SPRING…a time for many new things: signs of warmer weather, springtime flowers starting to poke through the soil, buds forming on the trees.  We also look for ways to freshen up areas around our home, including choosing a new paint color for rooms of your house.

A fresh coat of paint is an easy way to liven or freshen up a room.  First, of course, you will need to decide:  do you want to stay with the same color or try something different?  A subdued color or bold color?  Be adventurous and paint an accent color on one wall?  Do you plan to change anything else in the room?  Furniture?  Window treatments? Throw pillows?

There are so many choices to choose from when it comes to paint colors, not to mention the different brands on the shelves, like Behr paint or Sherwin-Williams. It can be overwhelming!  Are you looking for a warm tone (more yellow undertones) or a cool tone (more blue undertones)?  Each one gives the room a different feel and look.  To help with choosing a paint color, our advice is to find a color in your window coverings or throw pillows that you are drawn to.  Use that color as a starting point.

My friend decided to finally make the move to paint one of her walls in the living room an accent color; “red” in a cooler tone.  The color choice became easy when she paid closer attention to the various colors in her throw pillows.  After two coats of paint, she called me and said the walls were still blotchy and she wondered why.  We talked about a couple of “next step” options.  She elected to go ahead with the third coat and is happy with her color choice.

Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way about painting a wall with an accent color:
1. Make sure that the color represents your personality and your family’s personality.
2. Often times when the color is overpowering, but you love the color, try toning it with a warmer Hue.
3. Still not sure about the interior colors? Purchase a sample of the color and put it on a small part of the wall so you can get a feeling about it.  Or call interiors by Berni, our interior design expert, to bring another perspective on the color choice.

If you are looking to put your home on the market soon, you may be wondering if you need to paint that accent wall a different color.  I say it depends on the room.  Often times, we can simply present the room by the placement of furniture and arranging other items in the room. Painting an accent color may be a viable option. We need to look at the overall home when selling and make the best decisions, to maximize price and shorten the amount of time the home is on the market.

We hope this helped you in choosing a paint color for your room or how to choose one. When you are ready to put your home on the market, buy a new one, or need interior design help, give us a call! We would love to help you in Sartell, MN, and the surrounding communities.

Berni Halaas
Going above and beyond to make your DREAMS come true.