The colours we use to decorate our home send us a certain energy and mood, and can truly contribute to our sense of wellbeing, all with just a few pots of paint.
If you are looking for creative ideas, in this first of two articles I share some simple tips that can help you figure out how to use colour in your home
Unsplash – Brandon Cormier
Tip 1 – Paint the ceiling
When they think about choosing colours most people don’t consider using something distinctive on a ceiling; but why not? It’s true that a darker colour will visually reduce the height of the room; but if you don’t have a low ceiling, there is nothing to worry about; and if there is wooden paneling on the ceiling, you can easily turn it into the focal point of that room. By painting your ceilings your space can gain interest for relatively little expenditure.
Tip 2 – Use paint to separate areas
Do you live in a one room apartment that must be multifunctional? Thanks to colour you can do amazing visual tricks to make your space feel bigger. A pot of paint can help you create specific zones, whatever your floor plan is. For example use paint to optically separate a work corner or a dining part of a room from a sleeping area. In an attic space with a sloping roof, paint can make a small space feel more spacious and less claustrophobic. In case you feel stuck inside of your little home like maybe now during the pandemic, colours can truly contribute to your wellbeing.
Tip 3 – Use paint to create a focal point
I have already mentioned how painting the ceiling can be your focal point. What if you used paint in other areas as your focal point in a creative way? For example, do you have a beautiful mirror you wish to highlight? A different colour around it will certainly make it stand out even more. How about painting a square or a rectangle of colour of your choice behind a favourite painting? In case your painting is small and it looks visually too small to be used in a certain area of your home, you can still use it for this paint trick. Simply paint a bigger colourful square as a frame around your small picture and the disbalance of proportions will be visually fixed. Beloved art can become a main feature for your chosen wall.
Tip 4 – Think of geometry
Do you love colourful playful interiors? Why not buy more paint colours and play with geometry? Many people are afraid of not getting the colour right. If you go for a bolder design, surely you will have an interesting subject to talk about with your visitors!
In case you wish to embrace the use of paint and experiment, I suggest it a good idea to first draw the design in scale on paper. It is good to not forget what may block the view of your design. Don’t forget to place on this drawing exactly where your furniture, lights and other big décor will be. Otherwise your special wall design can end up being buried behind some piece of furniture. In case you don’t wish to experiment yourself, but the idea of geometric design seems appealing to you, you can always look for a wallpaper. For example Murals wallpaper have a great variety of options.
Tip 5 – Paint stripes
What about painting stripes on one of your walls? Many people associate stripes with a marine and so called coastal design, where the sea is of ultimate inspiration. But stripes don’t necessary have to mean that. When painted horizontally you make a wall visually longer and when stripes are painted vertically , they make a low wall taller. If your hallway is long and narrow, by painting the short wall in a far distance with stripes you will trick the eye and the narrow room will look wider. Some people might be afraid to use stripes as they think they will get tired of seeing them daily. If this is the way you feel, you can always paint them in a very light neutral colour. In addition, when you hang a picture on this subtle striped wall, you will trick your eye one more time as the painting will become your focal point.
