Distinctive Spaces

I’ve spent a fair amount of time on this blog writing about paint colours for walls and trimwork, but I’ve never touched on sheen levels, which can have a huge impact on the results of your painting project. So, here we go…..

Paints come in a variety of sheen levels from matte to gloss and a few in between. Here’s some insight into the differences and the reasons behind my preferences.

Matte (or flat) is the sheen level I use 99% of the time on interior walls. Matte paint will give your walls a velvety look, especially under soft lighting. I find matte paint gives the room a warmer, cozier, more inviting feel than any other sheen level.

Matte paint also hides wall imperfections very well, since it tends to absorb light as opposed to reflect it, so it’s ideal if you live in an older home where the walls are typically plaster or if you’re not great at repairing damaged walls.

A myth about matte paint is that it’s not washable, which is why most people opt for asatin or eggshell finish. In my experience, I have found that a high quality paint such as Regal or Aura from Benjamin Moore, is very washable once it’s had time to fully cure.

A high qulaity paint will also tend to not fade over time and when you do wash it, you won’t see the streaks that are left behind on an inexpensive paint.

As a side note, don’t “cheap out” on the paint. Trust me. If you buy an inexpensive paint, you will find you have to recoat several times to get the coverage you need and the paint is simply not durable enough to withstand fading and washing. You’ll be repainting within a year.

When it comes to trim, I tend to use an Ultra White  satin finish. For me, white is not an option, it’s the only option. White trim will unify your home and tie all the room colours together.

Alot of people will use a high gloss sheen on their trim, which I would tend to agree with if your walla are eggshell. I find that the contrast between matte walls and high gloss trim is a bit too much and a satin or pearl finish on the trim blends well with the matte walls.

I’ve found that satin trim washes well and stands up over time.

If you’re looking for jmore ideas and information, Benjamin Moore has a fanmtastic website full of tons of useful information and on line tools to help you. Their staff is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful and I have often “bounced” ideas off of them and been given ideas I hadn’t thought of.

I’ll spend some time in a future post on some of the different paint brands I recommend and use on a regular basis.

For now, I hope this has been of some help.

One of the complaints I hear most often from new clients is that their home feels disjointed and there is no flow.

There are a few reasons why this happens but one of the most common is that when people decorate, they tend to decorate room by room without an overall plan for the home. Each room is a different colour and may look great on it’s own, but the rooms and their colours don’t relate to each other and it feels like they could all be from a different home.

People will go crazy trying to figure out what colour to paint the next room, when really they should be thinking about repeating one of the existing colours. Repetition, whether in pattern, shapes or colours, gives unity and flow.

When I am developing a colour scheme, I try to limit myself to THREE colours and I use those colours throughout the home.

I will have one colour, which is fairly neutral, that, in a house, I will use throughout the foyer, the main hallway, up the stairs and throughout the upstairs hallway. In a condo, which is usually an open concept design, I will use one neutral colour throughout the main living area which would include the foyer, any hallway, and the living, dining and kitchen area.

The next two colours I will use for bedrooms and bathrooms and to relate the rooms together. For example, I may use a second colour in the bathroom and a third colour in the bedrooms, then repeat the bedroom or bathroom colour as an accent wall in the living or dining area.

Accent walls are a great way to add some visual interest and to bring colours together. Then you can use accent furniture, cushions, draperies or artwork in the accent wall colour.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I always use white trim as it helps to “link” all the rooms together.

If you struggle with paint colours, let the experts help you. Designer Brian Gluckstein has teamed up with Benjamin Moore and developed a colour palette where each uses three colours. It is fantastic! Why stress over colour choices when someone else has done all the work for you?

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/for-your-home/benjamin-moore-teams-with-designer-brian-gluckstein

Hopefully I’ve helped you a little bit when it comes to developing a colour scheme. Make sure you read my other post in this category.