Choosing Interior Colours
Choose What You Are Comfortable With
Many people seem to be quite comfortable choosing colours in every aspect of their life, except when it comes to their home. They choose colours with ease for their vehicles, accessories and clothing. For some reason when it comes time to pick house colours they have a great deal of anxiety. The bottom line is, pick colours that you like and feel comfortable living with. Choose colours that you already know you like, such as colours in nature, your clothing and decorative items in your home. If you are not wanting to commit to a daring paint colour on your walls, but would like to introduce some bold colours, do it with other decorative accessories, throw pillows or artwork.
Current Trends
If you are interested in the current colour trends, remember that clothing and fashion are usually linked to design trends and influence each other. Check out the latest fashion magazines and you will often see the same colours that are popular in current decorating.
Creating a Mood
It is interesting to note that colour can be a big influence on human emotion and behaviour. Think about the mood you would like to create in a space. What kind of effect are you looking for? Is it a to induce relaxation in a bedroom or playfulness in a child’s room? Are you looking for a calming spa like feeling in your bathroom or trying to create a bold statement in a space?
Fail Proof Choice
For a fail proof and safe choice, go with a monochromatic colour scheme. Use several shades of the same colour. This can easily be accomplished by choosing two or more colours off the same colour strip from a paint store. Check out their brochures as well. Most companies have specific examples of paint colours for interior rooms and photos to look at. Many paint companies now have websites with great decorating inspirations.
New Construction, Renovation or Complete Redecorating
When decorating for new construction or if you are completely redecorating a room, your paint colour should be one of the last things you choose. Always pick the large items first, such as flooring, sofas, drapery and window coverings. There are infinite numbers of paint colours, and you will always be able to find one to compliment what you have chosen.
Picking New Colours For an Existing Room
If you are painting an existing room and need to find a paint colour to go with what you already have, look to the items in the space. Focus on items such as the flooring and your large furniture like sofas and chairs. Look at the fabrics in the space, the draperies, throw cushions, bedding, area rugs or artwork. These can all provide inspiration for your colour choices. Think about the room and how it correlates to the other areas in your house. Remember harmony is the key to good decorating. Colours that create flow throughout your home are more appealing and create the illusion of more space.
How Lighting Affects Paint Colour
One of the main factors that affects paint color is light. Take into consideration the lighting in the room during the day and the artificial lighting at night. Make sure to observe colours during various times of the day. What seems attractive at one time may not be under different lighting conditions. One colour can also appear dramatically different in various areas of the same room. That is why we recommend looking at a colour sample on each wall and area within a space.
Accenting Specific Features or Trim
Be careful if deciding to use different colours within the same space. Don’t just stick in an accent wall for the sake of doing so. We have done our fair share of painting over these in the last few years. This was a trend that has now subsided. If you are creating a feature in a room, make sure it is something that is worth featuring. Some areas that may warrant using different colours or different shades of the same colour within a room are shutters, doors, wall trimmings, mouldings, columns or other interesting architectural aspects.
A recessed wall or a wall at the end of a long hallway might look nice painted with a darker colour than the rest of the space, this can be an attractive way to showcase artwork. Sometimes you will want your trim work and baseboards in a room to stand out from the walls. Choose the colour of the walls first and then pick a complimentary trim colour. Other times it might be best that trim or baseboards blend in. It might not be a good idea to highlight small insignificant baseboards. You can create the illusion of more height in a room if you have low ceilings by painting the baseboards the same colour as the walls.
Ceilings
If you are having your walls painted and think your ceilings may need painting, then this is the time to do it. People often do not realize how discoloured their ceilings have become. It is amazing to see the colour difference once we start applying fresh paint. You might have original textured ceilings in your home, sometimes these have a very gray tone to them. Adding a pleasing white or off white colour will give a room a bright and fresh look. Painting ceilings white can sometimes create an illusion of space, other times it might be best to paint the ceiling a lighter shade of what is on the walls. If a room has really high ceilings you might want to consider painting them with something darker than white or even a slightly darker shade of what is on the walls. This will give the appearance that the ceiling is lower and create a more cozy atmoshphere.
Think About the Big Picture When Using Colour
What looks good on a paint chip might not be so appealing when it is all over the walls of a room. Bold or dark colours are going to magnify in intensity when put over a large space. That colour you may have fallen in love with on the sample may not be what you were expecting when applied it to a large area.
Applying Colour Samples
It can be difficult to choose the paint colour for an entire space from a small colour chip. Keep in mind that although fairly accurate, this is just a print of the colour. The actual paint can vary slightly from the chip and can vary greatly from what you might see as a colour sample on a website. Don’t hesitate to try samples of colour on the wall. Almost all paint stores now sell small sample pots of their paint. Even if they don’t, the small expense of buying a quart of a colour is worth making sure you like it. If you are not comfortable in doing this yourself, we can offer this service with our accepted estimates. There will be a charge for the cost of of the paint. We can offer some assistance in the way of giving suggestions or opinions on what colours will look appealing in your home.