There are a lot of things you can do to transform your home—update the porch, rearrange your furniture, accessorize, change the drapes…just to name a few. But there’s nothing like a fresh coat of coat paint to transform your home.
As far as home renovations go, paint can easily give your home a whole new look. Think about it, a cohesive, well-decorated room starts with color. And there’s no bigger color decision that you can make than choosing the color of your walls. If you want to your home to feel cleaner and more open, walls can help you do that. If you want the vibe to be energetic and dynamic, you can start with paint. If you want a space to be more soothing, that starts with your color palette too.
I’m a firm believer that walls essentially serve as your home’s biggest color canvas. For any staging or home decorating project I take on, painting walls is almost always my starting point for creating a beautiful color story that will define the feel of a space. Regardless of what mood or look you’re trying to achieve, the transformative power of paint is unprecedented. But it pays to know precisely how color works to bring out mood and texture. Here are a few tried and tested tips I’d love to share with you–
1. Layer colors and neutrals to keep the palette interesting
I’m a big fan of creating color layers, specifically using the same shades of the same color to create a cohesive but interesting look for any room. One of my top picks is using white as a base and building up depth from there with varying tones.
White is a great way to update interiors if you want to update your home. If you’re looking to update your home and get it ready to go on the market, white or any neutral color is your best bet. You want potential buyers to see your interiors as a clean slate where they can imagine and visualize their own lives in it.
2. Consider undertones when picking out your color scheme
Have you ever found yourself staring at freshly painted walls, and you get this gut feeling that your picks went wrong? It may be because while you used paint that works—in theory—your undertones may be mismatched.
Here’s the thing. When colors are mixed to create new shades, it creates a mass tone and an undertone. Mass tones are the colors you see at face value. It’s the color that you see first. The closer an undertone is to the mass tone, the truer the colors will appeal. So a true blue should have a mass tone and undertone that’s very close in color. However, a color like magenta will have a deep pink mass tone, but blue undertone.
When considering undertones for your painting project, never look at colors in isolation. A gray shade, when viewed just by itself, will look gray. But when you’re comparing it in contrast with yellow or blue, will look different.
Always test how colors go together by placing the colors you’re considering next to a true shade to assess. And be sure to check it against lighting as some undertones only become apparent under specific light. For example, natural lighting can bring out warm undertones, while blue lighting will emphasize cooler undertones.
3. Use feature walls to add color and interest
Colors are always a great idea, but it’s important to show a little restraint. A feature wall is a great way to achieve this. It can create a focal point for spaces and set a dramatic backdrop for key furnishings or accessories. But your color option should always complement the rest of the room.
A feature wall is designed to be eye-catching, but you want to draw attention in the right way. Don’t be bold just for the sake of being bold. It still has to seamlessly fuse with your overall color scheme. Don’t use a feature wall either because you’re unable to commit to a particular color. A feature wall should feel like the highlight of the room, not a consolation prize.
Before you slap on that fresh coat of paint, be sure to keep these three things in mind. And if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.