Painting a room is something we've all done at some point in our life. Some of us enjoy the constant trips to the paint store where we can compare color swatches until we are sure we've made the right choice. On the other hand, some people want to paint a room but don't know where to start or how to choose.
At Sunset, Allison Arieff put together a short but important list on how to avoid common color mistakes - we chose our top two:
1. Looking for colors that exactly match favorite objects
Allsion gives an example of choosing the exact same color as a "favorite pillow". This seems like an easy choice, but if you want that accent piece to still be a focal point, going for a "similar but softer" version of the color is more successful. It allows the original favorite color to still "pop".
2. Opting for white or cream just because it’s safe
It's great to go with a neutral and it does often make the choice easier, but it is still wise to bring home some samples. Taking the time to see how a few different tones of your chosen neutral react to the light in your particular room will really help with the success of your choice. Allison recommends using "the sample-size colors or oversize color chips that paint stores offer" to ensure ending up with a color you'll be happy with in the long run.
Check out the rest of the list and more good paint picking advice at Sunset | 4 Color Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
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This time it's Sunset magazine telling us what colors not to use, but it's no less annoying than when AT does it.
Bright colors are inappropriate inside, yet it's a common mistake? Really? Is it that, or is this just somebody who likes muted colors telling us we should paint our rooms -- rooms she'll never see, much less live in -- to her liking?
Oh my gosh, the wall in the photo is like my paint-chip hoarding wet dream. I guess i am just a color fiend, I've even thought about covering a wall with my collection.
My color advice? Don't take anybody else's color advice. :P
It's like putting a bed in the paint section of Home Depot.
So serious? It's just paint. If you want your home to look like you, put up whatever paint makes you happy... if you want your home to look current, follow the trends. For christ sake though, enough with the Benjamin Moore Electric Blue already.
I love a well-done white room as much as the next person, but seeing some apartments with brightly coloured walls is so refreshing. I think brightly painted walls can be both sophisticated and fun -- it just takes someone with a good eye to make it happen.
my only advice -- don't talk yourself out of your first choice. i go for one thing and then try to restrict myself, and then wonder why i didn't go with my instinct. if you hate it -- its paint. you can paint over paint. amazing how that works.
I don't think white (or the many and varied shades of white) is a "safe" choice at all. "Tract Home Beige" is safe, but painting a room or entire house a few appropriate shades of white actually takes a lot of nerve; pulling it off successfully is a lot harder than it sounds. Just my two cents.
But yeah, if I see another bright red dining room I'm going to go mad.
Actually, I thought that advice was pretty good. I liked the rest of the article, too.
A tip that has worked for me is to always buy a grayer version of the color I think I want, because hues seem intensified when they're spread across an entire wall. But color is so personal, so other people might want the most intense color possible... these aren't rules!
As a Color in Space Inc. consultant, we work hard to educate and empower people about color. When we perceive color as light, we can recognize that color is an energy of it's own and the relationships it has with other colors greatly effects the final outcome.
Color in Space Inc. Design Tip: Avoid buying and bringing home samples of paint to randomly apply to the walls of your home. The color will not read correctly due to it's relationship with the existing color. Try one of Color in Space Inc.'s Dwelling Palettes and learn more about color for the home at www.colorinspace.com
My key to using tints and hues of white is to use the best paint you can afford. If you use a white paint that is skimpy on pigment, it will not look good. I love my white walls.
Yes, it's just paint but have you priced paint lately? It can really add up. Plus it's your time or the cost of having someone paint. The biggest mistakes I see my clients make is not testing their colors prior to painting. They are usually not grayed down enough and they don't understand that colors will read lighter and brighter when on a larger scale. Also, despite all the rules and guidelines of color that we color professionals tout, at the end of the day, it has to look good to YOUR eye! Color is deeply personal. Too many opinions from others are going to muddy the decision process and take you away from your vision.
I wanted bright purple walls in my bedroom for over a year before I finally bit the bullet and did it. Benjamin Moore's Aura in grape. The paint is gorgeous but I have to admit, after 6 mos I am sick of it :(
Hmm. I've heard the whole "don't paint in colours, you'll just get sick of it" thing, but how does someone get sick of a colour faster than say, white? beige?
"Well with a neutral, if you get sick of your arrangement you can just get new curtains and pillows and coloured nick knacks, which you just can't do when they are all matched with your green walls"
Hmmm personally I think it would be cheaper to paint the walls than change my curtains, slipcovers, and all other belongings, thanks.
I feel really scared about painting my apartment yellow. Some people think I'm crazy, though it's not going to be a sunshine yellow. It's not going to be a "omg does someone smoke in this house" yellowish white either.
When I was younger I had a bedroom that was very yellow, and I LOVED it. I wished I could just stay in that room forever it just made everything look nicer. Somehow all of my mismatched furniture came together and everything I hung on my walls looked lovelier. And then I had to move and get stuck with rental white walls for the next six years.
just paint everything white, you can't fail. You'll get lots of light and you can just hang stuff on the walls if you need more color.
Quite honestly, I think choosing the right white for a space, considering factors such as light, dimension, etc., is actually quite difficult. I still can't get it right.