Colour is often the ultimate refresher, and if you’re on a small budget, a more involved renovation may not be a good choice. However, you’re in luck! There are many options to help you shake things up! In one word, paint. You could paint your entire house from top to bottom, a single room, or even just a feature wall in a prominent area of your home. Revitalize your home with a splash of paint!
PLAY WITH COLOUR AND GET INSPIRED!
Where does one start? What colours should you pick and what’s the best way to get inspired about adding colour to your home? One social media site that comes to mind for creative inspiration is Pintrest. Try looking up different colour pallets with one of your favourite colours, or a colour that stands out in your mind. Other websites like Houzz and even Benjamin Moore offer great ideas for colours that can represent the feelings and emotions that you’re looking to create in your home. Do you want your space to feel light and bright, warm and neutral, or dark and moody? The world of colour is your oyster and there are many available examples that can help you decide. So have fun with it.
PICK YOUR PAINTS
Now that you have your colours picked, the next step is to find a source for your paint. check out your local suppliers, like Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Cloverdale, or even your favourite hardware store. You will need a good all in one paint and primer in one if you are covering light to medium coloured walls. If you are covering existing dark coloured walls, we suggest a separate primer, and then a separate finish coat of regular paint.
Some of our favourite paints are by Benjamin Moore. For interior walls, we prefer the Aura Eggshell, for bathrooms, the Aura Bath & Spa is a great selection, and if you get ambitious enough to tackle painting your existing cabinets we suggest the Advance Interior Paint in pearl or semi-gloss.
THE PAINT IS IN THE DETAILS
Now, painting cabinets can be fun and rewarding but we definitely suggest watching a few how-to videos. This can be a time consuming project and you’ll want to make sure that you have the time to commit doing the job properly.
Painting interior doors, baseboards, and wood casings can also lighten up your space. In this case, we recommend hiring a professional as these smaller details are more challenging to get right and it’s always a great idea to support your local trades companies
WHERE DO YOU PUT A FEATURE WALL?
As for more manageable projects, a feature wall is a great starting point. We suggest selecting a wall in your living room, dining room, or bedroom. First, examine each possible room to see how your furniture is laid out, to decide which wall would work best to create that accented look. In a bedroom for example, a feature wall is best placed behind your bed. In a living room you might choose the wall with a fireplace or nearest to your sofa. As for a dining room feature wall, we usually suggest the wall running parallel with your dining table.
To create a little drama, try creating a feature wall in a powder room. You could even try picking a darker colour on a wall in a walk in closet. These are ideas that we love to include when we want to add a little flare to an otherwise forgotten space.
PAINT, FEATURE WALLS, AND BEYOND!
So, get creative and use your imagination! Although we suggest starting small for DYI home improvements the sky can be the limit to what you can do in your home. So next time you’re looking for ideas to refresh your space, try a little bit of paint!