How To Pick The RIGHT Wall Paint For Your Home (Your 101 Guide!)

Has your home been feeling a little lustreless lately? We have just the restorative for you. Refresh your walls with beautiful new colours and all you will need is ...

3 min read

December 10, 2017 | By Urban Company

Has your home been feeling a little lustreless lately? We have just the restorative for you. Refresh your walls with beautiful new colours and all you will need is an instinctive appetite for the right wall colour. But before all of that, let’s get into basics and help you understand the basics before choosing a paint for your walls.

BONUS! How To Prepare Your Room Before Painting

Of course, choosing your wall paint is no rocket science but how do you ensure the quality, richness and finish?

Don’t fret!

We’re here to simplify the process of choosing wall paint for you:

#1 Colour Richness

The colour preference is utmost important. How deep is the colour that you have chosen? How exposed will it be to the home decor? How many coats should you plan for? Is this going to be fresh coats or a cover up? Colour can make a room appear larger or small, make an irregular shaped room seem more in balance or make a low ceiling appear higher.

#2 Cleaning Qualities

Most paint finishes have good cleaning qualities but a general know-about is that the shinier the paint finish is, the better it will stand up to washing and cleaning.

#3 Washability

This factor is important for high traffic spots like kitchens, hallways, trim. The shinier the paint finish is, the better it will stand up to cleaning and washing.

Also Read : Your Beginner’s Guide to Wall Paint Colours (Costs & Concept Made Simple!)

#4 Light Source

At times the colours you fall in love with at the store, do not quite create the same impression when you bring them home. Why? Light could have an influence here. Different types of light sources will affect the way a wall colour appears, whether it is LED, fluorescent, halogen or incandescent.

#5 Smell Factor

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or other chemicals responsible for paint fumes can be harmful for your health. Try looking for paints that have zero VOCs or VOCs levels of up to 50. Oil-based paints contain more VOCs that others.

#6 Kids Friendly Finishes

When you’re painting your kid’s room, often painters recommend using an eggshell or satin paint on the walls and semi-gloss for doors and moldings. These finishes are formulated to better withstand repeated cleanings and light scrubbing.

Also Read : Paint Color Mistakes: Don’t Make These 7 Common Blunders

#7 High Gloss Look/ Rustic Look

Rather than choosing a high gloss paint for a whole room, use it sparingly in select locations, such as doors and trim. It is very important to consider spending extra time preparing the surfaces to be painted glossy, as this finish tends to really point out any surface imperfections. For a rustic look, use flat finish wall paints or furniture.

#8 Ceiling Paints

Ideally a ceiling is painted with a flat finish paint. Cleaning and repairing your ceilings can be quite a challenge and are probably not very easy to do, look for a high premium paint that will wear well and not easily crack.

#9 Kitchen & Baths

Rooms such as kitchen and bathroom, that will be more exposed to water, splashing or steam is ideally painted with semi-gloss paint for their ability to stand up multiple cleaning. However, a guest bath which will have less frequent use could also be painted with lower-gloss paint.