6 Rules for Picking Paint Colour
Whether you are tired of your paint colour, or your walls are marked with fingerprints and nicks, it’s likely you have at least one room in need of a fresh coat of paint. Since we’re all sticking close to home at the moment, now’s the perfect time to paint! What’s more, you’ll be supporting your local paint shop, which has likely just had a few of record-low months. Before you head out to the shop to pick your new colour, read these six rules for picking a paint colour that will work well in your home.
RULE 1: LOOK AT THE NATURAL LIGHT
When I’m selecting a colour for a client, I spend time looking at the light conditions in the room. I assess how much natural light the space gets, which is important because colour looks very different under different light conditions. A south-facing living room with a big window will bring in more natural light than a living room facing north with small windows. The time of day affects the colour, too. The morning sun in an east-facing room will be warmer and yellowish before noon, then cool as the day goes on. Whatever the conditions in your space, you’ll be happier with the colour if you have selected it based on the natural light in the room.
RULE 2: NEVER MIX CLEAN AND MUDDY COLOURS
If you have ever wondered why some rooms appear dirty when they’re perfectly clean, here’s the answer: it’s the wall colour. Some colours have a muddy effect. These colours are not bad or wrong, they are just used in the wrong spaces. Colours that are “muddy” have black in them. This mutes the brightness or clarity of the colour. Clean colours have little or no black and read bright and clean. You can use either and have a beautiful result—if, and only if—the clean or muddy colour is matched with its own kind. If you put a clean paint colour on the wall and your furniture and accessories are mostly muted tones, either the walls will look too bright or the furniture will seem out of place or grubby looking. One more note: the intensity of the colour does not determine its clarity. Both pale and strong colours can be either clean or muddy. Design like a pro by sticking to one or the other within your space.
RULE 3: MATCH COLOUR UNDERTONES
To make things even more confusing the undertone of the colour also affects the outcome. Undertones determine if the colour appears cool or warm. The thing to remember is to use something in the room, be it a piece of art, a rug or a toss cushion, to help choose your colour. You don’t need to choose the exact colour match but you want to make sure that the undertones are from the same family. Warmer tones have yellow, orange or red undertones, while cooler tones have blue, purple or green undertones. Let’s pretend that you’re using your grey sofa as the jumping-off point. If the sofa has a pinkish undertone and you chose a grey paint that has a green undertone, the pinkish undertone in the couch will become much more obvious. This happens because complimentary colours intensify each other (the red and green undertones). Ask your paint supplier to help you determine the undertones if you are having a hard time with them.
RULE 4: PICK YOUR PAINT LAST
If you’re updating more than just your paint, or if you’re starting from scratch, choose all the other items first. There are hundreds of paint colours, so it is much easier to find a paint colour that matches your fabrics than vice versa.
RULE 5: CHOOSE THE FEEL OF THE ROOM
Do you want a calm and neutral backdrop that lets the furniture and art shine, or do you want the space to feel fun and/or make a strong statement through the paint? Generally, lighter colours provide a calming environment and darker colours create an impact. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Depending on your furniture, accessories, room orientation, and the tones in the paint colour, you can create a room that is calm and relaxing but has bold walls, or a very vibrant space that has white or light walls. If you’re a newbie at choosing paint I recommend getting an expert's advice on nailing that bold/calm or light/vibrant feel.
RULE 6: RUN A 24-HOUR+ TEST
This is the most important rule. You must test your paint colour. Paint a large spot on the wall and live with this test patch for a minimum of 24 hours. This will allow you to see the colour in daylight, artificial light, on a bright sunny day as well as a cloudy overcast day. You should also look at the colour in relation to your fabrics, rugs and other materials (metals, woods) to ensure that everything works as a whole.
Following these six rules is sure to get you to a colour that works well. Plus, once you add artwork and furnishings, it all comes together. If, after all of this, you’re just not sure if you like the colour or not, then go with your gut. At the end of the day, if you like it it's right, and if you don’t like it it’s wrong. You are the one living in the space, so you are the one who determines if the colour works.