The painting of your interior creates a large part of the atmosphere of your home. Many people give more thought to the furniture they buy or the appliances they put in than the painting. The walls and trim of your home are the backdrop of your life. Allow yourself to take a little time to find colors that are to your liking. Things to consider when planning to have your home painted are:

1. A theme is a good idea, as often people will use one trim color throughout the house. Take into consideration the rug in your living room, the couch, the color of the entertainment center, the art, the bookshelf (etc.). It is fine to use different colors in different room as long as they all work with the trim.

2. Colors give rooms a specific feel. Sometimes with deep colors it is better to do an accent wall or maybe burgundy walls in the dinning room is exactly the look you want. Rooms are usually done in a two or three color paint scheme. Two color schemes are walls and ceilings one color and trim another color. Three color schemes can be a few different possibilities. One is to have the ceiling be a flat version of the semi-gloss trim color and the wall color be a second color. Another way is to have the ceiling be a quarter tint of the wall color. This generally gives you a whitish color for the ceiling that coordinates well with the walls. Last, you can use a true white for the ceiling and then wall color and trim color. In this situation it is important that the ceiling and trim color work well together.

3. Always buy quarts and put up samples of the colors you are thinking about (next to each other-ceiling, walls and trim). The color you see on the little paint swatch often will look very different on the wall. It is also good to put them in a couple of places in the room. Colors appear different in different lighting. Choose two or three wall and trim colors. Make sure your wall samples are at least 2’x 2’ with a true white around it so you get a good sense of the color. It is much better to spend a few extra dollars and find out which of your colors work well together before you pay for a lot of work to be done.

4. Make sure the prep work is done correctly. A good caulk job can make the difference between a job looking average and a job looking stunning. A little bit of time spent on drywall repair early on can make the finish product shine. Touch sanding the trim between coats can make it beautiful. Most of this is not rocket science, it is just a good thorough approach to creating you home as a place of beauty.

If your home is your castle, let it be fit for a king or queen!!

Sky Sternberg

::The Paint We Use, January 21, 2004