An alternative to painting a whole wall is just painting the trim on doors and windows. It's a smaller job, uses less paint, requires far less prep time (you don't have to mask the whole room to death, or move as much furniture), and can have a great, subtle effect, especially in a small space like a bathroom. Here, dark colors and jewel tones look great. Sand wood to remove loose chunks, masking-tape off the wall, and paint away. From blah to ta-da in an afternoon.

Choose a finish
Paint comes in a variety of finishes: flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss and high-gloss. Flat or eggshell is what you probably have now. It's, you know, flat. (Eggshell is a little smoother to the touch than flat). The other three finishes offer varying degrees of shininess: satin is slick to the touch with just the slightest sheen, semi-gloss is a bit slicker and shinier, high-gloss is very shiny and feels almost like plastic (Because, well, it is. This is LATEX paint we're talking about, after all.)

Be aware that the finish you choose will have an effect on how you perceive your color — so there's a good chance that the color will look much different on your walls than in that paint chip. Higher gloss paints look lighter because of the shine, and most other finishes will make the color come out ever-so-slightly darker. And it seems obvious to say, but a whole wall of a color is different than a little card. Have the paint store check your mixed paint against the sample card before you leave. Even still, don't pitch a hissy fit if there's some minor difference.

Alright then, troops, commence wall-contemplating, store-scouting, sample card accumulation and that all-important Paint Chip Thunderdome. Look for the how-to on pad prep and painting in Lounge in two weeksI