The Secrets to Paint Selections and Color Flow
Here are some tips for decorating your new home using color and color flow to create your mood or state your personality. Of course if you want me to help you with the color selections, just give me a call.
First of all, start with good paint since good paint will pay for itself. You will use much less paint, it won’t fade and it will clean up well. I only use Benjamin Moore, particularly the Affinity paints with the Aura finish. Why, this paint has the primer already built in and it is high pigment paint giving it depth where the color will change ever so slightly during different times of the day – morning, sunlight and dusk etc. But the change is harmonious. There are 144 hues and they all work seamlessly together. They are nature inspired and share similar undertones and luminosity. It is a foolproof color pallet to create beautiful, perfectly balanced paint color combinations for every room—and create color flow throughout your home! As a compliment to these colors, I also use CSP, Williamsburg and Historic colors – all from Benjamin Moore. This paint will clean up well and won’t fade. Use the kitchen and bathroom formula in the kitchen and bath since it will resist moisture build up and mildew.
I had a 23 year old jock walk into his Dad’s home after we painted Dad’s place. He – the jock – mentioned that he loved the paint and that it changed colors – he loved it. I really can’t get a better compliment on paint.
Benjamin Moore’s website has color trends for 2014 that all work well together. Also, color suggestions and painting techniques are also found. This website www.BenjamineMoore.com has a wealth of knowledge and insight.
Let’s talk about creating color flow through your home. To create a sense of continuity and harmony throughout your home, you need good color flow: a balanced color scheme that seamlessly connects one space to the next. Benjamin Moore website www.BenjamenMoore.com has a “Color Gallery” where they will match your paint selections with several options. It is a great tool.
Here are some tips to achieve color flow –
If you are unsure how to select the paint colors, pick 3-5 major colors from artwork, fabric or accessories. Then, use each color at least three times throughout the room. Add color with throw pillows, carpeting and paintings.
Here is a great trick to coordinate adjacent rooms. Select 3-5 colors for a given room – primary, secondary and accent color. Alternate the sequence for the next adjacent room. For example, use the accent color from the first room as the primary color in the second room. Then use the other colors as secondary colors. So all of the adjacent rooms will coordinate since all the colors are reused but will appear different since you changed the primary color within each room.
Use lighter and darker shades of the same color from one room to adjoining rooms. The accent color can vary from to room.
The paint store can mix 25%, 50% or 75% of the same color for you. They can mix any percentage but these percentages are a good starting point.
In a long and narrow room paint the back wall (narrow wall) a darker shade of the same color. No one will probably notice – which is the point – but the back wall will appear to come forward. The concept of painting one wall a different color is a bit dated.So make sure the color variation is subtle.
Pattern and Texture
Pattern, and texture determine a room’s overall mood or feeling. These tips will help pull all the pieces together.
Pattern: Stripes, checks, floral, and plaids are just several options. Go ahead and mix them as long as all patterns share at least one color. Also, don’t make the patterns that you are mixing the same size pattern. They will fight one another.
Texture: Use a variety of textures—metal, glass and soft materials—to keep the room interesting. Matte fabrics like chenille and velvet look dimensional, thereby adding depth to the entire decorating scheme.
A True Story - A client hired me to do their second home in Virginia. I met my client the first time just after they delivered a 12' sofa for his 1400 sq. ft. condo. Of course it didn't fit. But he folowed the floorplans on the website that had all of the disclainers that the plans could change without notice. The custom sofa of course was not returnable. Now he was terrified to make another costly mistake. When we discussed his paint colors, he wanted me to paint his newly painted white walls - white. He just didn't want to make a mistake.
I took some photos of the existing condo and showed him through this App how his walls would look if we painted them a darker color than his white existing furniture. Together with this picture and some walk throughs of rooms with darker walls, he became more comfortable. Then he wanted all of his walls painted darker. He began to scare me when he wanted his master bathroom to be painted charcoal.
Take a look -
