The use of paint colors to enhance a home, interior or exterior, is something to be considered early on in the design/build process. There is no right or wrong when it comes to color as it is a subjective experience. But there are ways to boost the desired effect through the use of color when considering a color family and choosing a specific shade within a palette.
Paint Colors: Exteriors
In today’s market of paint and stain brands, each with extensive color palettes, you might feel overwhelmed. A basic rule of thumb for any exterior is to consider the style of the home. This will help you refine your color choices. At YBH, we see a large number of barn style homes. The most popular exterior colors (in order of preference) are red, white, green, yellow and black. However, this doesn’t mean barn style home owners choose the same shade. Reds range from rusts to rich, blacks include various shades of gray, etc. A color family may only be the beginning. Once the color choice is made, there are a number of shades or tones within the color family.
Paint Colors: Interiors
Interior paint colors are a different ballgame; pretty much anything goes today. That being said, you can never go wrong with shades of white. The number of offerings in the category of white are mind-boggling. For example, Benjamin Moore has over one hundred – probably closer to two hundred – shades grouped under the heading of WHITE.
Relax
There are many companies today with great paint products; one could quickly become overwhelmed. Do your best to back-away-from-the-color-wheels and think about colors you know you like. When it comes to decision time, old practices still hold true: 1) bring color chips into the space to be painted and/or paint test patches on a wall, 2) observe the color(s) at different times of day, 3) consider the light sources in the room (light greatly alters the perception of a color), and 4) RELAX – paint colors are an easy thing to change!
