Rick Morrison
Deciding on a color for the interior of your house? There’s a reason you’re confused and sometimes fearful of the process. These days, many homeowners in SaddleBrooke are choosing to either paint or repaint the interior of their homes. Some of these reasons are: the home has never been painted and is still one of the Robson “whites”; you just purchased a resale and you cannot figure out why the homeowner picked these colors (I’ve been there); your significant other likes to occasionally change it up just to keep you on your toes; you have decided to keep the home rather than sell and it needs to be freshened up; you have decided to sell the home and it needs to be freshened up.
The list can go on, but the problem remains: how to decide the color(s) to paint. When you consider color density, hue, saturation, tint, shade, etc. the task is daunting to say the least. Add to these considerations, how does light/shadow, furniture, accent pieces, art, cabinetry, and flooring play into the equation? Flooring can be one of the most tricky decisions to make with so many options nowadays. Tile flooring is gaining huge popularity, with different colors and designs available to fit in any home style. To adapt to the new color you’d like in your home, changing your flooring might be the best option. You can find incredible tile stores in NJ for some inspiration. Are there colors you simply would never consider? Do you decide on a color just to be safe, beige for example, because it goes with everything even though you may not like it best? These days the color choices available are intimidating to say the least. Most brands of paint have between 3,500 and 5,000 choices to pick from. Try to pick just one or two! Never choose because of a color name as it rarely reflects what it will look like on the wall. What appears as a lovely custard yellow will invariable become canary yellow once applied, and white isn’t white. Maybe you liked a color scheme that worked well in your previous home elsewhere in the country. That same color may not work here in SaddleBrooke due to our bright daylight.
There are often emotional reasons that contribute to your dilemma, but that’s another story. Some folks are impulsive and decide on the first choice presented to them while others are analytical and try to make their decision based upon intensive research while creating large color boards. I refer to this as paralysis by analysis and it often creates more trouble than it solves, along with the need to trim down the choices to a manageable number. You decide the room(s) you are painting and consider the light/shadow effects in the room along with contributing factors mentioned above. For example, how long do you want your guests to stay in the guest room? A soothing color may mean an extended stay while a bright saturated color guarantees a short stay.