How To Select the Perfect Color Scheme: Tips from House Painters

4 House Painters' Tips for Interior Color Scheme Selection

Colour greatly impacts a room's overall design and can completely change its atmosphere. And choosing the perfect paint colour for your home can feel overwhelming since so many options are available. Follow these steps to gain confidence in choosing your home’s perfect paint colour.

1. Discover the Perfect Color Scheme for Your Home's Furniture

While countless paint chips can be available, the paint spectrum consists of only seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Here’s what you need to do to create a harmonious colour scheme. Begin by selecting three colours from an item in your home: a pillow from the family-room sofa, a favourite tie or scarf, or an expressive painting. Take this object to the paint store and find sample strips that feature these colours. This will give you 15 to 18 usable colours since each strip typically contains six paint colours.

Next, choose one of the three paint colours as the main wall colour and save the other two for use in fabrics or furnishings throughout the room. You can select another colour from the original three sample strips for adjacent rooms.

Lastly, pick a fourth colour that can serve as an accent. Incorporate this colour in small touches throughout each room, whether through pillows, plates, or artwork. This helps establish a connection between the different spaces of your home.

2. Choose the Right Finish for an Attractive Visual Impact

Once you've finalized your colours, it's important to consider the finish you'll be using. Traditionally, satin finishes were believed to be ideal for walls because they are easy to clean and don't highlight imperfections. Semi-gloss and high-gloss finishes were typically reserved for trim to enhance the curves of mouldings or the panels of doors.

Nowadays, finishes create interesting visual effects on entire walls. For example, you can paint one wall with a flat or satin finish and the adjacent wall with a semi-gloss finish in the same colour. When light hits the walls, it creates a corduroy or velvet-like effect. 

Similarly, painting the walls with a flat finish and the ceiling with a semi-gloss finish can contrast with a matte and shiny appearance. Remember that higher gloss levels draw more attention to the surface. You may draw attention to the best elements of your home by carefully balancing colour and gloss.

3. Choose Colors that Reflect the Desired Mood in the Room

Colours have the power to evoke specific emotions. Generally, cool colours such as blues, greens, and clean whites create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere, while warm colours like red, orange, and yellow add drama and energy. Cool colours work well in private rooms, providing a calming effect, while warm colours are great for social spaces, adding vibrancy. 

Select colours based on the room's purpose and the desired mood you want to create. For social rooms like dining areas, kitchens, and living spaces, warm colours like daffodil-yellow, coral, or cranberry can be chosen. For private rooms such as home offices, powder rooms, and bedrooms, cooler hues like sage green, violet, or sky blue are recommended.

It's important to note that the emotional impact of colours can vary from person to person. What would feel inviting and welcoming to one person could be off-putting to another. For example, red can increase both appetite and blood pressure. Blues and greens create a natural and calming ambience. Children often like purple, but adults may not prefer it. Yellow is considered inviting, while orange can be welcoming but slightly irritating, depending on the shade.

Yellow can stimulate the brain, so it can be suitable for rooms where homework or work is done. However, it's best to avoid yellow in bedrooms, where the goal is usually to create a relaxing atmosphere. Instead, explore calming colours for the bedroom to help promote better sleep.

4. Understand Different Types of White Paint

White paint has many options. There are pure, "clean" whites with no tinted undertones. These are often preferred by designers who want to highlight artwork or furniture and are commonly used on ceilings to create a neutral overhead space.

Other white paints have either warm undertones, such as yellow, rust, pink, or brown, or cool undertones, like green, blue, or grey. Warm whites are suitable for rooms with little natural light or to create a cozy feel in larger spaces.

On the other hand, cool whites can help make a space appear more open. To determine which white works best with the other colours in the room, it's a good idea to test several options simultaneously.

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Choosing Paint Colors

• Being afraid to explore different paint colour options. Overcome the fear of making a mistake by starting with a colour you love, like one from a rug or painting. Test it on the wall; if it's too strong, ask the paint store to adjust it to a lighter shade or tone it down with more grey.
• Using intense colours on the walls if you have a room with a vibrant oriental rug or other strong-coloured elements. Let those pieces be the focal point, and choose lighter colours for the walls.
• Skimping on paint for the walls. Follow the 60-30-10 rule used by designers, where 60% of the colour comes from the walls, 30% from upholstery or floor coverings, and 10% from accents and artwork. Add some liveliness to those plain white walls.
• Relying solely on paint chip strips. Paint a large piece of foam-core board with the colour and move it around the room for a few days to see how it looks under different lighting conditions. Paint a 4-by-4-foot swatch on the wall and live with it for at least 24 to 48 hours to observe its effects in action.

Forgetting to use primer when changing wall colours. Primer, whether white or tinted, is essential to achieve your chosen true colour and prevent interference from the previous wall colour.