Picking Color Schemes The procedure of picking paint colors for your home may seem totally subjective--you simply select the colors you prefer. That is only partly true. Although it makes sense to start with the colors you like, other elements come into play. For example, do the colors you've chosen work well collectively? Do they compliment furnishing, carpeting, and window treatments already in place? Picking paint colors is actually part skill and part science. Let's focus on the science part first.
Using the Color Wheel The color wheel arranges the color spectrum in a circle. It really is a good way to see which colors work very well together. It includes primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), secondary colors (green, orange, violet), and tertiary colors (red-blue, blue-red, etc). Secondary colors are made by mixing two primaries together, such as blue and yellow to make green. A primary color such as blue and a secondary color such as green can be merged to make a tertiary color--in this case, turquoise.
Now that there is a color wheel in front of you, utilize it to help you envision certain color combinations. An analogous scheme requires neighboring colors that share an underlying hue.
Complementary colors lie opposite each other on the color wheel and frequently work well together. For instance a red and green living room in full strength might be hard to stomach, but consider a rosy pink room with sage green accents. Similar complements in differing intensities can make attractive, comforting combinations. A dual complementary color design involves an additional group of opposites, such as green-blue and red-orange.
Alternatively, you may opt for a monochromatic scheme which involves using one color in a number of intensities. This ensures a harmonious color design. When developing a monochromatic scheme, lean toward several tints or several shades, but avoid way too many contrasting values, that is, combinations of tints and shades. This can make your scheme look uneven.
If you want a more technical palette of three or more colors, look at the triads formed by three equidistant colors, such as red/yellow/blue or green/purple/orange. A split complement is composed of three colors- one primary or intermediate and two colors on either side of its opposing side of the wheel. For example, rather than teaming purple with yellow, transfer the mixture to purple with orange-yellow and yellow-green.
Lastly, four colors similarly spaced around the wheel, such as yellow/green/purple/red, form a tetrad. If such combinations sound a little like Technicolor, remember that colors designed for interiors are rarely undiluted. Thus yellowish might be cream; blue-purple, a dark eggplant; and orange-red, a muted terra-cotta or whisper-pale peach. With less jargon, the color combinations get into both of these basic camps:
Harmonious or analogous; schemes, derived from nearby colors on the wheel less than halfway around.
Contrasting or complementary; schemes, derived from colors that are directly opposite on the wheel.
Interior Complementary Colors Don't just choose one color; think in terms of picking a color structure. Study your furniture, curtains, window treatments, and rugs, and note which colors might supplement them.
Next, take notice of how many colors you think you might be using. Will the baseboards be a different color than the walls? They usually are unless the trim is in bad shape and you don't want to call attention to it. The same will additionally apply to other trim, such as windows casings and chair rail.
How about where the walls meet the ceiling? Will you install crown molding or some other type of cornice treatment there? Or will you be painting the walls and demarcating the ceiling and wall junction with a color change?
In addition to paint colors, you will also need to look for the level of surface finish or sheen the paint will have. The choices range from the most shiny (high gloss and semi-gloss) to the dullest (eggshell and flat). These designations differ with paint manufacturers, but they are essential because the sheen of paint impacts the color. A rule of thumb says that walls usually receive flat or eggshell finishes whereas ceilings are almost invariably coated with a flat finish. Trim is typically painted with a semi-gloss or high gloss. These finishes are more durable and much easier to clean than duller finishes.
Think in terms of groups of colors.
Paint manufacturers group like colors together like below:
Interior Color Chips All paint stores can offer color chips of the paints they sell. Color chips will give you a small scale idea of what the actual colors will look like once applied. You need to do more than check out color chips to get a true sense of your colors... nevertheless they are a good place to start. Actually, a seasoned sales person at your local paint store can help you decide on color chips in a scheme. In the event that you choose a buttercup yellow for the walls, the sales person can suggest color chips that are typically associated with a scheme that has buttercup yellow as its anchor color.
When you yourself have whittled down your color alternatives, go through the color chips or swatches in different types of light including day light at differing times of your day and in varying levels of artificial light. Even then, this color chip process is just to get an idea of paints that you'll sample in bigger swaths of color. Hardly any professional designers pick from chips, even though they may start their color selection from chips. If indeed they do examine chips, they examine them one at a time on a white background.
Changing Color Take into account that large surface areas make any paint color seem darker than the color chip. The amount of variation is usually up to two shades. In the event that you select the color chip you desire, step "back" two shades darker for a true representation of what the color will look like when dry. Also, paint always appears darker once it dries. So, when you finally apply the paint, don't worry if the color doesn't look right initially. Wait around until it dries.
When you are zeroing in on your final colors, paint a 2 x 3 foot poster board or cloth material with the anchor color and place it around the house so that you can view it in different light and near different colored carpets and furniture.
Space and Color Colors can affect how you perceive the size of a room. Warm colors like reds, yellows, and oranges can make a space appear smaller because they can offer a cozy feeling to the area. The so called cool colors like blues and greens appear to recede from you, making an area appear larger than it really is. If you actually want to make a room seem large select a vintage standby like a shade of white (there are dozens) or a neutral color.
Sizing the Area When you get nearer to buying paint, determine the square footage of the room you will paint. Multiply the length of each wall by the width. Subtract the space occupied by the entrance doors, windows, and other openings. Add all of the measurements together to obtain a total square footage of the area you must paint. If you're applying two coats which is normal for most paint jobs, you will be painting the surface twice.
Sound Quality Painting
824 90th Dr SE suite B
Lake Stevens WA 98258
(425) 512-7400
https://sites.google.com/1upserve.com/painter-lake-stevens
