The current global climate has led to a boom in property investment, renovation, and home decorating. You may be in the middle of renovations or be interested in taking the first step. Perhaps the biggest decision you can make when decorating or renovating your home is choosing the type of paint, and the colour in which you wish to dress your home. We’ve put together a handy list of questions to help you choose the right paint colour for you.
Are you painting the interior or the exterior?
One of the most important questions to ask yourself is where the paint will go. When choosing an exterior paint colour, you want to ensure it will blend into the surroundings. You may like the idea of a blue exterior paint and while this will work well on a property that is isolated and surrounded by naturistic landscapes such as a lakeside, this colour will clash with your surroundings in a build-up suburban area. When selecting an interior paint colour, you need to consider the psychology of the colour and how well it reflects the ambience of the selected room as well as your desired style of furnishings.
How will this colour affect the resale value of my home?
Resale value is a vital consideration when renovating a house. You want to only increase a home’s value, not decrease it. This means you need to select colours that will show character while maintaining an ambiance that reflects the area and other highlights of the property. If your property is set among the hills and is surrounded by trees and bushes then a dark brown will complement this environment well, adding to the resale value by emulating rustic tones, even if the property is only minutes from the city.
How tough is the paint I want?
When we select a paint we are not just choosing a colour. Paint should be robust, and you should select a paint that reflects your home conditions. Weather protection paint is vital for homes that are exposed to the elements and a water based enamel paint is the best choice for glossy interior feature walls due their fast drying times and reduced volatile organic compounds which makes them safer than their oil based counterparts. Brighter colours should also be long-lasting as they are much more likely to fade and you don’t want to be touching up your walls every 2-5 years!
Do I want to use my paint to create unique features?
Paint is extremely versatile and can be used to give the impression of higher or lower ceilings, it can make rooms seem twice as big and by using a pop of contrasting colours on shelves or shutters it can make a seemingly boring feature pop to really stand out and make a room more interesting!
This is just a small selection of questions to ask yourself when choosing a paint for your home but it should help to narrow down your choices. Choosing a paint for your house is not a task that should be taken lightly but it can be a lot of fun. Your colour scheme represents your home as well as your own character and remember that if it doesn’t age as well as your favourite wine you can always change it in the future.