How To Transform Your Home Into A Haven Through Colour

Picking the right hues

The home is a place of utmost comfort. Nowhere else do we feel relaxed and free to be ourselves. It's a place where we recharge and reconnect with ourselves and our fam after a long day out. Still, living in the same place for years can lead us to feel tired of seeing the same four corners day by day. As such, it's important that we revamp our homes every now and then. Quick redecorating fixes always help, but if you're willing to put in a bit more effort, go big by repainting your space. Spice up your home and make it a better living space with hues you love. Make sure you choose the right colours with these tips from Lynn Lee, Senior Product Specialist of Nippon Paint.

Changing perspectives

For a calming look, choose paint colours in muted earthy tones like orange

"Muted colours that represent Mother Nature are the colour schemes people are adopting actively to bring a calm and cosier feel," Lynn noted of today's colour trends.

Before deciding on a paint colour for your room, Lynn says you should, first and foremost, "bear in mind that colour can greatly influence how you feel in a room." There are many ways to go about this depending on the vibe you want to achieve. According to her, bold colours can give you a burst of energy when you walk into a room. For a cool and breezy look, sticking to blues and greens will do you well, especially in spaces with plenty of natural lighting. "The rule of thumb," Lynn points out, "is to not go overboard with warm bright colours such as yellows and oranges that may over-stimulate one’s senses, especially for bedroom settings. [They] may make one restless even at night."

More than affecting your mood and state of mind, how you play with tones also do well to change how you see a space. It's common knowledge that darker colours enclose the space while lighter ones make it look more spacious. That's not to say you should simply stick to pastel paint though. Lynn advised: "If you're into bold colours, you can work towards not overwhelming your space by balancing it with neutral palettes." How? Strategically plotting out which sides to paint with a particular shade to widen or narrow down your place.

How paint changes perspectives

Where you paint over determines your perspective of a room.

Other than your paint's hues, it's best to consider its finish too. According to Lynn, while glossy paints are more vibrant and easier to clean than mattes, the sheen finish tends to highlight your surface's imperfections more. Not to mention, seeing it reflect light all the time can cause eye discomfort for long periods of time. "There’s the need to balance between matte and gloss finish," she said. For high-traffic areas that need frequent cleaning, she recommends a low sheen that's easy to wash and looks great.

Choosing the colour

Usually, you'd pick your fave colours for your home, but if you want to try something new, Lynn suggests to try consulting the colour wheel. With it, you can see which warm and cool colours are complementary to each other. Analogous colours — aka those that are placed beside each other on the wheel — would work well together too.

Living room painted with shades of purple

Use colours that complement one another.

To give your home a more organic appearance, another good practice is observing your current room first. Of course, it isn't always possible to give your house a total makeover, so if you aren't replacing the stuff you already own, the best you can do is to ensure that the paint you choose complements them. "If the furnishing is of a darker colour, you can adopt lighter colours to balance the look," Lynn suggested.

Consider your items and the new colours you'll be introducing into your space. "Keep to three colours in a given space," she said, because you don't want to make your room overwhelming with too many accent colours that fight for attention.

Use of pastel blue and pink Nippon Paint colours to create a simple geometric wall feature

"Clever use of colours and geometrics to create interesting feature walls is still an in-thing," Lynn pointed out.

So you can ensure the colour you chose will look great, you can make use of Nippon Paint's Colour Visualizer app. With it, Lynn expounded, "The user can pick the closest paint colours from an image, such as a beachside, or simply explore colours by using the quick ‘click-n-fill’ feature to digitally colour a preset or user’s own image."

Functional designs

Before you go ahead and purchase buckets of paints, remember to take into account the surfaces you'll be repainting. "Different material receives the paint differently, "Lynn explained. For example, materials like timber will be porous and absorb the paint more compared to a wall, so naturally, this will dictate how one applies paint on the surface.

Repainting wooden materials would require a different process.

Those who would prefer that their paint serve more than aesthetics, go the extra mile and research paint types with special properties. Lynn also notes that there are those with easy-to-wash, anti-microbial, or anti-mosquito features that will help protect your walls from your environment. For one, Nippon Paint has recently developed a VirusGuard+ paint that has been tested to kill common bacteria strains and coronavirus strains upon contact.

In this pandemic, Lynn emphasised that "it is even more important to design spaces that are beautiful but also functional." That way, they add value to your home and contribute to the improvement of your living.

Giving TLC

Once you've chosen new paint colours you'll be adding to your home, you can opt to try out DIY-ing your repainting, or, for better results, opt for professional help offered by paint companies.

Old room with moulds that needs repainting

If moulds have accumulated in your ceiling, your house might be in due for a repaint. (Photo from: Jonathan Borba via Unsplash)

Once you're all done with that, don't think that your job is over. To maintain the vibrance of your paint, frequent cleaning is needed, along with another repainting job every few years. "The fact that our paints are durable also gives the perception that repainting is not necessary unless the condition is dire," Lynn observed. However, our maintenance habits have to be taken into consideration too.

All in all, it all boils down to how often you wipe the dirt off your surfaces and how deteriorated your paint looks after a few years, but Lynn recommends repainting every three to five years for optimum upkeep. Lesson learnt: always give your home the love and care it needs so that it can perfectly remain the haven you so deserve.

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