Call: 925-294-8062

Can You Alter a Room’s Size with Interior Painting in Walnut Creek Homes?


A room has four immovable walls, and its size and shape are permanently set. While this may be literally true to some degree, it is also true that the eye can be “tricked” into seeing things differently. You can change things with interior painting in your Walnut Creek home.

Since the eye tends to see warmer or darker colors as closer, and lighter or cooler colors as more distant, it is possible to use paint – with or without patterns – to fool they eye into seeing a change in size or shape of a room. This can be done to make the space more attractive. It can also be used to enhance positive parts of a room while making less attractive features less prominent.

Changing size is the most often way that interior painting is used to alter a room. Smaller rooms can seem larger if you paint the walls a light color, and keep the ceiling the same color as the walls. When the room is monochrome, there is no stopping place for the eye, and it makes it seem spacious rather than cramped. This means you need to keep the trim the same color as well, so it will not be a stopping place. If you use a cool color, such as blue or green, that will also increase the apparent distance of the walls. You will want to avoid patterns, borders, and things that draw attention to the edges of the walls.

If the room is too large, it can be made to appear cozier by using darker, warmer colors. Use a darker color on the ceiling to make it appear closer. Use textures or patterns. Make places for the eye to stop, like edgings (trim, baseboards, crown molding) of a different color. Add wainscoting or a chair rail. Have the bottom half of the room an alternative color than the top half. These tips for interior painting your Walnut Creek home can make a difference in how your rooms look.

It is also possible to make a room’s shape appear different. The ceiling can be made to appear higher by using a lighter color on it, and vertical stripes on the walls, if the room is large enough. It can appear closer by using a darker color. If the room is long, a lighter color on the longer sides can help open it out a bit, and horizontal stripes will often make a wall seem wider. Using one shorter wall as an accent wall can also create a focal point that will help change the room’s apparent shape.

You may not be able to physically change the size or shape of a room, but you can fool the eye into thinking it is a larger or smaller. Knowing what you want from a room will go a long way toward achieving your goal with interior painting in your Walnut Creek home.

Archive

Swatch Book

Custom Painting Inc

Tell A Friend

Fremont, Hayward Area
(510) 795-0903
Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton Area
(925) 294-8062
San Ramon, Danville, Alamo Area
(925) 866-9610
Walnut Creek, Concord Clayton,
Pleasant Hill Lafayette, Orinda Area
(925) 686-0903