National Painting Week ...

Yes. It’s a real thing. National Painting Week runs the first week of June. I’m not sure why, but I suspect it’s generally consistently warm and sunny enough that you can do your outdoor painting and have windows open for your indoor painting. Makes sense. Anyhoooo, todays blog post is about the magic of paint. Not only does it hide a variety of sins and can unify cabinetry but it is absolutely the cheapest Decorating tool that gives the most dramatic change. Plus you can paint so many things. Walls, floors, ceilings, cabinets, furniture, picture frames, metal, glass. As long as you prep your surfaces properly, your decorating potential is unlimited. However for this post we’ll look at how painting walls can dramatically change the same room and hopefully give you guidance so you can choose your wall colours with confidence.

The Neutral Room

So this is our neutral Living Room starting point . I’ve used a very harmonious palette of beiges, greys, browns and whites. You can see that this is very calming and very easy to live in but kinda blah. Because it’s Neutral we can add any colour and create a totally different look. For this entire post, I will only be changing the room colour. All furniture and accessories will remain the same. So let’s do it.

Colour on the Ceiling

Here we’ve simply painted the ceiling (also called “The Fifth Wall”) a dark colour to add some drama. Ceilings are a pain to paint but you can see how throwing a colour up there has a great effect and because it’s above the sight line it’s less intrusive. Note that ceilings get about 30% less light so they will appear darker once finished so choose your hue carefully. If you’re skittish about painting something, consider the ceiling.

Dark and Moody

So here we’ve used dark colours on the walls. A lot of people think painting a room a dark colour will make it look smaller but actually the walls appear to recede. You can see how the brown is still harmonious like our first image and how the deep purple and blue have a bit more oomph while maintaining that coziness. This is definitely dramatic and using darker colours affects how light plays in your space. Your furniture and accessories will appear more sumptuous. If you want a room to feel cocoon-like, this is for you.

Fresh and Natural

So here we’ve used a deep yellow green on the walls. Green falls right in the middle of the colour wheel so they’re neither warm or cold. But when mixed with these neutral colours, especially the browns, you get a very earthy palette that’s fresh and still calming like our first image. It has a really peaceful feeling to it. If you’re a nature lover, consider using greens.

Bright and Vibrant

Here we’ve used brighter, more vibrant colour on our walls. Using the spicy orange gives the room real punch but it isn’t over the top because there’s so much brown in the room. Brown is a broken hue derived from orange so this technically is a monochromatic colour scheme. Blue is the opposite of orange so it works great with browns because it’s basically a Complementary Colour Scheme. Thus, it has a little more zing because it’s playing off the browns. What you will see here is how the rooms look brighter than all the previous because of how light plays off the vibrancy of these shades.

Be Brave

Ok. I get this isn’t for everyone. But what I wanted to show you here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to try. If you love fuschia or any bold colour then use it. This room still totally works and I think if you love it then you can’t go wrong in your decorating. If you’re feeling less than brave, try painting a cheap side table or chair that colour. It’ll still give you all the feels that you get from that colour you love. Your home should reflect you.


So there you have it. You can see how a little paint can totally transform a room. I realize it can seem overwhelming. Designers actually do Consultations just for colour but try not to get flummoxed. It’s just paint. If you hate it, it’s cheap and easy to change and the staff at your local paint companies like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore can give you advice on what products will give you the best result you’re looking for. So grab a brush and jump into National Painting Week.


Until next time, thanks for reading and striving to live the Well Designed Life.


Steve