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Painting Tips From Hirshfield's: The Power Of Color
How To Put It To Work In Your House
Whether you are redecorating or settling into a new house, never underestimate the power of COLOR to transform rooms, create moods and alter ambience. In the Twin Cities, no one knows color better than Hirshfield's. With 110 years of decorating history, this family-owned and operated business offers an unrivaled selection of paints and wallcoverings, fabrics and window fashions. And at the core of every fashion statement, design scheme or decorating plan is color. It's what breathes life into a 100-year-old farm house, multi-level townhome or spacious suburban rambler. According to the color gurus at Hirshfield's, it's not all that difficult to take advantage of the power of color in your house. But it does take a dash of daring and some basic knowledge regarding how to utilize color to your advantage.
According to Hirshfield's and The Paint Quality Institute, here are some of the ways you can tap into the power of COLOR:
Manipulate your sense of space with color.
For example, you can make a small room appear bigger with light monochromatic colors and a white ceiling. (Monochromatic colors are different tints of the same color - such as, different shades of green are monochromatic.) Light colors reflect more light (real or artificial), giving the impression that the room is open and airy.
• If you have a large overly-spacious and impersonal room, reign in the space with dark bold tones for the walls and an even darker ceiling. Consider using dark warm colors such as reds, apricots and golds. These are colors that people find comforting and intimate. • Another tactic to visually shrink a large room is to divide the wall space horizontally with a chair rail. Paint the upper and lower portions different colors. You could also add texture to the walls by using sponging or rag rolling techniques. This will help shrink the room even more.
• Do you have a low ceiling? Paint vertical stripes on the walls to visually raise the ceiling. Your stripes do not have to be sharp contrasting colors. They can be stripes of the same color but different gloss or sheen. Or, the stripes can be monochromatic. Another trick is to paint the ceiling darker than the walls. This will help to lower the ceiling. A particularly effective trick is to extend the ceiling color down the wall about 6 inches. This wide paint molding will do a great deal to visually lower the ceiling.
• Do you have a narrow hallway or a long thin room? Use color to "square it off." Paint a dark color on the narrow sides. Paint a light color on the longer walls.
• Pay attention to sun exposure. Use warmer hues (reds, golds) in a shaded and north-facing room. Use cool color tones in a sunny southern exposure.
• Give your entire house a more cohesive look by using paint colors between adjacent rooms that have some relationship.
• Painting an entire room? The more area you cover, the more intense the color will seem. If you are painting a solid wall surface, consider selecting a slightly lighter color value. But whatever you do, be sure to put some color in your decor.
