Perfect paint and color can make a
great difference to your home décor project. Here
are some tips for amateur home decorators and
professional interior designers that can help them
understand the color basics and make paint selection
easier:
Alkyd or oil-based paints are good for wood
painting and does not leave it sticky in winters but latex or
water-based paints dry faster, can be cleaned with soapy water
and does not turn yellow easily and is thus, better for walls.
Chosen paint colors may look different in
different lights, at daytime and at night. So, you may want to
access the look of the room in different lights and according
to the function of the room.
Colors can look darker or lighter over a
large area depending on the colors of the surroundings and
lighting in the room, so keep that in mind while choosing the
right tint or shade of the color.
Dark and warm shades make rooms look smaller
such as red, orange, yellow and even dark shades of navy blue
while light and cool colors make the room look larger and more
spacious such as light shades of blue, green and even violet.
Best colors for small rooms are white and light and pale
neutral colors.
For an open, spacious and airy look in a room
with chair rails, paint the portion below the chair rail in a
dark shade and the wall above it in a light shade.
Generally, ceilings are painted in pure
white, off white and tinted white colors to make them appear
high and make the room look open but if ceilings are high
enough, one can use medium to dark colors to make the room
look cozier as they tend to make the ceiling advance to the
eyes of the viewer.
Since colors affect the mood, choose relaxing
muted colors for bedrooms and stimulating colors for kitchen
and dining room.
Taking furniture, window treatments and
accessories of the room into consideration, determine the
color scheme of the room.
To add bold dash of colors to the room, use a
darker shade to paint the trims than the walls.
To add subtle accents to the room, use a
lighter shade to paint your trims.
To calculate the amount of paint you need for
a room, multiply the height of the room by its perimeter
taking care not to count the doors, windows and archways in
the room to calculate its wall space. Then ask the paint
stores for the exact amount of paint your will need for the
calculated wall space of the room and number of coats you are
planning for. Since blue and yellow colors need more coats,
you will need more of them, in case you are using them.
To disguise an unattractive trim or achieve a
monochromatic, uniform look, paint your trim in the same color
as your walls.
To soften the look of a bold color on walls,
you can try rag rolling, sponging or color washing the walls
using a light muted shade.
