Whether you are building a new home, renovating the entire house, or just trying to update a single room, wall colour can be one of the most complex decisions to make. Wall colour can transform a room from the bland to the exotic and is responsible for pulling together the overall feeling of a room, be it classic, modern or country. Unfortunately, it is also the one area where the most mistakes can occur. It certainly accounts for the majority of questions that I get asked by clients and friends alike. This is what I tell them...
First things first. The most important rule when choosing wall colour is to try to choose everything else that is required in the room first. For new construction, choose flooring, cabinets, countertops, and backsplash tiles before choosing wall colour. When buying new furniture or replacing carpet in an existing room, ensure that you already have the fabric sample or carpet colour choosen, then choose a wall colour. Although this may seem a little backwards, consider this. There are over 3000 paint colours in just one colour fan from a major paint company. Then consider the number of paint companies that are out there. I did a quick test and I can think of over 20 companies in under two minutes. Do the math. That’s over 60,000 paint colours. And trust me, there are more out there. Regardless of what other finishes you will be making decisions on, you will never have more selection to choose from than when choosing your paint. Therefore, narrow down your finishes, fabrics, etc first, then, focus on a wall colour. Your previous selections will have already narrowed down the colour selections for you and at that point it is all about finding the right shade.
Although it may seem like a daunting process, be assured that the right shade is out there. For every situation. The biggest difficulty in choosing colour can be determining a colour’s undertones. An undertone is the buried colour within the overall colour. It’s the reason that some beige carpets look like they have pink in them and why others look grey. Every colour has an undertone and getting used to picking them out can take some practice. When in doubt, get a second opinion or consult a professional. In all cases, make sure that you view the potential colour in the room for which it is intended, in morning, afternoon and evening light. This is a very important process as the colour will change dramatically depending on the amount of light hitting it. Make sure that you know what it will look like in different qualities of light before applying it.
When choosing wall colours for an open floor plan it is very important that all the colours flow together. That doesn’t mean that you must end up with one colour throughout, what it means is that all of the colours must have a common tie to each other (ie they all must have a yellow undertone). Some easy and successful places to make major colour changes are the powder room, den/office, master bedroom and ensuite. The reason that these are relatively fool-proof areas to make colour changes is that they all have a different purpose from the main living area (ie the master bedroom is private space versus the public space of the living room and kitchen).
Paint is by far the most inexpensive way to change or update a room, but it is also the selection that can be the trickiest. To give yourself the best possible opportunity to pick the right colour the first time around, take some time in choosing that colour. Get a second opinion, look at it in different lights, take home a sample of the paint colour and try it right on the wall. Because we all know that, “if it doesn’t work out, it’s just paint”, but do you really want to have to re-do it?
Nadine Andrews D.I.D. DESIGN EVOLUTION
First things first. The most important rule when choosing wall colour is to try to choose everything else that is required in the room first. For new construction, choose flooring, cabinets, countertops, and backsplash tiles before choosing wall colour. When buying new furniture or replacing carpet in an existing room, ensure that you already have the fabric sample or carpet colour choosen, then choose a wall colour. Although this may seem a little backwards, consider this. There are over 3000 paint colours in just one colour fan from a major paint company. Then consider the number of paint companies that are out there. I did a quick test and I can think of over 20 companies in under two minutes. Do the math. That’s over 60,000 paint colours. And trust me, there are more out there. Regardless of what other finishes you will be making decisions on, you will never have more selection to choose from than when choosing your paint. Therefore, narrow down your finishes, fabrics, etc first, then, focus on a wall colour. Your previous selections will have already narrowed down the colour selections for you and at that point it is all about finding the right shade.
Although it may seem like a daunting process, be assured that the right shade is out there. For every situation. The biggest difficulty in choosing colour can be determining a colour’s undertones. An undertone is the buried colour within the overall colour. It’s the reason that some beige carpets look like they have pink in them and why others look grey. Every colour has an undertone and getting used to picking them out can take some practice. When in doubt, get a second opinion or consult a professional. In all cases, make sure that you view the potential colour in the room for which it is intended, in morning, afternoon and evening light. This is a very important process as the colour will change dramatically depending on the amount of light hitting it. Make sure that you know what it will look like in different qualities of light before applying it.
When choosing wall colours for an open floor plan it is very important that all the colours flow together. That doesn’t mean that you must end up with one colour throughout, what it means is that all of the colours must have a common tie to each other (ie they all must have a yellow undertone). Some easy and successful places to make major colour changes are the powder room, den/office, master bedroom and ensuite. The reason that these are relatively fool-proof areas to make colour changes is that they all have a different purpose from the main living area (ie the master bedroom is private space versus the public space of the living room and kitchen).
Paint is by far the most inexpensive way to change or update a room, but it is also the selection that can be the trickiest. To give yourself the best possible opportunity to pick the right colour the first time around, take some time in choosing that colour. Get a second opinion, look at it in different lights, take home a sample of the paint colour and try it right on the wall. Because we all know that, “if it doesn’t work out, it’s just paint”, but do you really want to have to re-do it?
Nadine Andrews D.I.D. DESIGN EVOLUTION
Commercial and Residential Interior Design
Kelowna BC
Ph 250864-9848
Fax 250469-9411
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