Colour Consideration
Monday, April 1st, 2013
Painting your home is the do-it-yourself renovation that carries perhaps the biggest bang for your buck – not just come resale time, but in terms of adding to your overall enjoyment of your living spaces. Whether it’s developing a unified scheme that pulls together the decor, designating a boldly coloured feature wall to jazz things up, or simply putting up a fresh coat of whatever’s on there already, you can make your home feel like new for a relatively small investment in both time and money. There are a few considerations, however, that might not be immediately obvious.
First, think about the mood and energy level implications of the colours you choose. There’s plenty of information on online that can help you make your rooms’ colours match their purposes, so do your research. Orange, for example, is a cheery, energizing choice that might, at first, seem perfect for your kids’ bedroom; at bedtime, though, the last thing you need is something giving the youngsters extra energy. Maybe green – a tranquil, calm colour – would be a better choice, and save the orange for a play area.
Another consideration is the way people will look in a space painted a certain colour. A light green theme throughout a home, for example, may look beautiful, but might also make guests look perpetually unwell thanks to the light reflecting from the walls, so use moderation.
Finally, remember that rich shades of dark colours could need many, many coats of both tinted primer and paint to achieve the desired effect, and if you ever want to go back to something significantly lighter, it’ll be even more work.
If you have the means, interior designers can be a great asset for ensuring your newly painted home is everything you want it to be, and that you don’t put tones side-by-side that’ll drive you slowly crazy. On your own, though, you can still get great, satisfying results with a little forethought and planning.
