- a color consultation
- a list of trendy paint colors
- a one-size-fits-all recommendation
It IS:
- a method you can use in your own home, on your own timeline
Once you understand the process, choosing paint colors stops feeling emotional and starts feeling logical.
Who Color By The Numbers™ Is For
Color By The Numbers™ is ideal for:
- DIY homeowners choosing paint colors for their own homes
- Home sellers who want paint decisions they won’t regret
- Real estate agents and home stagers who want color confidence
- Anyone overwhelmed by undertones, whites, and “why this color looks wrong”
If you’ve ever stared at paint chips wondering what you’re missing, this course is for you.
Still deciding? Read this first: How to Choose Paint Colors That Actually Work (No Regrets)
What You’ll Learn
Inside the Course: 7 Focused Modules
- The Basics of Color (without the fluff)
- How to Identify Hue, Value & Chroma
- Understanding LRV (and when to ignore it)
- Evaluating Natural & Artificial Light
- Decoding Neutral Paint Colors
- How to Choose the Right White Paint
- Putting It All Together: Step by Step
Each module is short, practical, and designed to apply immediately in your home.
What You Get When You Enroll in Our Paint Color Course
- 100% online, self-paced access (12 months)
- Video lessons you can revisit anytime
- Practice activities and quizzes
- Downloadable workbook with:
- Checklists and worksheets
- Spectral data breakdowns for:
- 20 popular near-neutral paints
- 20 popular white paints
(Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore)
Designed to help you evaluate any interior paint color—not just a specific brand or palette. You’ll finish with a repeatable process, not a one-time answer.
Meet Your Instructor
I’m Vannessa Rhoades, creator of Color By The Numbers™. Since 2013, I’ve helped homeowners, sellers, and real estate professionals make confident color decisions using a practical, objective approach to paint selection. This course distills that experience into a clear, repeatable system you can use on your own.
Want more help choosing paint colors? Start with our no-regrets guide.
What Students Say
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers!
FAQ About the Online Color Course
This course focuses on interior paint color selection using an objective evaluation process.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed specifically for homeowners and color enthusiasts!
While home stagers, e-designers, painters, and paint store pros will learn new strategies for predicting and managing how color will render in a space and are absolutely invited to enroll, please understand this is not a professional-level course and does not provide any certification or CE credits. It does provide lots of practical, evidence-based information about color in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format.
Is this course 100% online?
Yep! Even your Workbook is a fillable PDF! (We strongly recommend using a desktop or laptop computer, though. Some features may be harder to use or access on a mobile device.)
What’s in the course? What will I learn?
Take a look at our course syllabus below:
How do I access the course?
Create an account at checkout, and you’ll be able to download your Course Workbook (a fillable PDF) and Instructions to Access the Course (PDF) immediately after purchase. You’ll also receive links to download these documents via email. You can log into your account on our website to download at any time. Your course access is valid for one year from the date of enrollment.
How long will it take me to finish the course?
Many students finish the course in one day, but it’s self-paced so you can go as slow or fast as you like! The course is comprised of 7 videos that average about 10-minutes each. Re-watch as many times as you want. You’ll have access to the course for a full year from your date of enrollment.
Will this course teach me how to choose exterior colors as well?
Not necessarily. While many of the basic color principles you’ll learn can be applied when selecting exterior paint colors, in this course our emphasis is on choosing interior paint color with respect to lighting and interior finishes.
Will I learn how to mix paint colors in this course?
No. We teach you how to predict and manage paint color that’s dry on the walls. Handling the complex chemical composition of pigments and base formula is best handled by the experts at the paint store, and we teach you how to maximize the potential of what they have to offer.
Are you trying to trick me into taking chemistry? Will I have to do a bunch of complicated math and formulas?
No way. There’s very little math involved (nothing a third-grader couldn’t do). It sounds and looks a little overwhelmingly scientific and mathematical at first blush, but the process really isn’t that complex. You just need someone to show you how to apply it to choosing paint colors…and we’re pretty good at teaching people!
Does the process your course teaches only work for certain paint brands? Do I need a fan deck?
Nope – our process works for all of them! What we teach you in this course applies to all paint brands! No more eyeballing those tiny little chips trying to see invisible undertones. Once you learn how the science of color works, tools like fan decks just become fun bonuses.
Not Ready to Enroll Yet? Start Free
We share our favorite white paint colors for design, explain which whites work best for certain spaces, and show you real-life photo examples of each color in action!
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