Tips for Picking - and Loving - the Perfect Paint

Revitalizing walls with a new, quality coat of paint takes a heap of planning and patience

By Chuck Ross
CTW Features

The sophistication of black and white creates an elegant backdrop for many living spaces. Image courtesy Rohm & Haas Paint Quality Institute

Rolling on that first broad stroke of color never fails to infuse a home with a new spirit of confidence and capability. "Interior painting is the number-one do-it-yourself job," says Debbie Zimmer, resident paint expert at the Rohm & Haas Paint Quality Institute, Spring House, Pa. "Paint can absolutely transform a living space. It can make the space appear larger or smaller, it can warm a room up and completely change the feeling a homeowner gets."

For example, she notes, warm yellows and reds in a north facing room can help remove some of winter's cold bite. Similarly, cool blues and greens can help create a relaxing respite in south-facing rooms in the summer.

But the sheer range of options paint offers can be overwhelming. Today, when just selecting a shade of white can require Solomon-like powers of decision, consumers also have any number of packaged faux-treatment kits from which to choose. Experts suggest putting some thought into an overall decorating strategy before hitting the color chips is the best way to narrow your options to a more manageable level.

"I think the most important thing is to not think about the color first," says Barbara Richardson, director of color marketing at Cleveland-based ICI Paints, whose brands include Glidden. "Start out by problem solving. What are you aiming for? Do you want the room to be fun and vibrant or relaxing? Then ask yourself what are the other constraints in the room?"

Once you've pared down your choices, bringing home a quart of one or more candidates to paint your own test swatches is a well-established process for helping your final decision-making. However, Richardson suggests using a couple of poster boards instead of your wall when testing colors in your room. You can move the boards around your room, place them perpendicular to each other on inside corners and rest them above baseboard or next to other trim to be truly sure the color is right for your room and furnishings.

Today, many homeowners aren't stopping with just one color. In addition to the common strategy of using white to highlight floor or ceiling trim, some are picking complementary or contrasting shades to add some extra visual punch.

Richardson recommends a color wheel, available at most craft stores, as the first resource for someone considering a two-color design. This tool can help you determine what color pairing is best for your space, whether it matches different shades of the same basic hue (a monochromatic approach) or brings together shades from opposite sides of the wheel in a complementary alternative.

"Most of the time, it's best to use color schemes that suit what you want to accomplish in that space," Richardson says. "Let's say it's a den, and you want it to be calm - use a monochromatic approach." She suggests a complementary scheme for an active kitchen. Just about any complementary combo will play warm colors off cool ones, creating a lively, engaging environment.

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