Our homes are getting a lot more wear and tear than normal at the moment. If your home is anything like mine there will be more than a couple of walls in need of a fresh coat of paint. So this Saturday for my Instagram Live Q&A session will be all about painting and colour.
I will be joined by Dulux colour consultant Cora Collins and will be chatting about how to choose colours for the interior and exterior of your home. We’ll also be sharing tips on how to create a professional finish yourself. So if a painting project is on your todo list this bank holiday weekend join us on Instagram at 11am Saturday 2nd May.
Easy update
Painting is the easiest way to completely transform any room in your home. When my husband and I bought our house 12 years ago, I was 5 months pregnant and there were only 4 weeks to Christmas.
Having spent all of the money on the house we had very little left to make any changes. The house had been lovingly maintained but was very dated. So with time running out and a nonexistent budget we had to be very creative about how to transform our new house into the home of our dreams in time for Santa’s arrival.
Our budget meant we needed to compromise
Every room in the house had been wallpapered, including the bathroom and kitchen and therein lay our first challenge. Stripping the wallpaper would not only be extremely labour intensive and therefore costly but there was also a risk that the walls would get damaged in the process resulting in them needing to be re-skimmed – a risk our tiny budget could not take – so where absolutely necessary the wallpaper was removed and elsewhere we simply decided to repaint. Most of the wallpaper had already received so many coats of paint over the years our painter joked that the wallpaper was actually holding up the house.
Feature Wall
We would have loved to have opened up the wall opposite the front door to give a direct view through to the garden from the hall but again our budget did not permit this so we decided instead to make a feature of this wall. I went for some bold and fun wallpaper. This is a really fun and inexpensive way to create impact and there are some wonderful prints out at the moment.
Dated Features
We inherited some fine examples of 1960’s & 1970’s tiled fireplaces and could not afford to replace them so I decided to painted them white. I meet so many clients with these kinds of fireplaces and this is such an easy and actually therapeutic thing to do yourself. I primed the tiles before hand and then used white tile paint. It took a couple of coats but is a really durable finish.
Wardrobes are another large expense and we inherited some homemade dark wood floor to ceiling types. So again I painted them white and changed the handles and they provide fantastic storage in my eldest son’s bedroom.
Denise’s tips for choosing a colour palette
Painting is a really cost effective and easy way to give any home a new lease of life. I went for a complimentary palette in my own home – this gave a sense of unity and connection, creating the illusion of more space. So if you do intend to repaint your home here are my top tips when picking paint colours.
In general I would steer clear of any shade with a hint of pink or peach tone in it, particularly when choosing neutral shades. My advice when picking a neutral or off-white is to go for a colour with the slightest hint of green in it. You will find that these colours react really well in the light that comes with the Irish climate.
How to test the colour for best results
To help you get just the right shade pick up a range of sample pots in varying tones of the same colour ranging from light to dark. Resist the temptation to paint directly onto the walls as painting onto an already coloured surface can greatly affect the final colour of the paint. Instead, paint each colour on a piece of white card. This way, you can hold up the card in a number of areas of the room to see how the colour looks in different lights.
Colours are much stronger when they are painted onto the wall compared with swatch-cards, so it’s a good idea to look at your chosen colour during the day and with the lights switched on at night. If it’s furniture, wood-work or floors you are planning to repaint, try testing your sample colours on some off-cuts of wood which will give you a truer idea of the finished effect.
Preparation is the key to success
If you plan to do the painting yourself, make sure your surface is clean and dust free, and lightly sand it to get a ‘key’. This is by far the most labour intensive part of the job, particularly with wood work, but it’s essential if you want to get a good finish.
Make sure you choose the right product and tools for the job. Matt paints require different brushes and rollers to gloss and eggshells, so ask the shop assistants for advice before you purchase. And bear in mind that quality brushes and rollers will give a better finish and last longer so it’s worth paying that little bit extra.
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