Choosing a Paint Color
Things to know and keep in mind.
by Joan Gaither
Before painting, two important questions to ask are: 1) what direction does the room face?, and 2) is the room going to be used primarily in natural light or artificial light?
The first is important because cool colors in a northern exposure will keep your heat turned up higher than usual. The reverse will happen with warm colors in a southern exposure. The second question is important because occasionally some colors do not look good in artificial light.
You’re going to be living with your choices in your home for a long time so allow for a few dollars in your budget for proper samples and then allow a week or so to look at all the color possibilities in the room at all times of the day and evening. Don’t forget to include the color of existing things that will be staying in the room. For example, if the carpet color cannot be changed you need to make the color blend with your paint color choices.
Here are a few other considerations to keep in mind:
1) What is the period or style of the room?
2) The stain of the wood pieces in the room has a great effect on how the paint colors will look.
3) When putting more than one color together keep percentages in mind. For example: blue and green look great together but one should be the dominate color and one should be the secondary color. A combination of 60%-40% works well and if you use a third color consider 60%-20%-20%.
Things to know about paint:
1) Dark paints have a tendency to dry light and light paints have a tendency to dry dark.
2) A twelve foot by twelve foot room will always have a hundred and forty four square feet in it regardless of what color you paint it.
3) If you mix in a half or a full cup of the wall paint into the ceiling paint it will take that hard edge off the area where the wall and ceiling meet.
4) Think carefully about painting your trim a trendy color. This goes in and out of fashion. Make sure you like the look before you do all the work.
About painting trim: Keep the trim the same throughout the house; it acts as a unifier particularly when the rooms are all different colors. If you do want trim colors remember that walls are usually in flat paint while trim is almost always semi-gloss.
Special note: Be sure to check out your installation policy on painting in military quarters. You may need to return the home’s walls to their original color when you PCS. And, even if the housing or your community agency policy says no, it is always worth it to ask.