Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Tips for Choosing a Paint Color

Dear Home Diva,
I know that painting the inside of my house can help in selling it, but I just don't know what colors to choose.
--Vinny V. Go

Dear Vinny Go,

I, too, have troubles selecting a paint color. Before painting entire rooms, ask for a sample can, and just paint a small swatch in differently lighted areas of the room to see how it looks. My daughter thought she had selected a mellow, pale yellow for her bedroom. Instead, it was an angry, screaming school bus yellow.  Ugh.

The Dallas Morning News recently ran an article about Guggenheim Color paints by Fine Paints of Europe that featured 150 colors from the museum’s collections galleries. At about $130 for about two-thirds of a gallon, it’s pretty pricey, but so is a painting by Cézanne.

Even if you can’t afford the Guggenheim paint (I know I can't), Karen Meyerhoff, managing director for business development at the Guggenheim, offers these tips in the article for selecting colors:

•Use gray to mute the background and to focus on objects. Keep in mind these don’t have to have be works of art. This includes such features as fire places, crown molding or furniture.
•Select a tone for a featured object in the room such as a sofa and use it on the walls. Using the same tone throughout will soften a room.
•Pick a dark color if you have something you want to hide such as bad corners or pipes.

And, as always, remember neutral colors are best when you are trying to sell your home. It provides the blank canvas a buyer needs to envision themselves in your home.
Sincerely,
​                                                The Home Diva





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