Author: Dan Calderwood

Paint is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to change a room. But choosing the right paint colors and right painter for your home can seem like an overwhelming task.

Paint, accessories, fabric, furniture, and flooring should all blend, so take a good look at the room you will be working on, preferably before you choose a paint color, and decide what will stay in the room, and what you may want to move out of the room.

The first thing you should do when choosing interior colors for your home, is look around at colors that make you feel good, happy, and relaxed. These colors are probably already in your home. A few examples are the colors you love to look at in your flower garden, the colors in your jewelry, or pottery, or they can be found in the colors of the clothes in your closet.

The second thing you should do is go to your local paint store and pick up a color wheel, and or sample cards, pick the sample cards that really catch your eye, and don’t be afraid to get as many as you want. Take these cards home and look at them at different times of the day and night, to see how the color will look when the sun shines in on them, or at night when you have lamps turned on, or candles burning. Study this for several days. Be patient when deciding which color feels best to you.

Complimentary colors - are the colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel.

Harmonious colors - are the colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Like blue and purple.

Tints - are colors with white added.

Shades - are colors with black added.

Saturation - is the amount of color used. The more color, the more vibrant.

Color tone - is the degree to which it changes.

Pastels - use only a hint of color.

Decorating with Paint

When decorating with paint, Use the following ten suggestions for optimal results:

1. First consider the style or decor of your home. This will impact the color. Work out what sort of look or feel you are going for, whether it is urban, contemporary, modern or traditional. Once you know the look that you like and what look will work well with the other rooms in your home, the choice of color becomes much easier. So before decorating with paint, pick the look you are going for so that the paint you choose can help you meet that objective.

2. Decide on the mood you want the room to evoke. If you want a light happy feeling, dark colors will not accomplish that mood. On the other hand, if you want a mood that invokes intimacy, study, and cuddling up with a nice book in front of a warm fire, then darker colors are perfect. Os pick your mood and you will have a better chance of pickin your colors.

3. When decorating with paint you should know that some paints look differently in different lights; then look closely at the natural light exposure the room has. The amount of natural light and exposure to bright sunlight may influence you towards a choice of cooler shades like blues and greens. Less natural light may lend itself to warmer shades. So, when selecting your choice of colors make sure you check how it looks in daylight and artificial light.

4. Decorate with paint colors that compliment the rest of your home, and your things. The color chosen should especially be compatible with the fixtures which are difficult to replace easily, for example the fire surrounds, furniture, or carpets and curtains inside the home. Paint is a lot cheaper to change then furniture is, so choose colors that compliment what you have, or your money savings in using paint to decorate will go down the drain.

5. When decorating with paint, get sample cards and hold them up to your walls in all different lights, also compare them with swatches of fabrics for furniture, window treatments etc. If you collect samples of everything from carpet to curtains, and put together a storyboard, this will help inspire your creativity and make sure you are happy with your final selection, all before you spend any money at all.

6. Before you start your paint job make sure you have bought enough paint. This is especially important if you are having it custom mixed. It can be difficult to perfectly match colors later, so rather than deal with the hassle, know what you need before hand, and be sure to get a little more than you think you need for touchups etc.

7. Decorating with paint is fun, but cleaning paint off furniture and floors is not, so be sure to clear as many items out of the room beforehand as possible, and use drop cloths to protect your floor. Also, make sure the room is well ventilated throughout your painting job so you don’t hurt yourself.

8. Decorating with paint is fairly inexpensive, but you do not want to have to do it every few months, or even years, so spend a little more and make sure you buy a top quality paint. Don’t use poor quality materials, and put all your hard work and planning to waste.

9. Prep your walls well before painting, even the highest quality paints do not adhere well to dirty surfaces. 10. Paint color is one of the most profound and powerful ways to shape our surroundings. Don’t be afraid to go bold, you can always change your paint later if you find you hate it, but chances are you will wish you had used even more color.

Posted by Capital Remodeling, Inc.

Tips on Creating a Green Playroom for the Home

Author: Mike Taylor

No, this isn’t a treatise on how to paint your playroom walls green - although it’s certainly an option as well as a very nice, versatile color. No, this is how to create a child’s playroom using earth friendly alternatives. If you’re a parent who wants to go green for both the environment and your children’s health, here are some tips to help you decorate and furnish a playroom the eco-friendly way. Your children will be able to play in an area that is healthier for their bodies and a playroom done over in an eco-friendly format is likely to become a selling point if you decide to market your home in the future.

The floor of the playroom should be done over in an easy to clean, natural material, such as bamboo or cork, both sustainable alternatives. If you’re after a warmer touch, consider scattering natural fiber rugs around. They are both more sustainable than a new carpet (especially if you make or reuse them) and easier to clean.

The walls should be painted with a low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds – very bad for lungs of all sizes!) paint, or covered with earth friendly wallpaper, sustainable natural products or fabric One terrific option is painting with chalkboard paint, something that allows the kids to unleash their creativity on the walls without rousing parental wrath!

Lighting should be ample. Energy efficient compact fluorescent or low level LED light bulbs will give you the best bang for your buck. A playroom should have a mix of overhead and close lighting. A couple of good reading lamps will provide light for both reading and craft projects.

Furniture should be mixed for big and little users. Re use old couches, chairs and tables – they can be made to fall in with a room’s décor with a coat of paint. You can repurpose old clothes and leftover fabric to make pillows and patches for old upholstery. Consider making your own bean bags and filling them with recycled Styrofoam bits that come in packaging of various items or may be got cheap or free from local stores. Plenty of bins and shelving will help contain toys and craft supplies and lessen clean up time.

While toys, craft supplies and books are important parts of a playroom’s appeal, don’t rush out to buy them new. Many popular books can be found in secondhand shops. Stuffed toys can be found in secondhand stores as well – run them through the washer before giving them to children.

Crafts are another area where you can go green. Instead of buying construction paper, consider reusing things that already come into the home, such as cardboard boxes and newspaper. There are a number of instructions on the Internet that will teach you how to make a nontoxic “play-dough” from household baking ingredients.

After expending a lot of time and effort to make your playroom eco-friendly, it doesn’t make much sense to use a bunch of chemicals to clean it. Most cleaning can be done with water, rags, a broom and a mop. For more serious cleaning, consider natural products like enzyme or orange oil cleaners. Many natural cleaners leave behind a pleasant scent as well.

Congratulations on choosing the green alternative for your children’s play area! You are helping out the environment and creating a cleaner, healthier atmosphere for your children. With more parents looking for earth-conscious living spaces, a playroom done over in an environmentally friendly way will also be a good marketing point if you choose to sell your home in future.

Posted by Capital Remodeling, Inc.

Green Capital Remodeling, Inc. Playroom

Author: Matt Barker

Picking which colors to paint the interior of your home can be a stressful venture. Following trends can make your home look fashionable one season, but completely outdated the next. What you want is to choose colors that will satisfy you now and in the future.

So how do you choose? In reality, there are no right or wrong colors, but there are poor color combinations. Pairing lime green paint with red accents would look terrible, whereas combining lime green and white looks cheerful and clean. One place to start is to look at what colors and textures are already present in the room, and go from there.

After looking at what you already have, consider what function the room will serve, and how you want to feel when you spend time in it. Don’t be too limited by so-called color rules. If you read a magazine article that you should never use red for a bedroom, you’re going to miss out on a rich array of options. Go with your gut, and select shades that make you happy.

Colors affect us. They can lift our spirits, make us feel tense, or make us feel at peace.

The kitchen for instance, is typically a place where family and friends gather, snack, and engage in friendly conversation. This is a great area to use bright, cheery colors that promote feelings of well-being. Yellow has long been a popular choice for this room, but be mindful of the shade you select. Lighter shades of yellow are associated in our minds with happiness and freshness, while on the other hand, a dull shade of yellow reminds us of sickness and danger.

The bedroom is your place of refuge from the rest of the world. If you want to give the room a sensuous feel, light red paint can envelop you in feelings of passion. Pink is the classic color for romance, but can be too feminine and overpowering for many people. Blue is a great choice for the bedroom if you want to create an area of stillness. The color blue promotes feelings of tranquility and has a calming effect on the mind. Blue also acts as an appetite suppressant, so be mindful of this when painting your dining room area!

When you’ve decided on what mood you want to create as well as the color family you want to use, be sure to paint a fairly large square on your wall. Don’t rely on paint chips, as the color can end up looking different on your walls. A paint chip also can’t give you an accurate idea of how the room as a whole will mesh with the new color. Your furniture, the amount of natural light in the room, and the type of flooring you have, all play a part in how color will look in the room. So you need to have a fairly large sample area to properly judge.

Selecting paint color can be intimidating, but remember to go with your gut. If you love a color and it evokes the feeling that you want, then chances are good that you will be happy with your choice for many years to come.

Posted by Capital Remodeling, Inc.