If you're looking to change the appearance of your home, changing the colour is a great place to start. Unfortunately, for most people, picking the right house colour isn't just difficult, it's frightening! There are many ways to get it wrong. Pick nondescript colours and your house will seem flat or featureless. If you pick colours that are too bright and they might become overwhelming and probably upset your neighbours. Either way, too bold or too bland, if they don't enhance the appearance as expected, you run the risk of reducing the value and potentially, the ability to sell your property.
The right colors will highlight the most beautiful features of your home and hide the least. You can disguise certain design flaws just by using the right paint in the right way and in doing so, increase the street appeal and potentially the value of the property. So, what do you need to do to find that elusive colour combination and make the decision process painless? Read on…
If you have an older property, most people like to stick to tradition so, If you're planning to paint an older home, you'll probably want to use a historically accurate colour scheme. One way is to send off paint chips to your local paint experts and ask them to recreate the original colour. Or, just refer to historic colour charts and select shades that might have been used at the time your home was built.
If you're the non-traditional type or just want to fly in the face of history, before you buy that modern colour you dream of, look at what your neighbours are doing. Using bright, modern colors on old architectural details can produce startling and exciting results. But, a word or warning, a brightly coloured Victorian home that looks splendid in an up and coming area of a city will seem wildly out of place in more conservative rural neighbourhoods. If you want really modern when you have conservative neighbours, choose 'conservative' modern!
Talking about your neighbours, although the house next door can give you paint ideas, never copy your neighbour exactly. Unless your houses are all supposed to be exactly the same, choose combinations that set your home apart, without clashing with any buildings nearby. A good tip when looking at the neighbours, is to look at the landscape as well as the properties. A house surrounded by trees may suggest more earthy colours of greens and browns. A beach setting might suggest a sea palette of water blues, turquoises, and sand. Even the flowers in and around your front garden should inspire exciting colour combinations.
So, when you've chosen the main colour(s), what shade and do you go light or dark? There are some basic rules to follow. 1. Use light colours to add size. Light colours make a building look larger, grand estates are often painted white for this reason. Increase your home's sense of size and dignity by using white or a pale cream colour. 2. Use dark colours to add drama. Dark edging bands will make your house seem smaller, but will draw attention to details. Darker shades are best for accenting recesses, while lighter tones will highlight details that project from the wall surface. On traditional Victorian homes, the darkest paint is often used for the window sashes.
Of course, when choosing the right colour combinations, you've got to consider much more than just the main colours on the walls. Some colours are already established and are hard to change. What colour is your roof? Does your house have brick walls? Vinyl windows? A natural wooden garage door? Will steps and railings remain their existing colours? Your paint choice doesn't have to match everything, but it should harmonize. Focus on these details. Depending on the size and complexity of your home, you may want to choose up to as many as six colours to include accents for shutters, moldings, doors, window sashes, brackets, columns, porch decks and the largest detail on most houses, the garage door.
So, pick the main colour that complements the house and neighbourhood, pick the shade that enhances the natural features and pick complementary colours that bring it all together. Easy...
The right colors will highlight the most beautiful features of your home and hide the least. You can disguise certain design flaws just by using the right paint in the right way and in doing so, increase the street appeal and potentially the value of the property. So, what do you need to do to find that elusive colour combination and make the decision process painless? Read on…
If you have an older property, most people like to stick to tradition so, If you're planning to paint an older home, you'll probably want to use a historically accurate colour scheme. One way is to send off paint chips to your local paint experts and ask them to recreate the original colour. Or, just refer to historic colour charts and select shades that might have been used at the time your home was built.
If you're the non-traditional type or just want to fly in the face of history, before you buy that modern colour you dream of, look at what your neighbours are doing. Using bright, modern colors on old architectural details can produce startling and exciting results. But, a word or warning, a brightly coloured Victorian home that looks splendid in an up and coming area of a city will seem wildly out of place in more conservative rural neighbourhoods. If you want really modern when you have conservative neighbours, choose 'conservative' modern!
Talking about your neighbours, although the house next door can give you paint ideas, never copy your neighbour exactly. Unless your houses are all supposed to be exactly the same, choose combinations that set your home apart, without clashing with any buildings nearby. A good tip when looking at the neighbours, is to look at the landscape as well as the properties. A house surrounded by trees may suggest more earthy colours of greens and browns. A beach setting might suggest a sea palette of water blues, turquoises, and sand. Even the flowers in and around your front garden should inspire exciting colour combinations.
So, when you've chosen the main colour(s), what shade and do you go light or dark? There are some basic rules to follow. 1. Use light colours to add size. Light colours make a building look larger, grand estates are often painted white for this reason. Increase your home's sense of size and dignity by using white or a pale cream colour. 2. Use dark colours to add drama. Dark edging bands will make your house seem smaller, but will draw attention to details. Darker shades are best for accenting recesses, while lighter tones will highlight details that project from the wall surface. On traditional Victorian homes, the darkest paint is often used for the window sashes.
Of course, when choosing the right colour combinations, you've got to consider much more than just the main colours on the walls. Some colours are already established and are hard to change. What colour is your roof? Does your house have brick walls? Vinyl windows? A natural wooden garage door? Will steps and railings remain their existing colours? Your paint choice doesn't have to match everything, but it should harmonize. Focus on these details. Depending on the size and complexity of your home, you may want to choose up to as many as six colours to include accents for shutters, moldings, doors, window sashes, brackets, columns, porch decks and the largest detail on most houses, the garage door.
So, pick the main colour that complements the house and neighbourhood, pick the shade that enhances the natural features and pick complementary colours that bring it all together. Easy...
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