A NEW paint job is an easy and inexpensive way to transform a room, but how do you go about picking a colour? Anyone who's wandered through the aisles of paint swatches at Bunnings can attest to the overwhelming task of choosing just one. Ahead, a bit of pointed guidance to help you with your decision.
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■ Look to the natural light.
Consider the amount of natural light you get in the space. Sure, a dark shade will make for a dramatic feature wall but without natural light, it'll just end up looking grim and depressing.
■ Be wary of eye-popping brights.
That eye-popping hue may have caught your attention in the glossy magazine, but consider the size of the space you're working with. If it's not big enough to carry it, bright shades can overwhelm, creating visual clashes. Remember, you can always introduce vibrant hues later through cushions, throws and artworks.
■ Conduct a preliminary test..
Take a photo of the room you're planning to paint. Then upload the picture into Photoshop and substitute in the different colours, asking aesthetically minded friends and family for their opinions.
■ There's also an app for that.
Wish you could distil the colour of misty moorlands or the salmon-pink shore line as the sun goes down? Thankfully, there are smartphone apps like Dulux Colour App, Color 911 or Resene ColourMatch that allow you to snap a hue anywhere and then match it to the closest paint colour.
■Don't rely on sample swatches
Always test the colour directly on the wall, to get a true sense of what it'll look like. Colours tend to come out darker on walls than they appear on paint chips, so if in doubt, err on the lighter side.