Choose The Right Paint Colors For You And Your Home
When you know how to choose paint colors that match your style and complement your space, you’ll always be able to keep your home feeling modern and fresh.
Knowing how to choose paint colors can transform your entire house. Different shades and textures can make a room appear larger or smaller, and the right color can make your house feel more like a home. The colors you choose also express you and your family’s personal style.
But there’s more to choosing paint than simply picking your favorite color. You might have guidelines you need to stick to for the exterior of your house, and the sun exposure might determine what colors will not last in certain rooms.
Let’s take a look at all the things you should consider when painting your house, whether it’s the interior or exterior.
How To Choose Exterior Paint Colors
The exterior of your home is the first impression you, your visitors, and passersby will have, and the color is likely the first thing they’ll notice. But it’s more than keeping up appearances. When painting the outside of your home, you have a lot more than just your own opinions to consider.
Check With Your HOA
If you have an HOA, you will need to check its guidelines regarding exterior paint colors. Some will have approved color schemes for you to choose from, while some will merely require approval before changing your house paint. To make this easier, some paint brands like Sherwin Williams and Dunn-Edwards partner with HOAs across the country, so you have an easier time finding what colors are approved.
Match Your Roof Color
Color clashing is no joke. If your roof and house colors don’t match, you’re not going to be happy. Most shingle roofs have a lifetime of 10-15 years before they need to be replaced. Painting your house is not an easy job, but it’s certainly easier than replacing your roof.
Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert in color theory to make sure that you pick the perfect color that matches your roof. There are online tools available known as color visualizers, where you upload a photo of your house and can then see how various paint colors will look against your roof.
Match Your Neighbors Homes
If your HOA has strict guidelines on approved house colors, this one is easy. You’ll have little-to-no choice over matching your neighboring houses. If you’re given free rein in your color choices, you’ll still need to decide if having the sole bright green home on the block is for you. While your neighbors cannot do much if the HOA allows it, keep in mind that a sea of beige houses surrounded by one blue one might not please everyone.
Match Your Home’s Architecture
Similar to choosing a color that will match your roof, a color visualizing app can help you find the correct paint to match your house structure. A classic Spanish Revival home looks just right if painted a creamy off-white because of the clay tile roofing, while a grayish-blue looks great on a contemporary, more modern style home which typically has a dark gray roof.
How To Choose Interior Paint Colors
When it comes to painting your home’s interior, you are in total control. You can pick a color scheme that makes you happiest and feel most at home, and you don’t need to conform to current trends or societal norms or even defend your choices to people who won’t be living there.
The most important thing is to pick colors you’ll be happy with for a long time. Here are some tips on finding the right paint colors for you.
Consider the Room Size
The right paint color can make a room feel like it’s either bigger or smaller than it really is. Lighter colors work great for smaller rooms because they reflect light making the room seem larger. Lighter colors can mean white and beige, as well as pastel colors like yellow or blush.
Darker colors tend to make a room appear smaller, so black, navy, and dark green across all four walls will make an enclosed space feel even tighter. You might love that dark navy blue color, but having that paint cover the entire room could make you feel trapped or constricted.
A way to get around this if you just love darker colors is to consider an accent wall. Having three white or beige walls and one bold, darker wall breaks up the monotony in the same way a rug on the floor does, making the room appear bigger.
What’s Your Personal Style?
Just like when picking out clothing, we all have a unique style. The same principle goes for choosing paint colors. If you don’t enjoy wearing anything bright red, you probably won’t want to see bright red paint the moment you walk into your home.
If you’re a fan of coastal decor, choose light colors such as off-white, pale blue, and light yellow. Prefer a more Dark Academia look? Dark greens, burgundy, and brown will work best and give your home the feeling of a classic library.
If you don’t have or are unsure of your specific style, gather inspiration from pieces that you own, like artwork, furniture, and clothing. Find a color in your rug or throw pillow that would look great on your walls and bring your whole room together. If your couch is a vibrant color like purple or orange, you might want the walls around it to be toned down so as not to overwhelm you.
How To Choose Paint Colors Using Samples
Once you’ve narrowed your options down to a few favorites, get samples of them from the hardware store and paint a swatch on your wall. A paint’s color can look vastly different once it’s had time to dry, so it’s important not to trust how the paint looks in the can.
It can be helpful to paint a few samples of your top choices in various spots around your home and on the exterior of your house to see how the change in lighting affects it. Different lighting can highlight different shades, and a blue paint you liked on the swatch might have too much of a purple undertone once it’s on the north-facing side of your home.
Trust the Pros
Your painters have been around the block and can tell you what colors they see most and what colors they’ve seen go wrong. Ask what they know about painting a room turquoise or a house a dark rouge or having a black accent wall surrounded by bright white.
The colors you choose for your house can be changed, but not without a few headaches. Don’t worry about overthinking this. Take the time to ask all of the questions you can think of, and if you end up regretting the paint you choose, you can always change it again later.
Conclusion
At Scott McDonald Painting, we want you to feel at home. We’re committed to providing an unmatched work ethic and attention to detail so you’ll be delighted with the results. If you need guidance on how to choose paint colors or which type of paint to use, we’re here to help with that too.
Give us a call today and get your home transformation started.
