Consider paint’s attributes before putting it on walls

Paint is one of the best decorating items you can use in a room. Changing a color and adding an accent will give any room a whole new look. It is also the least expensive item you can add since it is something you can do yourself, saving money, and it is inexpensive to change.

But paint and your time is still money. So I want to share with you what I consider to be the seven deadly mistakes made with paint.

1. Selecting the paint color before the other things in your room. You just want the room painted, you want some color, but you haven’t picked your new carpet, upholstery or fabrics.

I had a client who did this. She hired a painter who suggested this neutral color he used many times. When he was done, it looked nice in the room. Then it was time for new upholstery. Guess what? We struggled to find anything that worked with the paint without the walls turning pink. The paint had a very pink undertone that jumped out with everything because the client wanted white.

The room was very large, with vaulted ceilings and she didn’t want to pay to have it repainted, so we had to take the upholstery in a different direction. It looked great when we were done, but it still was not what she originally wanted.

2. Not looking at the paint color with all of the items in the room: flooring, cabinets, window coverings, upholstery, wall units, stone and artwork. Paint absorbs and reflects the colors around it. So, it may look perfect with your upholstery but turns orange next to your cabinets.

3. Not looking at the paint color across from each window and during the four times of day: morning, noon, dusk and night. Paint is a living color and reacts to all the things around it. Direct sunlight is constant and keeps a color consistent. In the morning and as the sun sets, the colors will appear more golden.

Paint in north-facing windows will bring out more of its blue and green tones since those windows receive less direct sunlight. South-facing windows get more sunlight so colors will pull the warmer tones of yellow and orange. Because of this your colors will look different in every room.

Plus take notice to what is directly outside your windows and any window tints. Since sunlight passes through them, the colors of these items will affect how your colors look inside each room.

4. Painting samples right on the wall. When you paint samples on the wall, all you’re doing is giving yourself extra work.

You’re excited, you bring a quart home, get out a brush and start painting. You don’t like the color, so you go out, buy another color and paint more. Now you’ve picked your favorite and want to see it over the sofa, so you paint some more. But you don’t like it there, so on and on it goes until you find the right one.

By now you have different color stripes on the walls ranging from yellow to red to green and it’s time to paint. Well, unless you want the paint to look different over each color sample, you most likely will need to apply multiple coats of primer to get back to a single color, involving more work.

5. Picking a paint color from the small sample on a paint strip. Paint colors do appear different from small to large samples. This is why you need to buy that quart of paint and four pieces of poster board. Paint all four boards and you have a wall-size sample.

Interior designers are fortunate to be supplied with color or chip boxes by paint manufacturers. Along with a fan deck, we have access to larger samples that range from 3 by 5 inches to 5 by 7 inches and it does make a difference. Many times I’ll think the color on the fan deck is the one until I pull out that larger sample. But even then, I always suggest that my client paint those posters boards. It’s much cheaper than repainting the whole room.

6. Not taking a color sample home. Along with the reasons above, another is that the artificial light in your home will change colors. Incandescent bulbs give off a yellow light, so they will make your colors warmer and golden. Warm fluorescent bulbs bring out more reds and warmer colors. Cool fluorescent bulbs bring out cooler tones, while color-corrected bulbs provide a more accurate color. Halogen bulbs give a crisp, white light that affects your colors the least. Since the type of bulbs will change your colors, keep that in mind when changing your light bulbs.

7. Not allowing yourself time to get used to the color. If you’re not used to having color on your walls, it will be a change. It’s like getting a new hairstyle; it sometimes takes time to get use to.

So paint those walls and make your rooms pop, but remember my seven deadly mistakes.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.