By Jennifer Rouse
For Mid-Valley Newspapers | Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2008 12:00 am
You're sick of your all-white walls. You've perused the myriads of color choices at the home improvement store. You've admired gorgeous colors in other houses. You're ready to paint your house.
But you're afraid of picking a color you think will look good, only to end up hating it after all the work it is done.
Not to worry. Here are some time-tested color strategies from local experts.
"What you do with color is evoke," said Corvallis interior designer Sue Lyn Thomas. "It can create a mood, a sense, a feeling. You have to decide what you want your room to say."
Thomas owner of Beyond Belief, a Corvallis-based design company, tells clients to begin by imagining their ideal life, and then identify the feelings that go along with those daydreams.
Do you crave peace and relaxation? Excitement and adventure? Look at colors you like and think about whether they evoke those ideal feelings. Once you've identified the mood you want to create in your home, it's easier to narrow down your color palette.
Then take stock of the furnishings and artwork in the room you want to paint. If they're going to remain, it's important to pick something that will complement your things. Think of your walls as the scenery in the stage of a room, with your favorite pieces as the actors.
"You can spend thousands on a piece of furniture and still be disappointed that they don't look like you want them to," Thomas said. "It's the large surfaces in the background that make it sing."
Kelli Fitzpatrick, co-owner and color consultant with Fitzpatrick Painting, recommends picking a piece of artwork that you really love, then hanging your color swatch right next to it.
"That color is the backdrop for your furnishings," Fitzpatrick said. "You'll be amazed. It bring so much life to it."
If you're someone who likes to change things up, keep in mind that furnishings are more expensive to replace than wall paint. Stacey Lopez, color consultant and office manager for JR Painting, said she recently advised a friend who loves lime green to use that color on the walls of her home, rather than purchase a lime green sofa.
"It's a lot more economical to repaint a wall than to buy a new sofa," she said. "Lime green is very in right now, but in two years it might not be."
Thomas of Beyond Belief said she advises clients not to be too influenced by current styles.
"If you do all the trends, you'll get sick of it and you're going to end up with a home that looks very dated," she said. "I tell people to pick what they love."
Once you've decided on a color you love, the trick is selecting just the right shade. Go to the paint store, look at the dozens of little swatches within the color you're thinking about and pick a few to pin up on your wall.
"I tell people to look at it three times a day," Lopez said. "You want to see it in morning light, in afternoon light, and also in artificial lights at night."
Hanging swatches is also a good way to get reactions from everyone who is going to live in the space; a color you love may irritate other family members.
If you're uncertain or you're going with a very bold color, it's probably worth your money to buy a small can of sample paint. Most paint stores sell them for less than $10.
"It's a big difference to actually see it on the surface," Fitzpatrick said.
Once you start painting, don't get worried if the first coat doesn't look just right, Thomas said. "I tell people not to even think about it until the last coat is finished. You can't get the full effect until then," she said.
For especially dark colors, she suggests using a new line of paint from Benjamin Moore called "Aura" that will completely cover a room with just one coat, versus the three or more coats deep colors may require with standard paint.
If you've had all white walls for years and are afraid of plunging into color, start subtly. A warm beige or light warm yellow is a good, almost-neutral choice that still livens up a room.
"Those warm tones make you feel kind of cozy," Lopez said. "You walk in, and it feels like home."
The main thing is to pick a color and get painting.
"If you've had all white walls and you're used to it, you might think it looks clean and nice," Fitzpatrick said. "But you'll be amazed at the personality color will add."