All aspects of house décor are based on personal preference, which is clear from the fact that some people prefer minimalist, monochromatic Scandi interior design while others adore texture and vibrant, bohemian flair. It’s true that incorporating color into interior design isn’t for everyone, but interior designers and color specialists believe there are numerous advantages to bringing more color into your living space. Diverse color palette present around your home can affect your mood in subtle ways, making you a little happier or more concentrated by just being on a background.
Before you add color to your home, there are many factors to think about, but it’s not uncommon for eager painters to completely overlook them, which occasionally leads to regrettable interior design decisions. In this article we will share with you some secrets and advice from color and interior design professionals that reveal the blunders to avoid and offer their suggestions for using color to create the ideal house.
Don’t Take on Grand Projects Right Away
It’s better to start modestly if you intend to do the decorating yourself because it can feel a little intimidating. Paint the inside of a bookcase or cabinet to get the hang of it, choose a project that will make you happy and isn’t too difficult. Even though it may be tempting to avoid it, priming and undercoating are necessary to stabilize surfaces and get them ready for painting. Painting preparation always takes more time for professionals than painting itself. Although tedious, the longer the paint will last and the better it will look the more care you take now.
Don’t Limit Yourself to “Neutrals”
If you look up the articles talking about the best ways of raising property value, you may find yourself being overwhelmed with a message of staying as neutral as possible. Playing safe and universal when it comes to the color scheme of your home is but one way of approaching this issue.
The other answer to this endless debate over what makes for the “best color palette” is deciding that what works for you here and now is undoubtedly the best. When choosing to make decisions based on what makes you feel comfortable and happy in your space, you don’t end up wasting your time trying to rationalize others’ clinical and statistics-based opinions in application to your everyday life. Decide based on your tastes and wants unless you bought the house specifically to flip it or you’re planning to move out in half a year.
Mind Daylight Access and General Surrounding Lighting Levels
People occasionally fail to notice how significantly color can shift depending on the lighting. Consider lighting levels in the rooms you utilize in the morning and at night while examining the color you’re testing in both natural daylight and artificial evening light.
The most frequent error is believing that painting a small, dark room with a light color will improve it; in reality, this just serves to make the space look drab. It may seem paradoxical to choose a vibrant color in such a setting, but the effects may be incredibly theatrical and much more stimulating than any attempt to make a room appear lighter by painting it white. Take inspiration from nature; if the room is filled with natural light, make the most of it by using a light tone. Warmer paint colors work better in north-facing rooms because they naturally exhibit more cooler tones.
Avoid Test-Swatching in Close Proximity
Experts strongly advise buying test pots of paint before committing to the full-size tin, but painting a row of several swatches next to one another on the wall you’re redecorating isn’t actually that helpful. Each color you’ve chosen must be seen separately since it will seem differently when compared to other colors.
Instead, acquire a large piece of cardboard, old wallpaper, or lining paper and make a swatch as large as your tester pot will allow, which is actually fairly large. Then just tape it against the wall with masking tape. The advantage is that you can move the swatch around and see how the color appears in various areas of the room, giving you a much better idea of how the color will seem overall. The fact that you won’t have to paint over all those tiny squares when it’s time to decorate is another benefit.
Keep Your Overall Color Palette in Mind
It is simple to find a color online or in person, fall in love with it right away, and buy it—only to discover that it looks out of place once you’ve painted with it. This can be the case if the color and tone selection doesn’t go well with the furnishings, finishes, or general color scheme of the house. Therefore, it is crucial to acquire paint samples first before you commit to a full bucket or two of that paint you liked. Order a few shades of the color you’re interested in, and examine how they match your joinery, floor finishes, and your other priceless possessions that you wouldn’t want to get rid of for the sake of one change.
Let’s Not Forget Other Room Features
Of course, when it comes to painting, you’re not limited to only the walls, but it’s crucial to choose where you want your eye to be drawn before adding color elsewhere.
The color you choose for your skirting, windows, and doors is just as crucial as the color you choose for your walls. A common error is to automatically use simple white on this trim, which can ruin the design of the space, especially if you are using soft, muted colors on the walls, and bring attention to unsightly areas. It is preferable to select a complementary white that has the color of the walls as an undertone because this will create a calmer, more well-planned area. As an alternative, you can choose a deeper tone to make the area feel lighter or the wall color itself to make ugly features disappear and the room feel bigger.
This point is especially important when we talk about ceilings, as they are often overlooked when it comes to painting. To many it is, however, frequently counterintuitive to utilize color on ceilings. There is no requirement that ceilings be white; in fact, doing so frequently makes the color of the walls appear deeper and lowers the perception of ceiling height since it emphasizes the boundary between the wall and the ceiling.
Be Careful with Feature Walls
If used properly, feature walls – one odd wall that is purposefully planned differently to other walls around it – may be a wonderful addition to a vibrant home. Four colored walls will have a significantly different impact than one colored wall. So, for instance, painting one wall with a really deep, dark color won’t produce the drama you adore in that color. However, they do have a place in a house if you know how to utilize them best. If you want to draw attention to some artwork, a specific architectural feature, or to divide up an open floor plan, you should employ them. However, an experienced interior designer should advise you on how to employ this idea in the best manner possible, as this balance can be tricky to strike when it’s attempted by an amateur.
We hope that these few coloring tips have given you some food for thought on what and how you could paint around your home to give it character and make it vibrant and best suited for your unique needs and desires. Don’t be afraid of making changes around your place so that a house can become a loved, cherished home for you and your people!
