Hello my décor enthusiasts! It has been awhile; it has been a busy time, life has been full and exciting but I’m happy to be back! This week I want to talk about choosing a colour for your room refreshes. So many of us are afraid of colours - it can be an intimidating experience facing the wall of colour chips in the paint department of our local home improvement store – there are so many! How do you ever determine what is best for that room you’re making over?! The following tips will boost your colour confidence and make choosing a colour easier.

Use of the Room

Carefully consider the use of the room and the ambiance you are trying to achieve when selecting a colour. Each colour has different psychological aspects associated with it that set the mood in the space, convey an emotion and inspire action. For example, green is balanced, restful and renewing; red is strong, positive, passionate; blue is peaceful, serene and calming.

Direction of the Room

Orientation of the room affects the amount of light it receives throughout the day, so consider what time of day the space will be used for its primary activity. The direction also influences the type of paint finish you should opt for. For example, a north facing room does not get much natural light so semi-gloss or high gloss paint is the best option as it reflects light and makes the room appear brighter. A south facing room will get lots of natural light so a matte finish works well.

Furnishings

If you have fav pieces you want to use in the room, what colour is the finish or upholstery? The colour of finish on wooden pieces and in upholstery can greatly influence the adjacent colour on the walls making it look much different than the paint chip. If you are reupholstering, it’s the perfect opportunity to match paint and fabric. And of course, if all new furniture is in your budget, the perfect paint match is easy peasy.

In any case, I can’t recommend enough that you paint a swatch of possible colour(s) on the wall and watch it over a 48-72 hour period to determine how it looks during different times of the day, under artificial and natural light conditions, cloudy and sunny conditions if possible and relative to the furniture that will be placed in the room. We all get excited to paint right away but trust me, the investment of this bit of time will make you much happier with the final result!

What are your favourite colour(s)?

Are there any colours you just can’t live without? Is there a colour range you love and always find yourself gravitating towards? If so, perhaps a new shade of that colour will be the perfect option for your space. Conversely, is there a colour or colours you can’t abide? For example, if you really don’t like orange or yellow, rule them out right away - don’t waste time trying to make friends with these colours.

When selecting a colour remember that every colour can be cool or warm, have different undertones and have different tints (more white added to the colour) or shades (more black added to the colour). And did you know you can ask for a colour to be a percentage more or less than the colour on the chip?

How often do you typically repaint/redecorate?

If the colour you are choosing is going to be changed out in a few months or a year, you can be a bit more bold and experimental. If you are going to live with the colour for longer period of time, you want to take more time selecting the colour and carefully consider your choice.

If you tend to the neutral palette, don’t restrict yourself to plain ole’ white. While these are easy and practical choices, consider that other colours fall within the neutral category. For example, grays are an outstanding choice as a neutral - they can be green based or blue based, have more or less saturation or hue so are anything but boring. Or Blush, Benjamin Moore’s COTY for 2020 is considered a neutral that can warm and calm your spaces.

What I love about neutrals is that when you are bored or tired with the look, a simple change of accessories such as candles, a comfy throw or pillows from any other colour family is an inexpensive way to update and transform the look of the room.

I hope these questions will boost your confidence when making a decision about paint colour and finish the next time you find yourself standing in front of that intimidating wall of colour!

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