Your home is a space where you want to feel welcome, and colour plays a major role in that. It can be a challenge choosing the right paint for your house, as there are so many things to take into account. 

You’ll have to think about the atmosphere you want to create. Do you want it to be cosy and warm? Or perhaps, inviting and bright? There are a range of different colour schemes that go about making your home feel just right for you. So, if you’re thinking “I have no idea what colour to paint my walls?” this article may be able to help. We’ll cover how to choose paint for a house interior and exterior to help you pick the best colours for your home.  

Interior

To begin with, we’ll start with the interior. It’s where you’ll be spending most of your time, so it should be your starting point. There are several ways to go, such as matching paint colour with decor or choosing a colour to create a specific atmosphere.

Choose colours that match your decor

A great way to choose colours is to find a few items around the house that make you feel at home. It could be as simple as a pillow that’s synonymous with your life, a painting, a decorative item or even a couch blanket. You can choose this as the primary colour you’ll use in your home. It can be any colour. You can match your wall paint to your furniture if you so wish, but it can look a bit too monochromatic, so it’s always good to break the colour up a bit.

Remember colour can create a certain mood. Natural colours like beige, greens, and blues create a more mellow and relaxed atmosphere. Whereas, bold colours such as reds, purples and yellows can create a more inviting and exciting interior. It all depends on what you want. 

Let’s just say you picked a yellow pillow, this will be your base. But perhaps you think the colour is a bit too strong. Check out some colour palettes online that are similar to your yellow colour and choose some colours that go with it. There are different shades and hues to pick from, you can choose a yellow that has a bit more richness to it like a bold, warm yellow to give off a more inviting atmosphere, or you can go for a lighter shade that uses yellow as a hue, to give a more relaxed and calm colour.

Create an atmosphere with colour

As mentioned before, you’ll want your home to have an atmosphere to it. Everyone’s home is different, and there’s no reason why yours shouldn’t be either. There is a lot of research and study behind the emotional effects colour has.

In the social rooms such as the dining room and living room, you can pick bright and poppy colours, like yellows, coral, and warm reds as they have an inviting atmosphere that encourages people to be social.

For private areas such as bedrooms, you can go for natural and cool colours, like an off grey-blue, sage green, or even a dark colour like purple. These colours have calming and intimate properties that will help you relax and feel comfortable in your personal space.

You don’t have to go overboard with colour, you can just paint an accent wall or feature wall the colour you want, just to give the room that extra vibrancy and pop. Even a small amount of colour can create a whole new and inviting atmosphere.

Don’t forget your whites

White and natural light is important to interior design. Whilst you don’t have to use white, it’s a good colour to use to break up the interior of your house so it doesn’t feel too cluttered, and looks great in rooms with plenty of light.

Use whites on ceilings, mouldings and arches to give a sense of flow and space and to let the eye naturally be drawn to the next room. By breaking the colours up with white, it won’t look so garish going from one room to another.

Take advantage of natural light

Pick colours that reflect a lot of light in rooms such as the living room or kitchen. These usually have large windows and let natural light in to brighten your home. Choose colours that take advantage of light such as whites, yellows and cool colours like sky blue or mint green. Try to avoid dark colours in these spaces as you won’t be allowing your house to be lit up naturally, and it can give your home a sense of drabness.

Exterior

house painting

It can be just as difficult knowing how to choose paint for the exterior of your house. The exterior look of your home is very important, as it is the first impression someone will get of your house. You’ll want your home to fit into the neighbourhood, yet be unique.

Get to know the neighbourhood

Before being fully set on the colour for your home’s exterior, take a look around your local suburb or neighbourhood. Do you notice any colour trends with the other houses? Take a few photos if you can, or mark down the colours. Next, look for homes that you like, chances are their colour will fit yours too. You can either copy them entirely or mix it up a little. 

Once you have the colours that you like, start imagining where the colours would fit best. Perhaps, a grey roof like all the other houses around, and dusty blue wood paneling that you liked so much from that one house. It’s completely up to you. 

Use what your house already has as a base

Sometimes the colours your house has already look good. Or at least some of it. Houses with exposed brickwork usually look best in their natural brick colour, so you’ll need to take that into account. If you have any exterior painted walls, you can paint them in colours to match the styling of the brickwork. As for rendered houses, you can get more creative with the colours. 

Try to choose colours that will be timeless

Sometimes it feels good to get trendy and choose what’s hot at the moment. Charcoal black houses were popular a while back, but for the most part, if they aren’t designed to suit the colour, they looked dated and daggy. Go for colours that don’t scream, “I’m being trendy” like the charcoal black, unless your house has been designed to suit that darker architectural design. 

Get in touch with colour experts

Now that you have some tips on how to choose paint for your house, there is a wide range of colours to choose from that will make your home feel like home. Remember, it’s your home, don’t be afraid to get experimental. You can either buy swatches or buy a small can of tester paint to try out. You can always paint over the top if you think you made a mistake.

The next part is getting the job done. Elite Painting offers residential painting services in Perth for a reasonable price. If you’re still unsure, get in touch with our team, and our colour experts will help you with picking the right colours for you. Give us a call on 0404 681 371 or email us at michael@elitepainting.com.au for a free quote from your local Perth residential painters.  

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