House Painting Concord: Choosing the Best Color for Your Home

Choosing colors may sound like it’s the most fun part of house painting in Concord. But when you actually get to do the task, you could be overwhelmed by a plethora of paint color choices the moment you step inside a paint shop or a home improvement store. Sometimes, you cannot help thinking that you may choose what turns out to be the wrong color that would make your home look ugly instead of welcoming. And most likely, you may strip off that paint from your wall and haphazardly pick what turns out to be the wrong color again.

If you are in doubt about picking a paint color, stop right there. You need to do a little research first — that won’t hurt. Although paint colors surely vary and homes look different from one another, here are some general painting rules of thumb to consider:

For both interior and exterior painting – never rely too much on paint chips

Paint chips may be helpful, but they are not always a foolproof method to pick the perfect paint color. Interior and exterior paint colors, when painted on the surface, can differ remarkably from the way they look on the paint chips.
Here’s what you can do to test paint colors on the interior and exterior walls:

• Buy as many samples of paint as you can afford of various colors and shades — preferably they should be a quart each.
• Paint it on a hidden area. Check the paint out at different times of day and under various weather conditions. Study at how the paint changes with the daylight or when it’s illuminated with lamplights at night. This method will enable you to get a clearer picture of that particular paint color if it’s applied on the entire surface. It will also enable you to decide more easily if you’ll be satisfied with that paint color if it’s going to stay on the surface for a long time.

Exterior painting:

• To make your exterior look more interesting, you have to choose three different colors or shades:

  1. One for the siding (the main color)
  2. Another one for the trims, railings, edges of the roof, etc.
  3. Another one for accents

  Preferably, the colors of the mains and the accents/trims should contrast with one another. For instance, paint the siding with a medium gray paint. Then paint the trims and the roof edges, etc. with a white paint and the accents with a chocolate brown, red, mustard yellow or any other bold color, to give a bit of punch to the duller gray siding.

• Consider your home’s architectural style. For instance, if your home was built in Tudor style, you’d never think of painting it with “artificial” colors like blue or loud pink that would clash with traditional materials. Tudor style homes are generally built with stone, wood, brick or any other natural materials, and you have to harmonize and enhance its appearance by painting it with earth tones like beige, brown, buff, white and cream.

  Contemporary homes, on the other hand, are more welcome to different paint colors and shades.

• Think about your home’s relationship to its immediate surroundings. For instance, if your home’s dwarfed by tall trees, paint it with brighter or lighter colors to make it more noticeable. Conversely, paint your home with darker colors for a receding effect.

Interior painting:

• Think about your mood. If you want to have your bedroom or living room as a place to rest, relax (while watching TV or reading a magazine) and unwind, then you should paint it with soft, soothing colors.

  Or if you want your living room or dining room as a place for a party or socializing, paint it with warmer and brighter colors that stimulate the senses.

• Pay attention to the light that hits your space. Generally, daylight shows the walls their true paint colors. Incandescent lights cast a somewhat warmer, more yellowish tone to the wall color. Fluorescent lights, meanwhile, brings out a bluish tone. For instance, if you paint all four walls with the same color, that color may look too harsh, overpowering or too vivid when it’s cast with direct sunlight, especially if your room has big windows. But a paint color can be effective when applied on an accent wall, which will bring a balanced and an interesting “popped-out” effect when hit by any kind of lighting.
• If you are still unsure, stick to the general rule of thumb in interior house painting: go for brighter colors for cramped spaces (to give them an illusion of a bigger space), and darker colors for spacious rooms (to give them a receding effect).

Deciding on what’s the best color for your home can really complicate your task of house painting in Concord. But if you consider these tips above, you will be able to get the colors right for the first time.