Why I Never Recommend Making Impulse Paint Decisions...and How to Choose Thoughtfully

Are you ready to revive the look and feel of your home with a paint color update? Choosing the right color can be tricky, but giving thought to lighting and decluttering can help you choose the right color for your room. Here are a few steps you can take to cut back on the frustration and guesswork inherent in the decision making process.

Sunlight’s Significant Impact

Colors take on different hues in different lights. Depending on the amount of daylight—and even the size and location of windows—your paint sample might look quite different at home than it does in the store. Even just testing a small sample at home isn’t enough; you need swatches in a bigger area, in different locations in the room, and you need to see what it looks like during different times of the day. Even the season in which you select your colors can have an impact. Don’t forget that if you live in a primarily sunny climate, you shouldn’t settle on a color for sure on a rainy or dreary day.

Effects of Artificial Light

Artificial light also has an impact on the colors we select. Whether the light is overhead or indirect, the glow that it casts on the paint will impact the way the color appears. Switching out lightbulbs and light fixtures can even make a difference based on the warm or cool undertones of the lighting itself. If possible, make any changes to lighting before selecting your paint colors as this will have an impact on how the color looks in your space. This may be as simple as updating lightbulbs and moving desk or floor lamps within the room.

Declutter Before You Decide

In addition to lighting, clutter makes a significant impact on your color selection process. Decluttering before selecting a paint color is an easy step to overlook, but it makes a big difference! The number of pieces of furniture, other decor in the room, and the general tidiness of the area all lend visual weight to your space. Since you’ll have to move things around when painting anyway, it just makes sense to declutter first even before choosing your colors. Reducing the volume of items stored in your space can significantly change the pattern of shadows, the number of furniture pieces needed, and can suggest the overall tone you are looking for in the room.

Stress-Saving Swatches

Be sure to preview all colors in your home before painting! Paint a large swatch on the wall, let it dry and observe in all lights and all times a day before making a final decision. Now is definitely the time to catch any errors and be brutally honest with yourself about how things look. It’s tempting to rush this process, but you could be living with this color for a long time, so it’s worth getting it right from the beginning! You may need to make a few trips to your local paint store to try different hues in sample sizes. Resist the urge to settle. Paint isn’t very expensive, but it is labor-intensive—not to mention disruptive to your schedule—so you want to make sure you are using the right product from the get-go.

Your Professional Partner

If you need help decluttering, selecting lighting, and even running errands related to paint selection, I’m here for you! My all-inclusive home organizing packages include running errands, shopping, research, and responsible disposal of household hazardous waste (such as extra paint samples that didn’t make the cut!) I can also act as your agent if you hire a professional painter and don’t want to take time off work to manage the project. Book a call today to discuss your options!

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Cheers,

Karina