Choosing paint colours
“It’s just paint!”, I’ve said this to myself a hundred times in the past week! How hard can it be? Well, enough to drive me a little bit crazy, I have to say.. I’m sure my husband will agree :D!
I’m so excited to share with you, that we are finally re-painting the house and renovating the kitchen (more of that later), and I couldn’t be happier! But, this process can be confusing, and consuming and can make you question and challenge a lot of things! Honestly, you don’t realise how different you and your partner are until you have to choose paint for the house! Anyway, this post is all about my thoughts at the beginning of this process. I find it easier to deal with things when I write about them, so here I am!
If you’re at the beginning of your renovation or painting journey, you might relate to some of this! I’d love to hear your thoughts too! So, here are my random thoughts in random order.
My current living room
Thoughts about white paint:
White is such a tricky colour - it’s one of those colours that you can get really wrong, really easily. There’s literally no place to hide, so there’s more pressure to choose the right white!
We all have our preferences when it comes to paint, and white paint in particular. For example, I like white only when it’s next to black, or a dark contrasting colour - all white everything is not for me. Something’s gotta ‘pop’!
Look at these white rooms - so gorgeous right? I can easily imagine myself being extremely calm and serene in any of these beautiful white spaces. Maybe I am warming up to the idea of white walls.
But then, I feel like if I paint my house white, it will look dirty and muddy really quickly and the newness and freshness will be lost in 2 weeks. Then what?
Current dining room, painted in White paint: White does nothing for this dark room.
Even if I manage to magically find the perfect white, what other furniture and furnishings will I have to change?? Now that’s a long list.
Fingerprints and handprints might be seen easily on white paint, and that will bother me A LOT! Also, I don’t know how the usual spread of toys and random junk will look against a serene, calm, white backdrop.
After much deliberation, I have reached a conclusion - that I like white only in other people’s houses. This doesn’t help, I know!
Now, is it really possible for a white paint to brighten up a really dark, poorly lit room that gets very little natural light? I don’t think so. I’m 100% sure that if you have a dark room with little or no natural light, then white paint will make it worse. I have experienced this, in my dining room. See this picture of my dining room. White does nothing for it. Such a shame!
Thoughts about dark, moody rooms:
I’m a huge fan of the whole dark, moody vibe - dark walls and ceiling, soft moody lights, a gallery wall (or two), my rustic wooden desk with lots of old books and tea, a comfy sofa with lots of cushions and throws, TV with endless hours of Netflix - yep, that’s my perfect snug.
But no one else likes this vibe, so should I still go for it? I can understand that a lot of people don’t like dark spaces. It’s not for everyone, I agree. But then, my house, my rules, my choice of paint colour! :D
“It will make the room feel even smaller” is a common misconception, or shall I say a common perception when it comes to dark rooms. I personally feel that dark rooms don’t feel smaller, but feel cosier, comfier and characterful, if done well. Yes, if you keep the ceiling white, then dark walls can make the room feel smaller, but paint the ceiling too, and it’s another story all together.
Sometimes, when you’re dealing with a north facing dark room with non-existent natural light, then it’s a better idea to embrace the darkness and let it be dark, rather than painting it light/white and hoping that somehow it will be nice and shiny and bright. This doesn’t work for all rooms.
I just have to convince my husband and bring him over just a little bit to the dark side .. he prefers the clean, white, bright look. But since the rest of the house is going to be some form of white, one room can be dark.
Worst case - maybe I’ll just claim it as MY room and call it ‘Me Time Land’ and whoever doesn’t like it can stay away from it? That could work too, quite nicely!
Bottomline - You can’t create amazing interiors if you don’t take a risk and step out of your comfort zone! That’s a fact, so while I’m still on the fence about this one, I have to be brave and trust my instinct. I look at loads of dark, moody rooms and I feel like I have to give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?
It’s just paint.. no biggie!
Thoughts about feature/accent walls:
I love a good feature wall, I think it adds interest and breaks the monotony so to speak. It’s also a good way to inject some colour and pattern (and drama) if you don’t want to commit to doing up the whole room. I don’t think it’ll ever go out of style.
There are many ways to create feature walls - paint, wall paper, gallery wall, plant wall, art, panelling, there are just so many creative options out there! I know I want a few feature walls around the house but I want it to be effortless, and not like it’s trying too hard.
I think paint will be the easiest way to add a feature or accent, but choosing the right paint is going to be super tricky!
Some of the feature walls I’m loving - all these walls use paint to create the ‘feature’ and are easily achievable. The best thing is, you don’t even have to paint the entire wall! Look at some of the gorgeous accent walls below, all using paint!
Having looked at thousands of beautiful pictures on Pinterest, Instagram and magazines, I am definitely steering towards the ‘greens’, so I think for my bedroom I want a green feature wall. It’s a calming colour, plus there are some gorgeous greens out there (and also, that’s the only colour my husband and I both agree on)
For my son’s room, it’s really easy - he loves pink, so the feature wall has to be pink! I’m going to let him choose the pink that he likes - it’s his room after all!
For the kitchen, I’m going to (most probably) create a feature wall out of black matte handleless kitchen cabinets. Well, if all goes as per plan!
What if you get the paint colour really wrong for your feature wall? Or you grow out of it? It’s simple, you either paint over it, or wallpaper it, or cover it up with art or photo frames!
It’s just paint after all! No biggie! :D
Thank you for reading! I’m super excited and can’t wait to share some designs and moodboards in a couple of days! I want to know if you have ever chosen a paint colour, painted your whole house (or room) and later regretted it? Comment below!