Deciding on paint choices for the home is hard. Do you go for something neutral that will be an easy pleaser for most people, or go bold and reflect your personal style? Paint choice can have a huge impact on the mood and feel of your space, so careful consideration is needed. You must assess things like light, the use and shape of the room, plus furnishings choices.
If you want to get it right, here are our 5 common mistakes to avoid when painting your home.
1. No Need To Stick With Neutral
Light greys and muted whites have been very popular over the years. They are unobtrusive and create a simple blank canvas for your furnishings. They are the easiest choice, and if that is the look you like – do go for it. However, if they are not reflective of your style – do not be afraid of using colour. It is your house, and you will be living in it every day after all.
Feature walls, bold lounges and dramatic kitchens can look uber stylish – don’t be afraid to put your stamp on the home. And, if you do eventually need to sell – the colour choice might attract buyers (or you can consider changing it at that point!).
2. Don’t forget to look at lighting
Lights can drastically change the look of a room, so make sure you consider your colour choices in both natural and artificial light. We recommend painting a patch or sticking some colours swatches onto the wall. You can then observe it during both day and night.
Often a small room will benefit from lighter colours as a way of opening up the space but check and see how the colour works throughout the day. A bold colour in a small room, might actually be a better statement.
3. Don’t line up your colour choices
If you have several shades to choose from it might be tempting to simply paint them all in a line, and then you can select the best out of the bunch. Doing this will actually be misleading. Lining colours up does not give you the best overview of how the colour will look in isolation – as appearing next to another colour can give you a different representation.
We recommend painting a large patch to give you the best view. Take a piece of lining paper and paint a huge square which you can then stick to the wall with masking tape. You can move it around and swap it over to assist with your decision.
4. Not considering the furniture and flooring
Reviewing your paint choice in an empty room can also be misleading. Even if you have just moved in, or want to empty the room prior to the paint job, we still recommend keeping something in the space while you select the colour.
Do you want something complimentary or analogous? Complimentary means you will choose something that is opposite on the colour wheel to your furniture pieces. It will make your walls or your décor pop, and appear much brighter. Analogous means you will pick something that lies next to it on the colour wheel.
5. Do not skip the proper prep
If you have finally made your colour choice, make sure you prep your walls properly so that you get a long-lasting, high-quality finish. This includes identifying any cracks or dents in the wall which you can easily conceal with filler. Follow up with sandpaper to smooth down the walls which will help the paint stick.
Before you paint, we also recommend giving the walls a wipe down to remove any grime or dirt, and apply a coat of primer to get the best base for your final paint choice.
If you need somewhere to store your belongings while you get the painting work done, find a storage unit, plus check availability and prices at Shurgard.co.uk.
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