Choosing Paint Color

When choosing paint color, you have to know that there is no right or wrong way to go about it. This is simply because paint color ideas are very subjective, just like the rest of interior home decoration aspects.

Thus, you must always stay true to yourself without sacrificing general aesthetics because you want to balance personal expression with letting others show their appreciation for your handiwork!

But subjective as choosing paint colors can be, there are practical tips to choosing paint color that is perfect for your interior decorating vision for the room.

Assess the Room

Your paint color ideas must start with a thorough and thoughtful assessment of the room in question. You can take an inventory of the furniture and fixtures to determine what will stay and what will have to go. For example, choosing paint color for the wall’s background and accent paints will depend on the color tones of the furniture and fixtures; you can disregard changeable décor like throw pillows and lamps.

In essence, you have to work with the room’s existing furniture and fixtures when you want to save on costs. However, when you have money to spare for a few new pieces, then you can go against the existing grain and opt for a new color scheme.

Of course, you must assess the walls and windows, floors and ceilings of the room. After all, paint treatment for a flat wall will considerably differ from that accorded to a curved wall, not to mention that the right paint can help make a room appear smaller or larger! Also, the type of floor material used -wood, marble, tiles, and granite - will determine the color of paint that will complement it. As to ceilings, you have to determine whether you want it to appear lower or higher, which will affect the process in choosing paint colors.

Your assessment of the room must also include the focal point in the room’s interiors that you wish to highlight. For example, you can emphasize the carvings on the bay window with subtly contrasting paint.

Assess The Lighting

The room’s existing lighting plays a significant part in choosing interior decorating paint color that will be perfect for what you have in mind. This is because colors will look different under lighting conditions, be it of the natural variety or the artificial type, which can have major effects on your existing paint color ideas. For example, if the room does not receive natural sunlight and has dark colors, you might want to think in terms of sunnier, lighter colors. Or if it receives more natural lighting than the rest of the house, then you can play around more with colors.

Buy Small Paint Samples

Just always remember that you have to consider the effect of lights on color and subsequently, the effect on the ambience of the room and the individuals entering it. Once you have selected the color palette you want, always ask for color samples. Now more and more paint companies are offering small paint samples that let you go home and actually paint a small area on the wall. This really helps. Even paint the sample colors in different areas of the room depending on the light. You have to determine whether your paint color ideas truly match reality. Besides, repainting can be time-consuming, which only serves to emphasize the need to think twice when choosing paint color. So take this extra time to try some paint samples and you won't be sorry.