Getting paint colour right the first time

Red, yellow, pink or green, purple and orange or blue…? Choosing a paint colour for your home can get confusing, but is it worth hiring a colour consultant?

The hours you spend with a cup of tea over a paint chart are one of the joys of renovating, but once you start the seemingly endless treks to and from from the hardware store with armfuls of sample pots, the joy soon degenerates into frustration. It is one thing to know the exact colour you want on a wall, but it is quite another to actually identify the paint that is going to bring your vision to life.

Paint colour is one of the pivotal decisions you will make in a renovation; it has the power to control the look and feel of a room and the emotions of those living in it, so it just has to be right. Some people go for the tried and tested approach: finding a colour scheme they like and repeating it over and over again. The truth is that a colour in one house will look completely different in another, thanks mainly to differences in light.

Paint is relatively cheap in the scheme of things, but the application is costly either in the cost of the painter or your own time and energy. A poor colour choice that requires a re-paint is an expensive mistake and one to be avoided.

Engaging a good colour consultant will remove all the pain associated with selecting colours, but you still get to play with the colours; the difference is that you have someone turning your vision into reality. Of course, if you don’t have a clue about what colours you want, a consultant will guide you through the best colour choices for your home.

The main advantage of using the colour consultant, other than saving in time, energy and anxiety spent on the sample pot scenario, is that it paves the way for all other decisions to be made over finishes.

For example, you will use your paint colour selections as the reference for selecting tiles, soft furnishings, bench tops, etc. In short, it takes away the difficulty associated with decision-making over finishes.

Generally, a colour consultant will cost around $150/hour and usually spends a couple of hours on internal and external paint colour selections, but make sure you get a few quotes upfront.

List a job now to receive quotes from colour consultants to help with your interior decorating project.

About Author Bernadette Janson

Bernadette Janson is a professional renovator and the owner of The School Of Renovating.

She manages her own projects with proven project management principles to make them smooth running and profitable. She is also known for the flair she adds to a home.

Her secret is actually a very simple system that she has developed and duplicates time and time again.

Bernadette loves to share what she knows, so if you like renovating, check out The School Of Renovating’s Free Workshops.