When a child sibling moves into another family members bedroom one of best ways to feel ownership is through painting the room with a different color.

The transformation into a new room or entire home can be overwhelming with many expenses that prohibit you from painting everything all at once. Make sure you paint enough that you feel the new house becomes place your home.

The front door. Probably the most important areas and one of the smallest is the front door. Usually the past owner has left their mark on the front door. For example the previous owners favorite color is green, so the door is green. You wonder why they selected green since it does not go with the brick – yet your realtor helped you to look past the front door since you could change the color once you moved in and got settled. Well now that you are settled you have moved onto more important things. Remember the front door is a relatively inexpensive way to make your mark on your home.

The family room kitchen area. Lets face it – this is where you live. One of the main areas where you and your family live. This is another area where it can be a very cost effective way to make your new home feel like your’s. Most family room kitchen areas take very little paint compared to a large bedroom.

The master bath room. This a place you spend your first part of each day. Help yourself get the day off to a good start. Once again this area will usually take very little paint. The color selection in this area is very important since there may be limited windows or natural light. Your color for the master bath may be a lighter shade of the master or a complimentary color found in the bedding, pillows, or window coverings.

In summary. You may be able to lay claim to your home with out having to paint the entire home. Consider what areas you spend the most time in and what ares stand out as a remind of the past. Save some money by being selective. You can complete the project in steps.

Your home is yours, now own it through color!

Have you ever selected the most perfect color at the paint store, purchased a sample like a pouch or quart and brought the paint home – only to find the color just doesn’t look the same as it did at the store?

There are several factors that effect how you see color. Most of the challenges with color selection has to do the surroundings and the relative difference between the color you are trying to select and other colors around you.

The environment. The paint store usually has florescent lights because they cost less to operate – yet this type of lighting gives a color green cast to the store. So a warm tan color in the paint store will transcend to a plum like rose at home under the more natural yellow light at home. The paint chips at the paint store only get you close. They are a help to getting you headed in the right direction, but that is all. Remember, the paint sample at on the pain card at the store is usually ink on paper and you are expecting the card to help you select paint to apply on a wall.

The environment at home is the next issue. Colors are in your home that can and can not be changed. The hard wood floor in your family kitchen area may be reflecting a rather orange hue on to your white kitchen cabinets, such that the lower cabinets are a faded cream and the upper cabinets look relatively white. A large painting in a entry way may be influencing the color on the adjacent walls.

Relative color. You may want to enrich the feeling in a particular part of your home by selecting a darker color for the walls and ceilings. Once you select your color check it out with the woodwork. The darker color will make the current white woodwork look more white. You may like the new effect and like how the woodwork “pops”. Often times a lighter color in the same color family can appear to be white. A ratio of 1/6th to 1/8h is used to reach this relatively white color
North and south. In side your office or home you may have rooms that predominantly face a particular direction. If you are trying to develop a bright warm feeling you may have to go one step brighter to get the same effect as you have in a south facing part of your. A south facing room can react with sunshine and create a different shade depending on the time of day and the type of weather. So if you don’t like the color take a quick break – going shopping and when you come back the color will be different particularly in this Northwest Oregon climate of continual weather change.

In summary. You will enjoy the process of selecting the right colors for your home if you stay open to the fact that color will change color inside your home. You are really selecting a range of color that you can expect. Be open to the fact the best color may be a color that you initially did not have as a top choice. Be patient and ask yourself what are my favorite colors. Don’t hesitate to ask a friend or a professional for help. Some time the best help is an extra set of eyes.

In considering your materials – the most expensive is usually the best value but not always. Some of the manufactures have gone beyond the call of duty to create products that are warranttied for the life of your home, at least until you move. So if you move every 5 or 10 years that warranty may not be necessary. A great exterior paint may not be so great if the painter tries to paint in full sun at 90 degrees. The surface may actually be over 100 degrees. No paint will dry correctly at 100 degrees no matter how much you pay.

All of the paint manufactures have great products. Most of them lead with a flag ship product that has provided them years of success along with some market differentiation by which support products can be included to provide you with the best package. Based on my field experience I will tend to use multiple manufactures on the same job – since I will try to pick the best from each manufacture.

The quality products will follow the quality applicators. So always ask what product is your favorite, or do you have a favorite manufacture. and ask why. The more information you can get the better. Some times just a quick phone call for confirmation is time well spent. If your contractor only uses one particular supplier take note – it may be because their business is totally dependent on leads from the paint store since their work does not speak for it self and create referrals.