5 Ways to Help You Choose the Right Color Scheme for Your New Home and 5 Painting Mistakes to Avoid

5 Ways to Help You Choose the Right Color Scheme for Your New Home and 5 Painting Mistakes to Avoid


When you move into your new home it is open season on new designs. Take the opportunity to paint and in your home before you move in the furniture and your family. The blank canvas and empty house are a perfect opportunity for a fresh start. When you don’t have to cover furniture and move it around in order to paint it makes the job much easier.

Here are 5 ways to help you choose the right color scheme and design for your new home:
  1. Don’t Shy Away from Using Color in Your Design: All too often all white walls in a home indicates a fear of using color. Sure, the wrong color or too much color could make a room look silly, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use paint or colored design elements at all.
  2. Lighting and Color Should Match: One of the main reasons that colors might not look right in your room can be the lighting. Changing the type of bulbs or type of lighting you have can make a huge difference in the way that colors look in a room. Using a dimmer switch can also be a big help for mood lighting so that your lights are not at their fullest brightness all the time. You might be very surprised at how different colors can look in different lights.
  3. Each Room Should Not Be Drastically Different: While each room in your home doesn’t necessarily have to be the same, they shouldn’t be drastically different either. Carry some of the same design motifs throughout your home to maintain some continuity. Each room should be slightly different, but still show your style.
  4. Create Focal Points and Highlight the Architectural Features: To avoid having a room that has one color that overpowers the room, choose a focal point that contrasts the dominant color. The focal point can be a chandelier, a large vase, a plant, a painting, or other favorite piece of yours. It can help draw the eye away from all of the color. It should be a different color that stands out. The same goes for architectural features of a room. If a room has an arch, crown molding, a fireplace, or other architectural feature, it should be a different color than the rest of the walls. If your walls have a pattern, the feature can pull one of those colors to tie in the overall design very nicely. The color of your architectural features should either blend or contrast the other color in the room.
  5. Balance Your Design Elements: One of the reasons color doesn’t work in a room is because people use too much of the same color in a room. Interior designers use a 60-30-10 rule as a guideline: 60% of the color in a room should come from the walls, 30% of the color should come from the upholstery, and 10% should come from accent pieces, accessories, and artwork. There are always exceptions, but if you are feeling like there is an imbalance in the room you create, check it by this rule to see if you can adjust it to your liking. If you alter from the guideline and for example, have a multi-colored area rug, you might choose a lighter or more neutral color within the rug to choose for the paint on your walls.
5 Painting Mistakes to Avoid

To help ensure that you are successful in adding your colors, take heed when painting and avoid these common painting mistakes. Also remember to choose different paint finishes so that you can play up the textures and make your paint finish more interesting and unique. Different finishes such as matte, shiny, knock down, or texturized can help break up the colors and help other colors blend in or contrast with each other. Here are 5 painting mistakes to avoid when painting and decorating your home:
  1. Don’t forget the primer: If your paint color doesn’t appear like you expected it to, it could be because you forgot to use primer first. The primer helps the paint color look right, go on smooth, and stay on.
  2. Don’t rush the process: Moving can be very stressful and you might want to just get it over with. Another problem occurs when you are on a deadline to get moved in. Being in a rush can cause you to make hasty decisions or just settle on a design that you may not be thrilled with. Remember that these designs will likely be with you in your new home for a long time, so take the time to be happy with what you choose.
  3. Picking your paint color first is often a big mistake: If you get set on a paint color before designing the rest of the room or choosing the furniture for that room, you might end up stuck with paint and other designs that don’t match. Choose everything together, or at least before you paint the walls.
  4. Don’t lose sight of your emotional goal: At the beginning of this article, we explained how important it is to learn what colors mean and how they can make you feel. When you are choosing your paint, remember what emotions you wish to invoke and keep in mind how colors can make you feel. A red bedroom might make it difficult to relax and sleep, for example.
  5. Don’t ignore trends: Sure, a design should have a classic and enduring look, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore trends. Looking into trendy paint colors and styles will help ensure that you can match your look to new furniture styles and trends.