Seeking inspiration for choosing paint colors

December 23rd, 2008

A lot of people seeking to do a re-paint, or maybe even decide on the first paint job on their new house will undoubtedly have a little trouble deciding on what house paint color to use on their dwelling.  The trouble may arise from having difficulty in picking out a color from a pre-decided selection, or having absolutely no idea what paint color to use at all.  While everyone may not be exactly gifted with the ability to artistically select a beautiful paint color for the house, choosing paint colors should not be a near-impossible task.

Inspiration for picking out new paint color ideas for the house can come from almost anywhere.  It can come from either inside or outside of the house.  From the inside, simply take a look at the existing fixtures and pieces of furniture already in the house, and that is as good a place to start with as any.  This practice also precludes having to throw out or sell any fixture or appliance that does not go with the house paint color that has been picked.  On top of it all, this method creates the impression of having “new” stuff inside the house, and give that “familiar” feeling at the same time, primarily since the older fixtures and pieces of furniture are still there.  Take a hint from a favorite easy chair, a favorite coffee table, wallclock, or some other items that may give you a good hint as to what interior paint color combinations to try out for the house.

This method of drawing inspiration from practical and already present things and conditions may prove to be the cheapest and fastest way to come up with interior paint color ideas without having to do a massive trial and error run on the house, and probably waste a whole lot of money and a good deal of your time and effort.  With this in mind, it stands to reason that getting inspiration for interior paint colors need not always be through the most complex of ways, but rather, from something as simple as looking around where you are.

Interior paint colors – tips on choosing the right one

November 28th, 2008

Interior paint colors are very important when you want to improve the look of your house or office. This is especially true when you are a real estate agent – a fresh coat of paint colors will bring you a long way.

Here are some tips that can help you:

How can the color affect the people?
This is the first thing that you need to know about color and color choice. When choosing the paint colors that you want, you need to consider the effects of the color to the people that comes into your room.

It is easy to forget that there certain colors have subtle psychological effects on people. For example, blue brings a calming effect while red instills passion and desire. You need to be wary of these small details so as to create the perfect look for your home.

What to hide?
The paint color that you choose can help you in two different ways. First, the right paint color can help in emphasizing the parts of the interior that you want to be highlighted. Conversely, the right paint color can also help you in hiding the flaws and imperfections that your interiors may have.

You can use colors in drawing people’s attention away from that certain angle while focusing on your interior’s best characteristics.

Are there tools that can help you?
Finally, you should also be aware of the different tools that can help you in identifying the color that you want. Paint samples and color wheels come in handy here. However, you need to keep in mind that the final color may slightly differ from the actual color that you will be having. Here, experience plays a big factor and you may want to consult paint professionals if you are not sure of what you are going to do.

There are a variety of reasons why people want to redecorate or renovate their interior paint colors. Whatever your reasons maybe, these tips will surely help you out.

What’s the best way to get Paint Color Ideas?

November 9th, 2008

It’s quite natural to get the urge to give your home a fresh coat of paint once in a while, since color is one way of expressing the transience of human emotion and ideas.  The stumbling block to this urge, however, is the rather tedious task of getting good paint color ideas.  How do you pick out a good color to color your house with?

The massive selection of paint colors available on the market nowadays affords a person an infinite number of options with which to color their house, but for simplicity’s sake, we will narrow down the options to three: (1) paint color ideas with periods in mind (2) paint color ideas suited for modern living (3) and paint colors suited to where you live.

First off, paint color ideas from periods.  Home magazines featuring rustic and period-themed houses will often sport colors that are a throwback to colonial, pre-war, or even pre-settlement times.  These colors may be quite easy to find, since they are quite basic, although the factor that makes the difference is the aging effect time has on color.  What used to be white may eventually age into something way off the original color.  Best not to chug gallons of gasoline from driving from paint store to paint store just to find a matching color from a period, but rather, seek out online paint stores that will premix colors to your specifications.

Next, getting paint color ideas from modern living.  Living in urban sprawls will often assail a person with rich, vivid, and oftentimes, out of this world colors, owing to the fact that most people living in urban areas often have the urge to become different from the rest seek a way to express their individuality.  This will often prompt them to grab the opportunity to become original and express this originality through their surroundings, most notably, where they live.  Add to that the growing awareness of the effect that color has on the moods and emotions of people, and homeowners are bound to seek out the colors that best express their emotions and ideals.  Modern living will often give paint color ideas based on how a person wants to feel, such as creativity, often expressed by shades of red, calmness, expressed by shades of blue, or liveliness, expressed by shades of green.

Finally, we have paint colors ideas inspired by the actual place where the house is located.  This is most evident when the house is situated somewhere near a woodland area, or even areas near a body of water, just basically near a place where one can commune with nature.  Houses near wooded areas will often be colored similarly, sporting organic colors such as shades of green, brown, and even some yellow and red.  Houses near bodies of water tend to take in some “aquatic” colors, such as white and shades of blue and green.  Some will even take to having shades of grey or even colors close to the color of the sand.

Whatever of these three you may choose to get your paint color ideas from, or even if you have your very own method of selecting your personal color combination, bear in mind that a paint color project in your house is a long term project, and it is something that tends to stay with your house for a long time, so it would be a good idea to really think it out well first.

How do I pick an exterior paint color?

October 28th, 2008

Making the outside of your house look every bit as beautiful as the inside is quite a task, and most times, unless you get professional help, it will be one of the most daunting tasks you will ever undertake in your projects at home.  Other than a beautiful exterior, another to thing to consider is what particular exterior paint color is predominantly seen when the house is viewed.  Your house may have a truly beautiful exterior, but if the exterior paint color is way off, it could look funny, or even downright ugly.

So how do I pick an exterior paint color that won’t make my house look like it was painted by an absolute amateur?  Here are some things you should really dwell on before you begin painting the exterior of your dwelling.

Location

Houses nowadays have been known to feature almost every color in the rainbow when it comes to exterior paint colors, but this does not necessarily mean that you should indeed paint your house with every color of the rainbow.  The sheer number of color options merely allows you to have a wider selection when it comes to deciding what color the outside of your abode should be.  In this case, consider the location of your house.  In choosing a color for your house, it would be better to pick a color that compliments the surrounding of the house rather than make the house stand out like a sore thumb.  As an example, a house in California, where the weather is bright and sunny most of the time, is best painted in warm and neutral tones, to better compliment the atmosphere and climate of the locale.  Colors such as beige, wheat, soft yellow, and cream will do quite well in this type of weather.  Houses near the southwestern side, meanwhile, tend to take more to the colorful shades, such as those seen during festivities in neighboring Mexico.  Colors such as bright and deep shades of blue and red are well suited here.  Houses near the woodland areas would best be given colors that showcase the best of nature, such as deep shades of brown and green.

Architecture

Another thing to consider is how was the dwelling built?  Houses in different areas vary from the usual fare of modern living, to the more classical and periodic style of houses, and even all the way to the post modern stylings of a growing number of houses today.  Some colors compliment certain architectural styles, while some colors are sure to destroy even the most well-designed of houses.  A period dwelling, for example, will look quite silly if painted in hot, vivid, and pastel colors, while a post-modern house will look definitely drab if colored withe the tame and passive colors reserved for the classically designed houses.  Pick a color that is traditionally deemed appropriate for a certain type of house.

These are just two considerations in picking exterior paint colors for your house.  There are so much more to really ponder, but at the end of the day, all you really need to do is experiment and see which looks best with your house, and if you are pleasantly satisfied with the end product, then what more needs to be said?