Decorating with Color"Decorating with color begins with great paint color selection" Selecting a Paint Color for your home decorating project: Decorating with color looks so simple and easy when you are watching a home improvement program on television. A home makeover project is in progress and the decision is made to do some interior painting. Then, just like magic, there is a beautiful new color on the walls of the room. Everyone is smiling, the room looks great, and gosh, it only took a couple of seconds for the transformation! Things like this only happen on television or to other people, not to you. I know, my life is never that simple or easy, either. However, decorating with color and selecting a paint color for an interior space in your home doesn't have to be an agonizing process. There are some steps you can take to help you make a good decision when selecting a wall color and, therefore, become one of those happy, smiling people when the project is complete!
First, determine the scope of your project, which means that you need to decide if you are going to paint one room, two rooms and a hallway, the entire Great Room, and so on. It seems so simple as to be obvious, but don't assume, just go ahead and make the decision mentally or write it down in a notebook. The second part of that question when decorating with color is this: Does your space have defined 'starting and stopping points'? To answer this question, go into the area and literally look at all of the walls in question. You want to make sure you don't have a wall flowing into another space that is outside the scope of your project. For example, I have seen a kitchen/nook area of a home where the kitchen walls were painted a different color than the nook. That's fine, except the homeowner just stopped with one color in the middle of the wall above the cabinets, so there was definitely something unfinished about the look of the area! Don't make that mistake. Look carefully at each wall in the area, also considering any fascia or soffits you may have.
When decorating with color,the other decision you should make is regarding the budget. How much money do you want to, or are you able to, spend on the paint decorating project? Again, it seems so simple. But before you run out and buy the paint, you should decide:
When decorating with color, think about how you want to change the look of the room or space. Do you want to add some drama to the area? Look at some deeper or brighter shades of colors. Or, you might be most happy and comfortable with a more subtle overall look to your space. In that case, keep the colors more neutral; consider a shade of off-white (there are hundreds of choices). Remember that a paint chip is a teeny, tiny little piece of color. It looks more intense when you put it on your very large walls. You might want to start with a shade that is less intense on the paint chip and test how it will appear on the walls. We'll talk more about that soon. Are you going to introduce a new color to the area, or do you plan to use a color that is already in the room? If you are thinking about a new and different color, make sure it will enhance the color scheme that is currently in the room. Your furniture and accessories should have new life and interest with the addition of a new color. Another great technique is to work with an existing color in the room and play it up on the walls by selecting a lighter or darker shade of that color. It is always a wise decision to test your potential color choices before painting the entire room. Purchase paint samples if possible, or a quart if necessary, and prepare a color board. It's very simple. Just take a white poster board and put two coats of paint on it. You'll then have a good idea of the actual color. Put the color board in all areas of the room over a 24 to 48 hour period by taping it to the wall with masking/painting tape. You want to see the color at different times of the day, and in the evening with artificial light. Following these simple steps will help ensure that when decorating with color, you select a color you'll be happy with in your space. You'll minimize stress and frustration because you've made the important decisions at the beginning of the project. That's how to complete your home decorating paint project with a smile! DECORATING WITH COLOR AND NEUTRALS
DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY OR A PASSION? |
There are two decisions you have to make before heading over to the paint store to pick up color swatches. 
