The Art of Wall Painting: Find Your Color

Color is one of the most fundamental and important elements of design, and you don't need to be a big expert to realize this. In the past, the colors and ambiance of a home were determined by the colors of the furniture, curtains, paintings, and tablecloths. Today, you can give your home a fresh style through wall paint, achieving an effect of renewal and freshness at a low price. Grab some affordable brushes, cover sheets, and paint—let's get creative!

A small note before you start: Amidst the excitement and variety of colors, textures, and shades you'll find in stores, try not to forget that even white is a color, and the texture of classic plaster is appealing and pleasant to the eye.

Colorful Design

When choosing paint, consider the size of the room, lighting, and window direction. Bold, bright colors convey cheerfulness but can cause a feeling of 'overstimulation' and stuffiness in a small, sunny room. On the other hand, cool colors can create a cold and disconnected atmosphere in an already small and lit room.

With shades, you can not only create feelings but also visual illusions. Light shades, for example, give a space the illusion of size and openness, while dark shades tend to bring walls closer, reducing the room's size and ceiling height, creating a more intimate atmosphere.

A dark wall can shorten a long, narrow room, making it appear more proportionate. Dirt marks and flaws in painting, however, are more apparent on surfaces painted in dark colors.

If you want to match paint with a particular furniture item, try taking a sample or a door of it to the hardware store, ensuring a perfect match of different shades. It turns out our memory tends to mislead us when it comes to color matching.

Painting home walls in colorful shades is an adventure requiring some courage. If you're lacking it, try painting just one wall in a dominant shade to breathe life into the entire room.

Precisely because color has great power to create and change atmosphere, it's important not to overdo it. Aim for a pleasant and relaxed environment with two to three shades, a few decorations, and several techniques that repeat and blend with one another.

When choosing shades, it's important to decide on the leading shade design-wise and what leading shades to strengthen it with. You can choose complementary or contrasting shades. Complementary shades (e.g., green and light blue) help create harmony and a calm atmosphere, while contrasting shades (like orange and blue) spark interest and excitement.

As a base shade, you can choose a gentle, subtle color and boost it with bold-colored furniture, or select a strong, dominant wall color and soften it with neutral-colored furniture and accessories.

You don't need to paint the entire house; it's enough to highlight a wall, beam, dividing wall, niche, rounded wall, headboard, door frames, and more.

To check if the paint you want to buy looks as you imagined, it's recommended to purchase color samples from DIY stores, which can be applied to a wall to see the actual result.

If you skip this step and buy the paint based on the color chart in stores, remember that when the color from a small square covers an entire wall, the impression it creates is much stronger. Therefore, it's recommended to choose a lighter, more moderate color than what you initially aim for.

Certain color combinations may seem pleasant or daring when first considered, but daily exposure to a room painted in them can be a different story. Try to choose classic, eye-pleasing color schemes and avoid extremes that might end up being mistakes.

Adding patterns to a painted wall can give it character and uniqueness. To make the job easier, ready-made stencils with various decorative patterns can be purchased, and those with craft skills can make their own. The stencil design should match the room's atmosphere and the ages of its residents. For example, it's not recommended to choose pacifier stencils for a room serving a two-year-old child, as they might be embarrassed by the design in a couple of years.

Preparations for Painting and Plastering

Before repainting a wall, remove any loose paint layer, as even the finest paint won't hold on a peeling substrate. After removing the loose paint, fill holes and cracks with a specifically designed filler (ask at the nearby hardware store) and lightly sand to smooth the wall.

Before starting to paint, it's recommended to try and remove any colorful stains (like crayon, soot, etc.) on the wall. These can show through the new paint layer, forcing you to apply a second and third layer.

A previous coat of white paint can be removed from the wall with bleach. Apply bleach on the painted surface, wait 10-15 minutes, then peel the paint off using steel wool or a spatula.

Before painting, ensure there is no moisture or dampness on the wall. If there's moisture, address it before painting. Instructions can be obtained at a nearby hardware store.

When hiring a professional, ask if the fee includes the cost of paint, painting door frames and doors, and cleaning after the job is done.

Price differences between professionals may stem from differences in the types of paint they use.

Before purchasing any paint, check its toxicity level. Some paints are so toxic that you shouldn't paint near children or pregnant women.