Re-decorating a room can be exciting and fun. It can also be a little intimidating as well. Where’s a good place to to start? Money a little tight these days? Want some help? In a word -think paint! Read on….

Change the paint- change the room

New paint is the easiest and least expensive way to rejuvenate a tired looking room. Your choice of paint color sets the tone of the room & adds personality, so it is an important choice.  Here’s a few ideas ..

Accentuate the positive-mask the negative

Did you know that choosing the right  paint colors can showcase your home’s architectural style or, mask it? Paint color, if used correctly, can mask flaws, create the  illusion of taller, wider, cosier or bigger. The right paint colors can not only enhance certain positive elements in a room, but it can also detract from negative aspects by drawing attention away from them.

Optical illusions with paint

Used correctly, paint can create  optical illusions.  Suppose you have a huge cavernous  room that has a sterile cold feel. A good fix would be painting it a deep color. It will seem to draw in the walls a bit,  creating the illusion of a cozier room.
If you want to heighten a low ceiling, painting the ceiling a fresh coat of white will give the appearance of being a little higher than it actually is.  Art work with strong vertical lines helps to heighten as well.
Another problem may be that a vaulted ceiling is making your room feel  cold & formal. Cosey up that room by painting the ceiling a warmer color. Warmer colors will create the illusion of a lower ceiling.
Another way to create coziness in a room that I already have alluded to,  is to paint the room in a darker color. I know for many this is a frightening thought, but trust me on this one, it really can create more intimacy and coziness in a room if chosen carefully.
Using white or lighter tints to paint hallways can open them up.

Paint samples-not just chips

When choosing paint colors, don’t make your selection based solely on a  few paint chips. Save yourself the hard learned lesson, that many of us found out from experience.. A 2″ by 2″ paint chip cannot adequately convey the true sense of a color. It looks a lot different with the whole room painted in that color than it looked on that tiny chip! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve  had to repaint a whole room before I learned this. I’m a slow learner apparently, because I’ve made this same mistake repeatedly.Basic laws of nature: 1-Gravity always works [on earth anyway] and 2-Color is always more intense on the wall than it is on a tiny paint chip. When you find a chip you love, go a shade lighter.
Buy a pint size sample and paint a largish section of wall. Believe me, the cost of a small paint sample is a bargain, when compared to the cost of time and money to repaint an entire room. Light changes through out the day and that effects the way your paint color looks. Observe your painted section of wall for several days. Decide if that color is as appealing to you at 3:00 in the afternoon or 8:00 O’clock at night, as it was at 10:30 in the morning .Put samples of furnishings next to it, do you like how they work together? Paint a large enough section to get a real feel for that color. Are you still loving it a week later? Then go for it!

Create a unified house

Color can be used to tie all the rooms in a house together. By using a unifying color in various tints and shades through out the house you create harmony without it becoming boring. Paint an accent wall here or there,  hallways or trim with varying forms of the same color. Or use a central design element and choose colors from that. A piece of art work that you love is a nice place to start. [I would say that!].

Color and mood

Did you realize that studies have shown that color effects mood? Well, that is exactly what studies have shown!

BLUE- Blue rooms are calming & relaxing. Here’s a strange fact, blue walls in the areas where food is prepared or eaten can lessen appetite. Who knew? There’s a reason why the saying “I’m feeling blue” is used when you’re sad, these same studies inform us that blue can actually create feelings of sadness.
I’m trying to process this information, if I paint my dining room and kitchen blue-I may eat less & lose some weight, feel calmer & yet be sad? That’s a little confusing.

Red – Red is the opposite of blue. Red is passionate, incites action. Unlike our blue walls, red eating areas tend to create more of an appetite. You may want to re- think those red walls in the dining room, if you’re trying to lose weight.

Yellow –According to these studies, yellow causes excitability in people. Babies cry more often in yellow rooms, and people argue more in yellow rooms. Yet, we are told that it’s a cheerful color as well! Humn.

I’m not sure how helpful these “studies” are, but stand warned! I feel that science would be better occupied studying ways to find the fat gene and  to alter it, but that’s just me and I’m certainly no scientist.