Common Paint Mistakes

Paint can help give a new look and feel to your home, both inside and out. However, choosing the wrong paint can quickly make your good intentions go awry. Here are a few of the most common painting mistakes to avoid:

Selecting color without thinking of the emotion you want to evoke.
Ultimately, you want your home or room to make a statement. But, consider first if you want that statement to be calming, bold, or fun. If you want your bedroom to be serene, avoid bold colors such as reds and oranges, which will likely make it difficult to feel relaxed. Keeping this in mind for each room will help with your paint selection.

Don’t forget to think about your furnishings and accents.
You’ll want to choose a color that helps showcase, or at very least doesn’t overshadow, the items in the room. Think how the color and objects can best come together to give your room a cohesive feel.

Remember to test your paint color first in a variety of lights.
Your kitchen color selection may feel bright and airy when the sun is starting to filter in but may get claustrophobic as the room loses the sun. Or, your bold color choice might be fine when dimly lit but turn gaudy with the harsh afternoon light. Sampling a few colors and watching your choices throughout the day is always wise before committing completely to your paint color.

Paint finish is important!
Sample your color in the finish that you anticipate using. There are a lot of finish choices and your selection can make a big difference, depending on where you intend to use the paint and the space (texture of walls, lighting, etc). Make sure you understand the differences in finish types before committing to the larger space.

Don’t forget the trim or the ceiling.
You don’t want to invest the time and energy in the walls, only to have the trim or ceiling look dreary. Make sure to assess the entire room before thinking you’re done after only applying wall color! Remember, the color and finish selected for your ceiling or trim will most likely be different than those that you chose for the walls.

Paint selection for a home that you’re living in and paint selection for a home that you’re ready to put on the market might be completely different. Read more on how to prepare for sale with our related article - Paint Tips for Selling Your Home.