Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to make a dramatic difference in a room, but it’s not as easy as it looks.  Color selection can be daunting.  There are many factors to be considered.  Here are some of them:

1. Orientation of sunlight
2. Type of interior lighting
3. Time of day room is used and for what purpose(s)
4. Color and style of furnishings and accessories
5. Architectural features, such as fireplaces, molding, columns, floors
6. Mood or feeling you wish to create

While there is certainly a lot to consider, don’t just stick to off-white because you’re afraid to experiment.  Here are some tips on selecting your color palette:

• Assess your space before you go to the paint store.  Are your floors and furniture mostly dark?  Then choose a light choose a light color for walls or vice-versa.

• Do you have decorative moldings in a white shade?  Then walls should be darker to highlight them.

• Is your fireplace red brick?  Then avoid lavender walls, for example.

• Consider other rooms that can be seen from this space or flow into it.  Will the new color relate?

• Is this a party room? Then consider bright, cheerful colors.

• Is this a bedroom?  Then you may wish to select something restful in cool tones.

• Do not decide in the paint store.  Take several chips home to see them in the room light, day, and night, cloudy and sunny.

• Remember a color is more intense on an entire wall than in a little paint strip.  If you like a color, consider the next one lighter.

• Buy a quart and paint a wall.  If you are covering another color, prime it first or use to coats.  Then live with it for a few days.

• Consider the paint finish-flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, and gloss.  The shinier it is, the more imperfections with show and the more light will be reflected.  Also, the more scrubbable it will be.

• Finally, faux finishes are all the rage today.  Most are not difficult to do, but they take time and patience.  Do sample boards first.  Remember subtle is usually better and easier to live with.  Also, not every room needs to be fauxed.

If after all of this, you still hate the result, it is not a major disaster.  Just paint over it.

Article provided by Jon’s Upholstery