5 Paint Mistakes You Didn’t Know You Were Making
As Home Stagers that offer Colour Consultations in beautiful Toronto - boy, have we seen it all!
Here are the top 5 things to avoid when planning on painting a room, a bathroom, a basement, garage or the whole house!
Don’t choose paint colour first!
Isn’t it just easier to paint the walls and figure out the rest of the room after - NO! I know it seems like you should choose your paint colour first because painted walls make up a lot of the decor space in your home. It is much easier to colour match your wall colour to furniture, decor, art, accessories, etc. Since there are thousands of paint colours to choose from.
Not testing paint samples on your wall!
Yes, paint samples can cost between $5-$15 but I promise that you will probably never regret actually narrowing down 2-3 colours, buying samples and actually painting/viewing them on your wall. Now, there is a trick I learned from the ever-amazing https://www.instagram.com/stagingstudio/. Buy white bristol board and paint your sample on that. This will show you the true colour of your sample(s). The old wall colour will skew your colour perception of the new colour. Now tape that bristol board to the wall, then move it around the room - Place it beside your sofa, beside your rug, and other furniture, etc. You want to ensure the colour jives with the items in the room.
STORY TIME ! When my now husband was painting our first home we narrowed down 3 grey samples and painted them on bristol board on the wall. I did not move in yet, so I would come over early morning and see how the samples looked in natural daylight. I would come over in the evening and at night to see how it looked. My future husband thought I was nuts (at the time, and probably still does) - But I didn’t care! It helped to narrow down a colour and we were THRILLED with the results especially since we chose it for our entire main floor (except the powder room).
The moral of my story is, look at the paint samples in your home, in natural daylight and at night especially with ambient lighting in the room. It can look very different compared to the store and it’s lighting.
Ignoring Paint Finishes
Sheen is the degree of light reflection off the painted surface. Here’s a rhyme that’ll help you remember - The higher the sheen, the easier to clean (generally)! It will also stand up best to abrasions and stains. Unfortunately, at the same time, the higher the sheen, the more imperfections will show in a space. Opt for a lower sheen if you’re trying to hide any flaws in your wall.
Gloss: Highly wipeable and easiest to clean, but is way too shiny for walls. Best for for baseboards, trim, interior doors, and sometimes cabinets.
Semi-gloss: Almost as easy to clean as gloss, but with significantly less shine. Yet again not great for most walls. It is best for trim, interior doors, cabinets and high moisture areas, like bathrooms and kitchens.
Satin finish: Best to use for higher traffic area walls like hallways and kids rooms. Since a satin finish is easily wipeable it is great for bathrooms.
Eggshell: A little more durable than a flat or matte paint. Works in spaces that sees some traffic but not too much, like living rooms, dining rooms or bedrooms.
Flat or Matte: Best to leave this for ceilings, but if you’re feeling very brave maybe the primary bedroom. Spaces where the walls won’t be touched much.
Not Choosing Neutrals
I can’t tell you how many homes in Toronto and the GTA have colour - all the colours. While colour is a beautiful thing, for most of us it’s best to keep the walls neutral and use those bold pops of colour through accents and accessories.
Pick an accent piece or a piece of furniture to be your focal point of the room - not the walls. Which is definitely what you want!
Changing an accent piece in a space is MUCH easier than changing wall colour - and often cheaper as well. Think about when the room need to be redecorated for Christmas or Fall. Neutral walls are like a blank canvas, you can paint them however you like!
Think resale, neutral colours are timeless. So when it comes time to sell you may not need to repaint. Added bonus, neutral colours make rooms look larger ;)
Not Hiring a Professional Colour Consultant - Like Us!
We understand shades, hues, tones, we just get colour. Imagine paying hundreds for paint and paint supplies, paying for a painter, then hating the colour?!?!? A colour consultation will save you time and money! Aaaaand, most professional colour consultants have a pretty sweet discount at large paint supplies such as Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams that they can pass onto you. #teambenjaminmoore but who’s asking lol
Here’s a FREE gift for you!! Drop us a line below and we will email you a copy of out “Go-To Paint Colours” Guide. These are tried, tested and true paint colours that can work in MANY spaces. Usually we give this to our staging clients after a consultation but if you’ve made it this far in this blog, it’s yours for $0.00.
