In recent years, having a stark, modern all-white interior was considered de rigueur for every contemporary home. But lately, the opposite is becoming true. John Bunnell is the owner of the CertaPro Painters franchise in Austin, Texas, and talks here about how the use of color can punch up a room, make it warmer, and accentuate its positive aspects.
The use of color indoors has changed a lot over the last 10 years, as people have gotten more comfortable with adding color to their home instead of sticking with tried-and-true white. Color warms the home and enables each room to shine with its own character. Also, features such as extra trim or crown molding can truly enhance a home, especially if your wall colors are neutral or light.
You can often achieve a drastic color change on your interior walls without much additional expense. Changing the paint color of interior walls is often the first thing a decorator or home stager will recommend to produce a big redecorating impact. Research has also shown that a repainting project is likely to be fully recovered during the sale of a home because it enhances the home’s value; it pays for itself.
The Diminishing Popularity of White Walls
Modern white walls used to be popular because they look modern, spare, and “cool.” But white walls are also quicker to show dirt and harder to clean — plus, they look colder. It also used to be pretty well-accepted that a white ceiling opens up a room. Now, however, the popular sentiment seems to be the opposite. If you have a colored wall with a white ceiling, it only makes people more conscious of the ceiling height, which might not be a good thing if the ceiling is low. But if the ceiling is painted the same color or a lighter-toned version of the wall color, people don’t pay as much attention to the level of the ceiling.
Here at CertaPro Painters, we recognize that it sometimes requires a leap of faith to put some real color on your walls. But taking advantage of the color sampling and/or the color consultation with a decorator we provide will certainly help ease you into the process.
Accent Walls
Accent walls are popular, and often a good compromise for those who don’t want to paint a whole room in one color. An accent wall punches up a room and is a lot easier to paint than an entire room. It also means you can drastically change a room’s look in a short time just by painting one wall.
