Choosing Interior Paint Colors for Your Home

You can transform the entire appearance of your home with the right interior paint colors. The key is knowing which interior paint colors are right for your home and in which interior paint color combinations. Instead of choosing safe and conventional interior paint colors, why not take the time to research new possibilities? Learn how to choose the right paint color combinations for your home's interior.

First of all, there are questions about what kind of effect you want to achieve and what kind of impression you want your home to create. Are you looking for something peaceful and harmonious, or is it the bold and bright impact creation that lures you? Do you want to fit into a conservative, historical neighborhood, or do you live in an area where you have scope to explore your color eccentricities? Would you remain committed to your dwelling forever or do you plan to move on, in the near future? If the latter case applies to you, it would be advisable not to go overboard with the colors, considering that potential buyers may not share your taste which may result in putting your property on hold due. A thoroughly made-to-order color scheme may not conform to their picture of 'paint perfect'.

Here are some commonly followed color schemes:

• Monochromatic: Here you use the same color together with its tints and shades.
• Analogous: This scheme is made up of colors lying next to each other on the color wheel.
• Complementary: This scheme is made of colors lying directly opposite to each other on the color wheel.

You can get more creative ideas for your interior color schemes from:

• Fabric Designs
• Photographs
• Paintings
• Nature
• Other home interiors
• Magazine layouts
• Floral Arrangements
• Pottery
• Stones and Rocks
• Crayons
• Bird Feathers
• Animal Fur

... Just about anything that catches your eye can be grist for the mill. Collect samples of different colors, patterns, and textures. Try to put together different or unusual combinations that you wouldn't normally go for and see how they mix and match.

There are several things to consider before you settle on any particular color scheme:

• The room to be painted and its correlation with the rest of the house.
• The existing color schemes in the house.
• The total area of the room.
• The natural lighting in that room.
• The contrived lighting in that room.
• The existing elements in the room - for instance; does the room have stone or brick finishing.
• The existing furniture in the room.
• The furniture to be installed in that room.
• The existing fabric, furnishings and carpets in the room.
• The fabric furnishings and carpets that you plant to incorporate in the room.

Now, it's on you to decide if you would like to:

• Use just one color consistently, throughout.
• Use different colors for different rooms.
• Use co-related colors for different rooms.
• Use different colors for different sections of the room.
• Use different colors to provide accents to windows, shutters, doors, crown molds, chair rails, columns, etc.
• Use different shades of the same color to adorn parts of the room.
• Make a motley; experiment with shades of the same color for windows, shutters, doors, wall trimmings, moldings, columns, balustrades, etc.

While choosing paint color, ensure that you:

• Choose the color or colors for the walls first.
• Base the color for the trimmings on the wall color.
• Check the colors at various times in natural light and under artificial light. Colors look very different under different light arrangements, and what seems attractive during the day-time may not seem as pleasant when the sun sets! Similarly, you cannot necessarily expect a color to prove its credibility during daytime, if it exudes panache when stars are out!

Use light colors to:

• Give the room a spacious appearance.
• Highlight projecting wall portions.
• Paint long walls of a long room.

Use dark colors to:

• Highlight trim details in the room.
• Paint wall recesses.
• Paint end walls of a long room.

What you should know about interior color paints:

• Dark colors require more maintenance than light colors.
• Dark colors fade sooner than light colors.
• Dark colors absorb more heat than light colors.
• Actual colors are slightly different from what you see in color swathes or online color samples.
• The total effect of the color depends on the extent of the area to be painted. A color scheme that looks great in a large spacious room, for instance, may not necessarily exude the same feel in a smaller, less spacious room.
• Painting ceilings white will create an illusion of space. If the ceiling is very high, however, paint it a shade darker than the wall color.
• Match the skirting color to that of the floor to give a larger feel to the area.

There are many paint brands and paint types available. You can choose between Flat, Satin, Gloss, and Semi-Gloss Paints. Flat paints are the most commonly used ones. Satin gives a smoother finish and is easier to clean. Gloss, which is durable and requires little maintenance, is used mostly in kitchens, bathrooms, and other rooms that are frequently used. Semi-Gloss is used for doors, windows, wall trimmings, balustrades, etc. There is yet another breed of paint, known as the Eggshell paint. 'Not too glossy yet not too matte; just subtle sheen' could be the best suited description for this type of paint. Eggshell has the potential to lend an element of vastness to your spaces.

Add these tips to your knowledge bank, dunk the paintbrush into the color palette and see your space deliver more than what you expect!