Choosing Paint Color Right the First Time Around

One of the first things I do before choosing paint color is sit in the room for awhile. I imagine how I want to feel when I’m in it. Do I want to feel relaxed? Maybe excited? Colors have as many personalities as people. Each one says something different. Cool colors such as blue and green tend to make a person stretch out and relax. They can also create a somewhat melancholy mood. Cool colors tend to push the walls of a room out. A cool color is a good choice for a small room. Warm colors are more inviting. They say, come it a stay for awhile. One thing to remember is that warm colors draw the walls of a room inward. A warm color is a good choice for a large family room where you desire a more intimate feel. Deep yellows, oranges and burgundy are examples of warm colors.

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When choosing a color for your walls, you may want to choosecolors across the color wheel from each other. They are called complimentary colors. A well known example is red and green. Although, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these for every day decorating, complimentary colors work nicely as colors for room accessories such as throw pillows and rugs against a more neutral backdrop.

Another idea for choosing paint color is by using a monochromatic color scheme.This is when you take one or two colors and add white to lighten them or black to darken them. Then you use them in your decorating as layers. You use shades and tones of these two colors for flooring, curtains, wall color, ceiling color and accessories. An example is baby blue, navy blue, royal blue, periwinkle, cornflower blue and sapphire blue. To some this may sound a bit dull, but it’s really quite appealing. You can add interest by varying patterns and choosing furniture with ornate or abstract lines.

Don’t make the same mistake that a lot of home decorators make. That is, don’t choose a wall color just because it’s your favorite color or because your neighbor painted her living room that color, and likewise, don’t toss a color to the side just because you don’t like it at first glance. Several years ago I bought a furniture set that I absolutely loved! However, I was stumped with the usual question of choosing paint color. After some thought I decided to paint the walls, what looked like at first glance, canned pea green. Yuck!

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