Choosing a bold interior colour without regretting it

Painting a room a bold colour is one of the quickest ways to give it character. It's also one of the easiest ways to end up with a wall you wince at every morning. The difference usually comes down to how carefully you tested the colour before the first gallon went on.

The Olympus gallery includes a living room that moved from cream walls to a deep red, with dark-stained window trim and a wing chair in the corner. It's a good example of a confident change, and it looks that way because the colour suits the room, the trim and the furniture together.

Sample on your own walls, not in the shop

A small paper chip tells you very little. Store lighting is nothing like the light in your living room, and the chip is surrounded by other colours that change how you see it. The most reliable test is a large patch of the real paint, on your actual wall, left there for several days.

Paint two or three samples at least a couple of feet wide, or use sample boards that you can move around the room. Put one next to the window, one in a corner and one near the floor. Leave them up long enough to see them in morning light, afternoon sun, evening lamps and on a grey Ohio day.

• Look at the sample in the morning, midday and after dark
• Check it beside your flooring, trim and largest piece of furniture
• View it from the doorway, not only up close
• Try it on more than one wall, since light changes from side to side
• Live with it for a few days before deciding

Light changes everything

A deep colour reads differently depending on which way the windows face. A room with a lot of daylight can carry a dark wall because the light keeps it lively. A small room with a single window can feel closed in with the same colour, especially in winter when the days are short.

Artificial light matters too. Warm bulbs push reds and yellows forward and mute blues. Cooler bulbs do the opposite. If you mostly use a room in the evening, test the colour at night with the lamps you actually use.

Sheen changes how a colour behaves

Two cans of the same colour in different sheens can look like different paints. Flat and matte finishes soak up light and hide small wall flaws, which suits a deep colour in a living room or bedroom. Satin and semi-gloss reflect more light and show every imperfection, but they wipe clean more easily, which is useful in kitchens, hallways and children's rooms.

A bold colour in a high sheen on an uneven wall will point out every bump. If your walls aren't perfectly smooth, ask whether patching and skim work should happen first. A strong colour deserves a smooth surface under it.

Consider the trim and the ceiling

A bold wall doesn't stand alone. The trim, the ceiling and the doors frame it. Crisp white trim makes a deep wall look sharp and deliberate. Dark-stained trim, like the window trim in the red room above, can make the walls look richer and more traditional. Ceilings can be white, a softened version of the wall colour, or the same colour for a wrapped-in effect.

It helps to decide these things at the same time as the wall colour, not after. Ashley L. had Nate paint her ceiling, trim and walls together, and a room is easier to judge when all three are planned as one.

Ask for colour help if you're stuck

You don't have to pick a bold colour alone. Olympus offers colour consultation as one of its residential services, and it also does specialty finishes such as limewash, a soft, mottled mineral finish that gives walls depth without a flat, even look. If you love the idea of a rich wall but you're unsure about a solid colour, a decorative finish can be a middle path.

A good painter has watched many colours go on walls and can usually tell you which ones look different on the wall than on the chip. That experience is worth more than another hour of scrolling through swatches.

If you do regret it

Paint is one of the most forgiving ways to change a room. A deep colour can be covered, though it takes primer and often more coats than a light one, which is one more reason to test before you commit. Doing the testing first costs a few sample pots and a few days. Doing it afterwards costs a repaint.

If you're weighing it up, call Nate at (419) 283-1282 or ask for a free estimate. He'll look at the actual space and tell you plainly what it needs.