Secrets of Choosing Colors Before House Painting

When it comes to house painting, color choice for most homeowners is made more complicated than it needs to be. For starters, most homeowners are overwhelmed by the number of colors to choose from. Then there is the fear that they will make a mistake in color choice and have to live with it. Having your home painted twice is not an expense most homeowners want to undertake. Furthermore, what will the neighbors think about the new colors? Below is some house painting tips that will help you feel more confident with your color choice.

1. The first thing to consider is what colors on your house will not change. Roofs typically last from 30 years to lifetime. Bricks are permanent and aren't going to change. Stones are also permanent. Be sure and coordinate any color change with these permanent colors. You will want your wall and trim colors to compliment these existing permanent colors, not fight with them. This should guide you to the right color family.

2. Another consideration should be the landscape and the neighborhood. The colors surrounding the house as well as the geographic location. The type of building materials used on the house.

3. The architectural style of the home needs to be considered. For instance, a French Victorian home needs a different color than an English tutor style home. A traditional home needs a different color than modern architecture.

4. One of the simplest ways to freshen up the look of your home without a major change, is to change the door and shutter colors.

5. Some homeowners wonder if there should be a connection between the interior colors and the exterior colors of their home. It really is a matter of personal preference. If you own a historic home you may want to keep the authenticity of that time period by keeping a connection between interior and exterior colors, but again it is a personal preference. Many homeowners consider the interior a place where there are no limitations for color.

6. Coordinating colors is a common problem with many homeowners. I recommend you make a trip to your paint store. Most major paint stores have pre-selected color schemes. Most offer palette collections that provide accurate historical reference along with collections of colors that work well together. This is a great place to start your color selections.

7. Some of major paint stores like Sherwin Williams, offer an online service that allows you to construct color variations using a visualizer. Call your store for the web address and you can go online with your computer and play around with a lot of different colors for both exterior and interior house painting. You can apply different colors to interior or exterior scenes by simply dragging and dropping in the color on various elements such as walls and trim.

8. One very important thing you should do is purchase a quart of each color you are planning to use and apply them all in the same area of your house for comparison. For the siding or wall color apply in a 4ft by 4ft area next to the trim color you plan to use. The small paint chips supplied by the paint stores are too small to make a determination. (Caution: If the siding is textured, or you have stucco, do not apply paint on a large area with a brush or roller. When the house is painted by the contractor, you will be able to see where you applied the test sample underneath the paint they apply. Paint fills the pores of textured surfaces so you have an uneven distribution of paint where you applied the sample causing it to be visible. Instead, apply the test sample on a piece of plywood and hold up to the trim to test your color samples.)

Make sure you have made a decision on your paint colors before you hire your contractor. Too often homeowners make the mistake of rushing into painting their home without giving adequate time to the color decision process. Suddenly, they feel rushed to decide on colors and end up not confident with their choice of colors. Properly planning your house painting project will definitely cut down on stress.