How Paint Can Transform Your Home

The colors you choose to paint the rooms in your home are the foundation for your home’s personality. This article has been written to help you decide how to choose a painting scheme that reflects your personal space. 

Paint lets you experiment with color 

You don’t have to stick to a single neutral shade over the house. Continuity between rooms isn’t a set rule - feel free to paint different rooms in different colors. A good way to test different colors is testing swatches in smaller rooms in the house, or choosing a color based on furnishings. 

You can create different moods for different rooms

Certain colors evoke an emotional reaction within us. A room that’s painted a cheerful, energizing red will make us feel a different emotion than one that’s painted a delicate primrose. By and large, dark and vivid colors are associated with energy, spunk, and positivity, while pastel shades evoke sensations of relaxation and calm. Deciding what mood you want for a room can go a long way to help you choose the right color for it.

Today’s paints also come in a variety of finishes that you can use to complement or contrast your furniture. If you want something interesting and unusual, explore finishes such as matte, semi-gloss, metallic, or satin. 

Every wall in a room doesn’t have to be painted the same color - painting one or two walls differently can accomplish many things: it can add an eye-catching quirk, make a space look large (or smaller), and draw attention to a specific piece of furniture or artwork you want to show off. If you’re not comfortable painting an entire wall a different shade, consider a complementary or contrasting trim. It adds a touch of elegance, without being too in your face. 

You can use natural light to your advantage

Light affects the way paint looks in a room. A general rule of thumb is bolder colors for north-facing rooms (where the light is cool and bluish); either cool or warm colors for south-facing rooms; reds, oranges, and yellows for east-facing rooms; and cooler colors for west-facing rooms (evening light here being warm will make warmer colors too saturated). 

You can make a room seem larger (or smaller)

How to make it seem larger

● Use lighter colors to make the room seem bigger in general. 

● If you want to make a short room seem longer, paint the ceiling a darker color with a matching accent wall.

● If you want the room to have more height, use a lighter color on the ceiling and/or vertical stripes on the wall.  

● If you want to lengthen it horizontally, add light colored wainscoting. 

How to make it seem smaller

● Use darker colors for a smaller, cosier feel.

● Lower the ceiling by painting it a darker color than the walls.

● If the room feels too wide, paint two walls a darker color to bring them in. 

● A dark colored accent wall can make a long room seem shorter, while adding a pop of color.