Painting using bold colors can be quite intimidating, especially if you’re not a professional painter or decorator. If you don’t have an ‘eye for color,’ you might be afraid of picking the wrong color that sometimes you end up picking no color at all. Dark colors generally offer warmth and richness that creates unique and admirable atmospheres, especially when the Columbia City weather turns cold.
We fall in love with a variety of strong colors for various reasons, but that doesn’t automatically make the color that you fell in love with, the best choice for your home. Darker colors can be quite problematic, but this doesn’t mean you should abandon them entirely. You simply need to learn a few tips and tricks in order to pull together an impressive strong color theme. And for that, check out these tips:
Don’t Forget to Test First
As you can imagine, dark or bright colors are a delicate pick, and one of the mistakes you can do is to pick a color right off the color chart and have it painted on your wall without testing it first. You need to see how the color behaves under natural light on the wall, in different areas that you intend to paint. Pick samples of at least 2-3 hues of your chosen color and test them on different walls in your room, and choose the winner.
Don’t Ignore Other surrounding Materials and Colors
If you’re painting your interior, pay close attention to the color of your ceiling and materials on the floor. This is because they will interact heavily with colors on your wall. Colors often behave differently when next to other colors, and you might not be able to detect this when looking at each individual color in isolation.
It Can Be Overwhelming
This is one of the biggest reasons why many people shy away from strong colors. Most dark and bold colors tend to be overwhelming if they are too bright, and this can overwhelm architectural and design detail. Be careful when using strong colors in order to achieve the right balance –pick a color that’s bold enough to stand up to the surrounding elements, but not too bright to drown other important elements of interest such as décor.
Go slow On Décor
When repainting your interior with dark, strong colors, consider using very little décor. This is because bright colors speak for themselves and can make their own statement. Adding too many décor items will make your room look too busy and overwhelming.
Use Accent Colors for Balance
As already mentioned, strong, bright colors can be quite overwhelming when used dominantly in any space. One of the best ways to tone them down is by adding a complementary accent color to off-set the bright one. This could be a muted tone of the same color or neutral color in the same family. For instance, if you’re painting your interior in dark brown, a beige or light gray accent wall could help to tone it down.
The Bottom Line
Painting using bright colors can be quite fun once you get past the fear of making the wrong choice. Considering the above tips should make it easier to pick the best strong color combination. But the most important thing is to work with colors that you really love. If you can’t seem to figure out the best color combinations, a professional painting contractor like Matthews’ Painting can help.
Our painting crew has years of experience in residential painting, currently serving the areas of Warsaw, Syracuse, Lake Tippecanoe area, Winona Lake area, Columbia City, Indiana, and surrounding Indiana cities. We offer free professional color advice on each approved estimate.
Contact us today for more details or a free estimate! (574) 834-3575