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Tips for Choosing Interior Wall Paint for Your Home

24 April 2023

Leonard Davis

It can be hard to figure out what colours to choose for the interior walls of a home. Rather than suggesting specific hues, here are some more general tips.

The Effect of Light

The quality of the light that shines on a room's walls will affect how their colour appears. The same yellow-painted walls will look different in a dim room than in direct sunlight. Thus, look at your preferred paint samples in the place they're destined for. That way, you'll get the most accurate impression of what they will actually look like.

Hold the sample colour against all four walls of a room, as each wall will capture light differently. The one opposite a window will be brighter than the wall on which the window sits. Late afternoon sunshine is warmer than morning sunshine, and the colours in the outdoor landscape can also tinge the daylight entering a room. If you examine each sample, you can see what works best through trial and error.

Don't forget to look at the paint sample under artificial lighting as well. Your home's lighting will be different from the lighting in the store that provided the sample. Ask your painting contractor for their advice also, as they have an idea of how a colour may look different when it covers a large area.

Light or Dark Room

When choosing colours, should you opt for light or dark shades? This will depend on the mood you want and the room's size and brightness. If you want a cosy haven, you could use a deep burgundy or blue to create a comfortable space. In a large room, a dark hue will visually bring the walls closer, and it will thus feel cosier.

Bear in mind that a dark colour can make a compact room feel too small at times, especially if it's dimly lit and doesn't capture much sunlight. But a comfortable den space may be what you're after.

In a dim, compact room, you could alternatively opt for a saturated mid-tone colour that is bright enough to stand out from the semi-darkness. If you paint the walls white, they'll tend to appear grey as the room won't have enough light to bring out the white paint colour. But a saturated mid-tone hue will have some character even in dim lighting.

Another approach to bold paint hues is to use them on one wall and make that a feature. That way, the colour won't be as overpowering as it may be on all four walls of a room. You can use the feature wall to draw attention to beautiful furniture or artwork or to distract attention from other unappealing areas of the room. 

For more info about painting, contact a local company. 

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