Colour Basics - How to choose the right paint colour

Colour Basics - How to choose the right paint colour

There are no easy rules for choosing house painting colours. Colour choice is a personal decision. Some people like the fact that there are so many colour choices to pick from, others will find the wide range of choice makes it difficult to come to a decision. The challenge is to find the best interior or exterior colours that will fit both your personal tastes and work well in the space or environment. We've outlined below the basic elements of colour to help you make the best decisions on colour choice. If after reading the article you are still unsure of what would work best for your home or office, you might want to consider professional advice from a colour consultant. (For more on colour professionals, read our article:
"Choosing a Painter, Paperhanger (wallpaper installer) or Colour Consultant".) Professional painters often help with general colour selection but when it comes to complex colour combinations advice it may be better to hire a colour consultant.

Colour Wheel

You might remember the colour wheel from art class. The colour wheel will help you to understand the relationship between colours. Using the colour wheel will enable you see what colours work well together and will look good in your home or office, interior or exterior walls.

Colour Schemes

There are four basic colour schemes:

1. Monochromatic schemes are based on one basic colour which varies in value (lightness and darkness) and saturation (amount of colour). An example of this is an interior bedroom with light blue walls and dark blue trim.
   
2. Adjacent Schemes combine no more than three similar colours (ie, red, orange, yellow) on the colour wheel.
   
3. Complementary Schemes use colours that are opposite one another on the colour wheel such as yellow and blue. This provides more contrast and bring warm and cool colours to the space.
   
4. Triadic Schemes involve three colours that are equidistant on the colour wheel such as yellow-orange, blue-green, red-violet. These are complex colour treatments. Best results are when a dominant colour is supported by two accent colours. 
   

Colour terms

• Hue is another word for colour.
• Value is the lightness and darkness of a colour.
  
• Intensity is the measurement of a colour's brightness. 
• Temperature - Colours are often called warm or cool. Temperature helps set the mood and can affect perceptions of a room or space
• Shade describes the colours with values closest to black
• Tint describes colours with values closest to white.
  

Colour considerations:

• Colour sets the tone of the room. Think about the type of mood you want to create in the space - relaxed, bold or reflective? Bright colours are great for feature walls and used in bedrooms, cool or neutral colours are best suited to living rooms and studies.
  
• Take into account all aspects of your current decorating styles. From flooring, furnishings to artwork and lighting, the final appearance of your chosen colour will be affected by its surroundings.
• Room direction - choose colours that will complement the direction of the room. For example, west facing rooms will be hot in the afternoon so you'll want to cool them down with blue or green colours.
  
• Room size - colour has the ability to change the perceived proportions of a room. A room can appear larger, smaller or taller depending on the choice of colour. As a general rule light colours make spaces feel larger and dark colours make spaces seem smaller. A light coloured ceiling will make the walls appear taller.
  
• Lighting. Take into consideration room lighting and natural lighting when choosing gloss levels and reflective/bright colours.
• Exterior painting - Think about weather and UV exposure. Dark colours will fade quicker and some colours require extra coats before the desired look is achieved. Choose colours that compliment the architectural style of your home or neighbourhood. Also check with council to make sure that there are not any covenants or restrictions that will dictate the range of colour combinations that can be used on your home.
• Don't rush colour selection. Use magazine images and books for inspiration only. Applying the same colour schemes seen in a magazine rarely produce the same stunning results.  Apply paint samples and check the real look of the paint during the day and night before buying vast quantities.