5 colour rules when painting a room
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden
Breathe some life into your rooms by bringing some colour to your walls. Read our 5 colour rules before you start.
- Choose a colour that appeals. People with colourful homes aren’t worried about making mistakes. Start with a colour you love. Go for the boldest shade and test it on the wall, you can try again if it doesn’t work.
- Take your time. Paint a metre-square swatch on the wall and live with it for a while, checking it in natural and artificial light, especially if you’re choosing a metallic or textured finish.
- Do the maths. Designers work to a simple rule of 60% colour in a room from walls, 30% from furniture, flooring or window treatments, 10% from art and soft furnishings. Consider where your colour impact is coming from.
- Don’t overdo it. Dramatic walls can be too intense if matched with a multi-hued rug, sofa and patterned cushions. Choose one of these to be the most eye-catching and keep the walls light.
- Use primer. When changing the colour of a wall, have a blank canvas by using white or tinted primer first so the original paint doesn’t affect the new coat.
- Metallic or textured finish? When in doubt, you can always also seek someone who can do the job for you. Professional house painters in Chester are a group that can easily get the job done and dusted quickly as painting walls can be quite tricky in the long run.
