Whole House Color Inspiration And How The Sun Plays A Part

Tomorrow is closing day for our new house and I've been busy these past few weeks narrowing down my color choices. I really want to do the main floor and hallway leading upstairs all the same color. This can be SUPER tricky because the light in one room will be different than the light in the other rooms.

The direction your house faces plays a part. You may get direct sunlight in one room and then on the other side of the house not get any sunlight. Of course we can't forget how the lights you use in your home can affect paint color as well.

Our last house faced North and South with the front facing South and back facing North. I never had any direct sunlight in the back of the house and I really hated it. That's pretty much where we lived all day long. And there was only 1 small window in the front of the house so natural sunlight was super minimal. There were many windows in the back so that helped keep it not so dreary but I missed that sunlight! 

The window to the left was the only good window facing the South and the only one that let in direct sunlight. Wall Color: Sherwin Williams Wordly Gray

Our new house faces North (2 front rooms and 2 bedrooms will face North), with the back facing South (living room, dining room, kitchen, and 2 more bedrooms). So we will have more sun in the back of the home where I will be spending a majority of my day (aka the Kitchen of course).

It's important to keep in mind that paint colors also change tone during different times of day. In the morning it's bright and airy. In the evening the color will look different. And here in the midwest, the winter months are overcast and dreary and will also change the color of paint. 

Basically all this to say, you can paint your whole house one color but keep in mind, every room may look different just because the sun, dreary weather, lighting, and time of day all play a factor.

In my last house I chose to do a medium color, a greige called Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams. I chose this color because we had off-white IKEA kitchen cabinets. The darker color of the wall helped to "lighten" the creamy color of the cabinets and tricked your eye into thinking they were white.

In these 2 pictures you can see how the darker walls really make the cabinets POP and you can't even tell they're more of a creamy color.

The wall to the left and the wall to the right are painted the EXACT same color. The left gets a lot of natural light from a huge window while the right wall is a hallway and is darker. The paint color looks completely different in both spaces even though it's the same. 

What's on trend now for houses is a very light, almost non existent color. Some people even opt for an all white interior to give it that modern, minimalist vibe. I am really hoping to have a super light gray/greige color that's warm and inviting but you're almost asking yourself if there's actually color on the walls. Here are some examples of what I'm crushing on.

 Source: Google

 Source: Google

Source: Google

Source: Google

Source: Google

This coming week we will be installing new lights in our house and I will be putting color samples up on the walls. I will keep you updated and give you a step by step guide to choosing the perfect paint color!

Neutral vs Color: Where to Spend Your Money

I was talking to a friend the other day about decorating stuff and she asked me a question, which inspired this post. She was showing me some bedding and asked which one I thought was best. Both were great and fairly neutral. One was gray and the other was tan/white striped with some fringe on it. I told her this one thing that I want all of you to know... on the big purchases in your home - a couch, beds, chairs, end tables - buy neutral colors. Then add in pops of color in the smaller things - art on the walls, flowers in pink vases, blankets, or you could even add in a fun colored accent wall with either paint or wallpaper.

I have found that my design choices have evolved over the years. For a while i liked lots of color in my home. A few years ago I bought a blue and white chair and while it was on clearance, it still cost $180. For the past 2 years I've been wondering how much it would cost to buy a neutral colored slip cover for it! My style is changing for our new home and I'm leaning towards a lot of neutral colors. I am very glad that our bigger purchases are neutral so that I won't have to go buy new.

Source: Google

Source: Google

I would recommend that anything you want to keep long term, buy neutral. These items are usually expensive and not something you'd want to change out once a year. I like to buy white curtains for my main living space, wood or metal end tables, my bedding is white with black trim, my couches are beige or gray, white cozy chairs, my dining room table is black, dining chairs are a light gray, my rugs are also neutral because they are usually not cheap. 

Source: Google

For items that are easy to change out, buy those things in fun pops of color. These items are usually cheaper and more budget friendly when you want to change them. Wall art is a cheap thing to change. Buy a neutral frame and then you can find free images online to print out and swap a few times a year. You could add color in with blankets and pillows on your couch. Vases are also a great item to buy in color. You can even spray paint them down the road if you get tired of the color. 

Source: Google

Source: Google

I hope this helps when you're out shopping for items for your home!

The Process of Painting a Room

I am getting ready to start painting the nursery (EEEEK!!) so I thought now would be the perfect time to share the process of painting a room. It's fairly simply but I thought writing out step by step instructions may help. Painting a whole room may seem like a big job but it is so rewarding in the end. Ok, maybe I'm just a crazy painting freak. :)

Step 1: Pick out your paint color

This may seem like an easy task but it can be overwhelming. Once you've narrowed down what color you want (blue, gray, green, etc) then get a few different color strips in those shades. I stick the swatches right on the wall and take a day or two to see what they look like in the morning, afternoon, and evening. (In this case I was looking at colors for the door).

Step 2: Buy samples of a few different shades

Once you have your swatches narrowed down to anywhere between 2-5, go to the paint store and ask for samples of those colors. I usually go to Sherwin Williams and they're around $5 a sample. I let these sit there for 2-5 days to really get a good idea of what the color will look like. Keep in mind the color will change in the morning vs evening and if there's sun or rain. Also if your painting a hallway, the color may be close to a window in one area of the hallway but then have no natural light in another area. This will make your color look different so be sure to paint multiple areas of the room/hallway.

I've learned not to rush your decision because you don't want to spend 8 hours painting a room only to hate it a few days later. I've done that way to too many times! I just get so excited to start painting and making a difference that I was always rushing my color decision. In my current home, I took my time and am very happy with the colors I have chosen.

Step 3: Putty any holes, sand and clean your wall

Ok, that's like 3 steps in one but they all go together. You could also do this before you start the other steps but because the above two steps usually takes me a week, I like to do this while I'm deciding on which color to use.

There are probably nail holes from pictures or even some places where the wall was chipped a little. You want to get your putty and cover these up.

Sand down those areas after they have dried.

Then go over the whole room with a damp rag and wipe off the walls and trim really well. If you're moving into a new house or the walls haven't been cleaned in a few years, it's a good idea to put a little soap in with the water and wash the walls. Make sure to go over them a second time with a  damp clean rag to remove any excess soap.

Step 4: Cut in the corners and around trim

It's time to start painting! You can take a small paintbrush or a regular sized one to do this. I prefer an angled brush for this job. If you don't have a lot of experience with "cutting in" then use blue painter's tape to cover up the trim pieces.