How to Pick the Right Paint for your Home

There are many joys that come with decorating or renovating your home. Painting your home in colours of your choice is one such joy, as your home is a canvas for your family life. Picking the right paint for your home can be a tricky and arduous task where you can spend hours and even days deciding but still end up making the wrong choices. There are certain kinds of paints like matte, enamel, glossy etc from which you can choose. Here are a few tips that can be very helpful to you in choosing the right paint colours for your home.

1. Holistic View

Take a holistic view of the aesthetics of your home, almost from the perspective of a bird’s eye view. Treating different units or rooms of your home separately, especially the adjacent and connected spaces, can lead to alienation in the colour scheme and theme of different spaces. Always think about what colours you want in your home as a whole.

2. Emotions

Taking certain factors such as your family members’ and your own personalities, age, and preferences can prove to be very helpful in deciding the paint for different spaces. Try to find harmony in the different choices. For instance, if your kids love pink, and their room is connected to the living room which is usually preferred to be kept neutral, you can create a balance of transition by going for a light pink hue for your kids transitioning into a white or beige with pink undertones for the living room. However, do not let your personal choices rule your decision in every case. For instance, if your favourite colour is cobalt blue, translating that choice into a cobalt blue wall for your living room may not work well.

3. Area

Consider the space which you are looking to paint. In areas like the living room and dining room, which are more likely to be visited by guests, go for neutral and muted tones of your favourite hue, whether it is pink, blue, red, yellow, grey or any other colour of your choice. This way you do not have to compromise either on your preferred colour or the aesthetics of your space. Matte paint is a good choice for these areas, which are less likely to get stained by regular activities. For bathrooms, dressing rooms, kitchen or kids’ rooms, enamel is a better choice as it is easier to wipe stains off enamel paint.

4. When to Pick

Although many of us make the mistake of picking the paint first, it is better to first shop for your art, drapery, and furniture and then go for the paint. There are two ways in which this will help you. Depending on the area for which you have bought the decor, you can derive inspiration for the wall colour from that very piece of decor (curtains, cushions, carpet, figurines, wall art). You can also sample the colours that you like on canvas or boards and place it against the decor as ultimately, the wall will act as a canvas for your decor.

5. Colour Palette

Whichever brand of paint you go for, visit their website or request for a physical colour palette. Compare similar colours by placing them closely and then sample those colours on a board or canvas which will help you decide. This exercise will also give you an opportunity to sample colours to find out which hues go well with each other. For most colours, it is hard to judge just by the palette how they will look on the wall. Most of the brands already have sample customised palettes for different spaces like kitchen, bathroom etc.

6. Textures and Hues

Colours should not be overbearing on the ambience of your space. At the same time, it does not mean that your space has to look monotonous. For the same colour, you can go for different hues in the same space, which will add more dimension and style to your space. You can experiment in the same way with textures. A mix of textured and painted walls in the same room and similar hues creates a very interesting look. Textures work great even with metallic paint, adding an element of design to your living and dining room.

7. Ceiling and Flooring

Ceilings, for small and medium spaces, should be in lighter shades, creating the illusion of more space. You can experiment with something bold if the ceiling is very high or the space is huge. Flooring should also be considered and there should be coordination in the colour and style of flooring and the paint that you go for. Bold colours go better with wooden flooring, while neutral and earthy tones are more suitable for tiles and marbles.

The tips are not exhaustive, but a good starting point to help you decide which paint to go for your precious home!