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CHOOSING YOUR COLOURS

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How To Choose Your Paint Colours

You know you need to paint. But oh, my goodness, where on the colour wheel do you even begin?

Choosing colours can be the most daunting part of the entire painting experience, especially if there are multiple stakeholders and an equal amount of differing opinions. Fortunately, there are strategic ways around the issue. Firstly, our personalized consultations can go a long way to helping you sort out what direction to go in. If you prefer to have an idea before we even get to chatting, take the following five points into consideration and see if it doesn’t all get a little more black & white.

1. Inspiration – It’s out there somewhere – you’ve seen it and you like it. Your favourite colour; the one you’ve always wanted on your kitchen cabinets, your living room wall, or the outside of your store. Pulling a colour off something you admire on a regular basis and then testing that hue on a small, relatively inconsequential scale (such as in a bathroom or your den) is easy, and often a great way to quickly realize if you really want to go for it on a bigger scale. If nothing else, read. There is nothing like Architectural Digest, Elle Decoration or even the Ikea catalogue to get you inspired and in touch with what you know you do or don’t like.

2. Mood – Think carefully about what the room is used for. Is it dynamic & constantly full of people, or is it a quiet space – a library, a solarium, an office? If you’re painting externally, or for a business, consider the street appeal and direct impression you’ll have on passers-by or potential clients.

3. Lighting – If you’ve already begun with a small surface, test the result with different levels of light. If you haven’t yet decided, consider the effects of outside light on the room throughout the day. Does the space need all the help it can get from windows and lamps or does the sun flow freely all day long? More vibrant hues will naturally lighten a room, but perhaps the room in question could benefit from one or two bright accent walls and the rest in a more muted tone.

4. Finish – Help your paint leap off the wall with an exciting finish. Consider broad stripes in faintly different hues, or have some metal-flake mixed in for a more dynamic reflection. Overall, think about whether you want more or less life in the room.

5. Juxtaposition – Painting a room in your favourite colour and walking in to the next one only to find the difference jarring can be a rude surpr:–doorways; lookin and out through the windows; have a good, long thought through your furnishings and decor; and make a conscious decision about how to make it all flow. This can be the toughest part, and we’re happy to offer thoughts on how a favourite piece can be incorporated or how to best match your home to the others on the street while still helping it stand out and be its own.

The Colour Wheel

If you’re focused on an interior space and find yourself part of the way there, these thoughts from HGTV on colour palettes may be able to help you out. Alternatively, our paint supplier, Cloverdale Paints, has a great Colour Visualizer Tool that can help you out.

If it’s the outside of the building that needs a little facelift, Benjamin Moore has some great thoughts on curb appeal and how to get it just right. Click here to see what your home could look like.

Let’s Talk About It

If you really are stuck, or simply want to bounce some ideas of someone, give us a call and book a personalized consultation. We’ll help you pick the colours and then get right to work!

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