A home maker that I’ve always admired once told me never to paint the walls in anything other than a neutral shade, ‘when the kids throw cereal at the walls the stains are going to stay forever!’ that home maker was none other than my mom who in my opinion kept the house award winning clean with us four kids running around and me having an odd fascination with drawing on the walls. Since moms are always right, I never really experimented much with paint and was deeply thankful to God for giving mankind the genius to invent wall paper.
When reality TV took over as America’s highest rated programs, I too joined in to watch rooms, offices, apartments and entire homes get remodeled. The one thing that stood out was the paint jobs. I’d always used wallpaper in the living room and kept the rest of the house in a neutral shade. After my first month of watching stunningly beautiful and dramatic home makeovers, I decided it was time for change, (I should’ve had ‘yes we can’ patented). One trip to the paint store however and I retreated back into my neutral colored shell (no offense meant to turtles). I couldn’t figure out which shade of any color was good for any room! They made it look so darn easy on TV! Since I already had the house ready for a new paint job I ended up giving it a fresh coat of beige which did absolutely nothing for the room except give it an Adam’s family look. I’m proud to say that I’ve grown wise now as far as paint is concerned and I’m going to share what little I know about rooms and paint jobs.
Choosing a paint type:
Paint type refers to either latex based or oil based paints. Latex is better for the exterior of your home as opposed to the walls because it can take a lot of weathering and oil based paints are easier to clean stains from.
Choosing a paint finish:
Paint finish is how glossy or matte a paint will look once it’s dried. When you pick your finish, keep in mind the amount of light in the room you intend to paint. If you’ve always wanted to brighten up the room or give a dramatic light effect choose a high glossy finish. Take two slightly different shades of the same color in a high gloss finish and use them on parallel walls to create a unique effect. Finishes come in flat, eggshell, sating, semi gloss, high gloss and ceiling flat. Egg shell and satin will work well for bedrooms and the living room. Ceiling flat is meant for the ceiling (a no brainer) and other textures are more suited for rooms where the cereal and or ketchup is less likely to be thrown at the walls.
Choosing the color:
What you need to figure out before you enter the paint store is your color. The color doesn’t depend on what available in the paint store but rather on the furniture you have in your room. So sit down and take a good look at the colors. When deciding on the color you need to come to one of two mind sets; either match the color or make a contrast. This all depends on how you want your room to turn out. If you decide to match, pick the color that’s least prominent in your room for example the color of the cushions or the rug. If you decide to make a contrast then pick shades that will make your furniture stand out. And pay close attention to any wall that may be covered with frames or shadow boxes. It may be a good idea to paint that one wall a different color. The shade will be decided once you pick which way you want to go. If you have light colored cushions and you’re looking to match with the furniture try going with a darker shade of the color of your cushions.
Once you’ve made these three critical decisions, you’re all set to visit the paint store, happy painting.
This is an excellent example where the paint matches the furniture, you can see more images here.
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