Tips for Picking Paint Colors for Interior Painting

When you go shopping for clothes, limited color choices make it easy to pick out the right addition to your wardrobe. When it comes to choices in paint colors, the possibilities are virtually endless! So, what makes us prefer one hue over another? According to HGTV, the impact a color has on you is both physical and psychological.

Exposure to colors produces a subtle yet significant response that influences moods, impacts energy levels, and causes an emotional and physical response. That’s why the colors you choose are an important first step for achieving a professional interior painting job that will influence how you feel in every room of your home.

One of the worst mistakes people often make is to choose their favorite color and drench everything in the room with a single shade. One woman on a popular TV show not only painted her walls pink and had pink furniture; she had her dog dyed pink as well! Although your favorite color may have its place in any room, you need to use it in a way that will contribute to the overall ambiance of any room you put it in.

Start with the Mood of the Room

Every room has a unique purpose, and it should be painted in a color or combination of colors that enhance that purpose. What do you want to feel when you are in the room? Soft, cool colors, pastels, and neutrals contribute to a quieter, restful atmosphere, while those that are stronger create drama and energy. Patterns with contrasting colors may appear more formal or add to the sociable appeal of a room.¹

Apply Modern Technology

Even when you narrow your choices down to a hue (red, blue, green, etc), you still have lots of work to do to find the perfect shade. There is also the matter of picking colors that you can use together to add contrast and interest.

A great way to take your room on a test drive is with one of the many apps available for use on your Smart Phone. Just install the app, and you can see what your color selections look like before you purchase the first can of paint. Visualizing is often a more effective method of testing paint choices than learning all the rules that apply to mixing colors in various types of light.

Follow the 60-30-10 Rule

The 60-30-10 rule of interior painting is a more precise way of preventing you from using “too much of a good thing.” Think back to the woman who went overboard with her passion for pink. When picking the colors for a room, break them down in the following way:

60% of your dominant color
30% of a second complementary color
10% of an accent color

You can accomplish this by using a color wheel to find colors that complement each other or by purchasing paints from manufacturers who offer collections that are designed to use together. In the end, you may find that the colors you feel best about using in your home are different from anything you have ever tried before. To get the results you envisioned from your paint job, call Dixon Painting at 770-644-1992.

Sources:

http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/color/10-tips-for-picking-paint-colors