When picking paint, keep these tips in mind from Marni Jameson:
Color is fickle and changes depending on your light. A wall color that looks great in your friend’s house could flop in yours. Don’t go from just the paint chip, which is actually ink, not paint.
When you decide on a general color, say a robin’s egg blue, or a marigold, get several quarts to test. Some companies, including Ralph Lauren, sell little test bags of color, which are cheaper than quarts.
Paints with low levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are environmentally friendlier than traditional paints and don’t cost much more. Although they sometimes go on a little runnier, they won’t give you a headache from fumes.
Consider using exterior paints inside. Their pigments are often more intense.
Test the paint in the room where it will go. Use two coats. Ideally, test the paint on 16″ x 16″ pieces of drywall that are the same texture as your walls. You can get these for just a few dollars at your local home improvement store (sometimes free). This is better than test patches on your walls because they can ghost through the final paint color and haunt you for years to go. Using panels lets you move the colors around so you can see them in different lights and on different walls. Panels also let you place carpet candidates near the panels to see how they go together.
Before deciding, observe the colors at different times of day.
Color forecast for 2008/2009: They’re predicting that the hot colors will be earthy browns and brownish grays; more complex blues, like purpled navy; slick reds with names like ribbon and lacquer, which would be complicated reds, not simple ones like stoplight red; new greens emphasizing yellowed greens of nature; and yellow in all its hues (even whites will be buttery).
What’s out for 2008: Wimpy colors, including anything pastel (ditch the seafoam green).
To avoid dating your house with your color choices, Jameson suggests that you go with colors from nature: “Nature is always in style. Subtle earth tones such as green, brown, beige, and putty make a wonderful backdrop.” Then, she says, if you have nature-inspired neutrals on walls, countertops, and floors, you’re free to experiment with trendy colors and patterns with pillows, art, rugs, and accessories.
Color is fickle and changes depending on your light. A wall color that looks great in your friend’s house could flop in yours. Don’t go from just the paint chip, which is actually ink, not paint.
When you decide on a general color, say a robin’s egg blue, or a marigold, get several quarts to test. Some companies, including Ralph Lauren, sell little test bags of color, which are cheaper than quarts.
Paints with low levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are environmentally friendlier than traditional paints and don’t cost much more. Although they sometimes go on a little runnier, they won’t give you a headache from fumes.
Consider using exterior paints inside. Their pigments are often more intense.
Test the paint in the room where it will go. Use two coats. Ideally, test the paint on 16″ x 16″ pieces of drywall that are the same texture as your walls. You can get these for just a few dollars at your local home improvement store (sometimes free). This is better than test patches on your walls because they can ghost through the final paint color and haunt you for years to go. Using panels lets you move the colors around so you can see them in different lights and on different walls. Panels also let you place carpet candidates near the panels to see how they go together.
Before deciding, observe the colors at different times of day.
Color forecast for 2008/2009: They’re predicting that the hot colors will be earthy browns and brownish grays; more complex blues, like purpled navy; slick reds with names like ribbon and lacquer, which would be complicated reds, not simple ones like stoplight red; new greens emphasizing yellowed greens of nature; and yellow in all its hues (even whites will be buttery).
What’s out for 2008: Wimpy colors, including anything pastel (ditch the seafoam green).
To avoid dating your house with your color choices, Jameson suggests that you go with colors from nature: “Nature is always in style. Subtle earth tones such as green, brown, beige, and putty make a wonderful backdrop.” Then, she says, if you have nature-inspired neutrals on walls, countertops, and floors, you’re free to experiment with trendy colors and patterns with pillows, art, rugs, and accessories.
