5 Steps to Choose A New Interior Paint Scheme
Everyone knows that one of the best ways to freshen up a tired looking house is a new coat of paint.
However, choosing the right colour can be a chore that fills people with dread. The fear of getting it wrong means lots of people end up sticking with what they already have for years.
Do you think it’s time to get a bit more up-to-date with your decorating choices? You can always leave it to professional painters to help you choose the best colour scheme, but it can also be fun to go through the steps yourself. There are a lot of tips to help you decide what colour is going to complement your room and give you years of joy in the future. Here are our top five.
Mood and Environment
The colour of a room can have a drastic impact on your mood. Did you know that the right colour can make you feel more relaxed and comfortable while you’re at home?
Deciding it’s time for a lick of paint to freshen up your home is the perfect time to see if a new colour scheme might add something to the mood you want your home to provide.
Ask yourself; “is this room a place to wind down after a busy and stressful day, or is it a place to be productive and get things done. Do I want it to look rustic and homey, or impress guests with drama and opulence?” The answers will help you choose the colours that will suit.
For example, blue is known to be the most productive colour, so painting offices or libraries blue will help you focus. If you’re looking for drama and romance in your living area, deep reds and purples will have you feeling like royalty.
Warm and Cool
Colours can not only imply a mood, but also a temperature. Think about whether your room would suit warm colours or a fresher, cooler temperature.
Reds and oranges are the colours you want to turn to create a cosy, warm feeling in a room. For a bright and open look, light greens and blues will help you to achieve the look you’re after.
Test the Colours
Now that you’ve chosen which colours you want to try, it’s time to give them a test.
You need to be able to see the paint colour in context before you start so you can be sure it’s going to work for you. Most paint suppliers will give you a small tester to experiment with.
While you’re testing, compare it to your furniture, carpet, and fittings to make sure it all suits. There’s nothing worse than painting an entire room only to realise that you now need to update your lounge suite to match (although, if you feel like it’s time to upgrade your lounge suite too, this is a great excuse!)
Colour Flow
Are your rooms going to be the same colour or will you mix it up depending on what mood you want in each room?
It can be jarring if there’s no colour flow between rooms, so think about using different shades in the same colour scheme or mix and match the undertones.
Colour Chart
A colour chart will help you see which colours will work well together, and which are going to clash uncomfortably. This is important for not only the colour flow between rooms but also the colour and style of the rest of your furniture and fittings.
Complementary colours are the colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel. Use this when you want to add drama or excitement to a colour scheme. Analogous colour combinations bring harmony and calmness to a room, so if you prefer the subtle look, stick to the three colours sitting next to your base colour.
Giving your home a fresh, new look can be as simple as giving it a new lick of paint. Once you’ve chosen your colour scheme, it’s time to get painting. If you’d prefer to leave the actual painting work up to the professionals, we’d love to help you!
