How to Make Sure Your Paint Color Will Work in Your Room
There are a lot of things to take into consideration when choosing colors for your design scheme and I will address complimenting and contrasting colors, shades etc in future posts. So what the heck am I going to talk about to-day? Well I had been thinking about a series of posts on color choices and wondering where to start. I found my answer last night when I was watching a top professional interior designer doing a makeover on TV. You see she put together a great design scheme and as her team began the makeover and started to paint the walls, she realised that the two colors she had chosen were all wrong. This was not because they clashed or anything but because there was more light in the room than she anticipated and the colors were not dark enough to create the effect she wanted - they just looked a bit "blah" to be honest.
So if a top professional can get it wrong is there any hope for the rest of us? Do I need some special technology to measure light or to recreate my room in 3D on special software. Eh, NO! I am soon going to get a reputation for silliness but this is a tip that really works - I use it all the time and it has saved me some heartache and hard work!
Now we often select paint colors in the hardware store, from very small color swatches which we look at under harsh fluorescent lights. It can be really difficult to judge how this will actually look in our rooms. So, when you have narrowed down your color choice or even decided on the actual color you want, I would advise you to get a little sampler pot of the paint. Now you could go an paint it directly onto the wall if you wish, but you mightn't want to live with the messy look that will create. This is fine if you know your room will be repainted in a day or two, but if it is likely to me more, you may want to take another approach.
If this is the case, I advise you to take a few A4 sheets and paint them from the paint sampler. Make sure you get good solid coverage, but remember you are not painting a Picasso here. Then using some masking tape, just tape a sheet to each wall you intend to paint in that color. Leave these up for a day and look at them at different times of the day so that you can see how the change in light in the room, effects the color. You may be surprised at how different the color looks as the light changes. If you are happy with your choice you can go and get the overalls out (or phone someone else who will!). If you find the color is lighter or darker than you expected, you may just need to go up or down a shade. Either way it is just a simple tip that take a few minutes of your time and can save you both money and time!
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