Are you ready to give your home a face-lift with interior painting? While painting is one of the easiest, least expensive DIY home renovation solutions, it is also one of the easiest to mess up. Here are 4 mistakes to avoid when choosing paint colors for your interior painting project:
Picking Paint Color First
When homeowners decide to do some interior painting, the first instinct often is to jump right to picking out paint colors. But getting ahead of yourself by not taking the time to think about what the room will look like as a whole once the repaint is done means your furniture and belongings are more likely to clash with your walls. While picking out colors is exciting (for some), it is the last thing you should do.
Instead, focus on picking out your desired furniture and overall decor look. Plan the room and everything in it, then begin to search for potential paint colors. Otherwise, you’ll paint yourself into a proverbial corner, forcing you to choose decor based on your walls instead of the other way around.
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Using Swatches Alone
A paint swatch is usually no bigger than two inches square. People drive themselves crazy trying to determine paint color using only a handful of tiny paint swatches. Choosing based on a larger sample tests your wall’s undertones, room lighting, and decor, helping you find a better fit.
Save yourself a headache by simply expanding your sample size. You can buy an 8-ounce sample size of real paint in any color, usually for less than $5. Take these samples home and paint an area larger than 1 square foot directly on your surface. If you’d rather not sample paint directly on your walls, paint a few posters. This is especially helpful if you want to compare different rooms in the same color, test out different areas of the room based on light, or evaluate the poster board sample with different furniture and decor.
Not Considering Lighting
A potentially big mistake is not testing out your color samples in all lighting situations before making the commitment. This step is often easily overlooked and underestimated, but it can make the world of difference. A specific color or hue may not look the same in the morning as it does in the evening, or it may look different under natural light than it does under artificial light. Depending on the amount of natural light your room gets, your paint choice can either make the room feel brighter or closed in.
When comparing paint samples, test them out in all lighting conditions first. If your room does not have much sunlight coming in, you may need to opt for a lighter paint color to avoid a claustrophobic atmosphere. If you have a ton of natural sunlight flowing through, you can experiment with bold, darker colors to add a statement wall without worrying about a closed-in feel.
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Disparate Rooms
Another common mistake is that people paint rooms without considering the rest of their home. They have one-track minds about painting a particular room and fail to create a cohesive flow from room to room. You might end up having a navy blue dining room, a cream-colored hallway, and a modern-grey living room. This causes a disconnect between your rooms and makes your home feel smaller.
Consider the home as a whole when choosing even one new paint color. What look and feel are you trying to accomplish? What hues would work well? What style of home are you hoping to mimic (farmhouse, industrial, contemporary, etc)? Pick out sample paint for the whole house based on color palettes, not swatches.
Professional Residential Interior Painting in Michigan
Transform your home this year with the professionals at Armor Tough Coatings! Our comprehensive home repainting solutions will have your home painted in no time. Schedule an estimate today!
