How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Home Renovation
In theory, renovating at home is really a very easy task. After all, you just choose the objects that you like and also make them fit your home. However, experts will tell you that renovating a home is really trickier than that. There are so many elements that need to be balanced. As a homeowner, you need to make sure that you get your home elements just right and that includes the colors you use in your home. Experts agree that the colors you choose for your home will not only affect how it looks but they can also affect how you behave as well. Renovating a home and changing and fixing all the colors is a challenge, yes, but it is also a challenge that you will surely enjoy.
Approaching Home Design
Most people approach home design and renovation in two different ways – they choose objects and colors that look good to them or they make use of patterns and decorating themes that already exist. It is good to consider these design ideas but you will also want to know that color plays a very powerful role in home décor and design; it can influence your emotions and mindset. It can help make a room smaller or bigger and it can also set the mood in a room especially when used as an interior color. Experts agree that color psychology can greatly impact the look and feel of a home.
Most people do not even know this but colors really do have a massive effect on your mood and your psyche; restaurants and spas already make use of color psychology so why not do the same for your home? It may sound complicated but it really is very easy especially if you have a handy guide to help you out. You can have your home looking and feeling like a spa in no time. You can turn your home into paradise with just the right use of colors in the right spaces.
Color Psychology
Below are some of the best tips on how you can use different colors in your home to influence moods and mindsets. There are also some great tips on how you can use colors to set the mood on a certain room.
- Create the illusion of space. Is your house looking a little cramped? If you have removed nearly all the furniture in your room yet you still feel closed in, you may want to take a look at your walls and their color. This may seem unusual but you should know that dark walls will make your house look smaller while bright colors create the illusion of brighter and more open spaces. If you want to make your house look more spacious than it really is then you make use of bright colors on your walls. Colors like eggshell and bright yellows can add space to your interiors. You might think opting for a stark white is a good idea but it can look cold and clinical; it is simply not as effective as tinted colors.
- Appeal to a highly educated crowd. Do you want your home to become appealing to people that are of higher intelligence than most? Maybe you are a lecturer and you like hosting dinners for your colleagues; perhaps you are an artist and you like to have your friends over. If that is the case, then you ought to make use of complex colors on your interiors. Studies have shown that colors that require two words to describe appeal to more intelligent people. On the other hand, it has been found out that simpler colors appeal to people with lower education levels and lower budgets. When choosing complex colors, try to look at colors like eggshell white, Robin’s egg blue, forest green, etc.
- Make people hungry. Do you ever wonder why many fast food joints use the color red? Well, they use red because color experts say red has the ability to make people feel hungrier than they really are. If you want the same effect in your kitchen then reach for the red paint. Red has been shown to increase the appetite in most people but you do not have to paint your kitchen all red if you are worried about it looking like a bordello. You can still keep your walls and floors beige but you can opt for red cabinets and red appliances here and there to stimulate your appetite.
- Consider the state of your health. Red might make you and your family want to eat but if you or anyone in your family has high blood pressure then you ought to steer clear of the color. While red can indeed make you want to eat more when used in the kitchen, deep shades of red used in other parts of the house can make you irritable and that is not good for your high blood pressure either. If you want a dark color on your walls, then choose cool colors and not warm ones like red.
- Use relaxing colors for relaxing rooms. Your room is your own private space where you can kick back and relax. To add to the relaxing atmosphere, you will want to use colors like lavender, blue, and green. When using this color scheme, make sure that your colors are on the deeper side so you really see the effect of the colors on your mood.
- Take it easy. If you like colors and patterns but you are never sure which one will work, then you ought to start slow. You do not need to repaint your whole house in shocking colors just because it is the current trend. You will want to start out by adding little details here and there until you get used to the idea of using colors in different rooms to affect the mood and feel of the different rooms. When you want to redecorate your room and use new colors to affect your mood, the same rule holds true. You can start small by using darker colored furniture and rugs; once you get used to the idea of using colors in your bedroom, you can take it another step by painting your walls!
Paint Types
When looking to paint your home, you do not just consider the colors. You may also want to think of the type of paint you use. For instance, there is such a thing as flat paints, which are perfect for surfaces that have flaws and imperfections since they do not accentuate the flaws. However, you may not want to use such paints in your kitchen and bathroom for the simple reason that they are not easy to clean; that is, you cannot really scrub and rub at them and you can’t avoid that in kitchens and bathrooms. Another paint finish that you need to look into is satin; this paint has a sheen to it that is perfect for bedrooms and living rooms. This paint is scrubbable but you do not want to use it in high-traffic areas because the finish will scrub off and any changes in the sheen will be noticeable. Gloss finish paints are rarely used in surfaces that have flaws since it highlights what is wrong even more. Gloss paint is very easy to clean and is highly durable but it is also very difficult to touch up in case it gets scuffed since the touched up surfaces will be very visible.