The perfect colour is a renovator’s secret weapon! But choosing that ideal colour can be overwhelming. While there are no hard and fast rules for picking hues, the following are some tips and hints for choosing colours that will make your space sing.
Use your room for colour ideas: The floors, countertops, rugs and furniture in a room can help determine what colour will best work in your space. Look to the shades already present for inspiration.
Choose a colour that creates a feeling: The colour you choose should reflect the mood you want to create in the room while complementing its contents and style. Paint social rooms warm colours. Give private rooms cool hues. Blues and greens are calming while yellows and oranges are inviting.
Look for inspiration: Magazines and catalogues provide decorating inspiration. Paint stores often show ways to use colour in your home while social media sites (Pinterest, Instagram) also offer colour ideas.
Utilize colour theory: A simple colour wheel can help you see how colours will relate to each other.
Get creative with neutrals: If you opt to use neutral colours, be creative with how you use them. Stripes add relaxed style. A neutral wall with a pastel ceiling can bring a soothing vibe.
Get your colours from a print: Start with a print fabric (throw pillows, bedding, table linens, a rug). Choose the boldest colour in the print or look to the colour in the smallest details. Take a swatch to the paint store for help with matching.
Look to nature: Bring the outside in by reflecting colours from the setting in which you live.
Find inspiration in artwork: Have a favourite piece of art in your home? Choose complementary colours from the piece to create a colour scheme.
Consider undertones: An undertone is a colour lurking beneath your favourite paint colour. For example, a simple beige can have a green undertone. The surfaces in your room (curtains, rugs, furniture) have undertones that change the way a paint colour appears.
Utilize paint samples: Once you’ve selected the colours you think you want, visit your local paint retailer to pick up paint samples. Paint a large enough area on each wall so you can see how the light reflects on the colour. Examine the patches under natural and artificial light at different times of the day.
Consult with your professional painter: An experienced residential painter can provide paint colour ideas or a custom-designed colour palette for your home. Share your ideas and inspiration with him so he understands your style and taste.
Try a paint colour app: The best paint colour apps give you the ability to match a colour you see in your surroundings with a colour palette and paint hues.
Colour helps define an interior space and create focal points in a room. Try these tips to find the paint colours you love and determine where best to use them.
Need help with paint colour choices? Want a custom-designed colour palette for your home? Call the Calgary residential painting experts, Cal Res Coatings at (403) 835-4817. We’re a residential painting contractor that strives for quality, has an eye for detail and colour, and will not rest until your job is done to your satisfaction. Request a free quote today.