Paint it black, like the Rolling Stones sing. While the song is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the colorful 1960s, and while you may indeed not want to paint it black, there is no denying that paint has always been part of the human history. Everyone knows the importance of paintings as a way to record events and famous people throughout the history. From Mona Lisa to the starry nights of Vincent Van Gogh, painting has been the way that artists have found to share their perception of the world. But what about using painting as a way to share your perception of yourself? If you thought that there was nothing else to painting than a magnolia-colored wall, then it is time to revise your judgment. Painting is an expression of self, especially when it is associated with the creation of home décor. Let’s talk about adding color to your home.
#1. At First, There Was A Message
Human beings have always painted their walls, from as far as we know.The Roman villas that are still standing in Pompeii and Herculaneum – the other Roman town that was destroyed by the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 AD – bear the evidence of paint. In some villas, you can even find an almost complete fresco with outstanding levels of detail. They are designed to share a message of social standard with the visitor. Indeed, what the fresco served to say was that the homeowner was wealthy and sophisticated, with a variety of portrait paintings from elegant gardens to a life-size representation of the Roman Gods. This phenomenon has evolved throughout the centuries so that the fresco styles have moved on to be found in Renaissance castles and churches.
#2. Then There Was The Psychology Of Colors
Then, as colors became more affordable, society developed a form of psychological understanding of each color and its meaning. While in the past, the use of blue was a sign of wealth as the color was expensive to nurture, it now communicates a sense of dependable strength. Our choice of colors is naturally impacted by how you react to each one of them and how they make you feel. For example, while red is a symbol of the tantalizing femme fatale who is in power, it can appear too bold or aggressive for a shy or introverted decorator. As the brain associates a personality to each color, from honest to romantic, the way we now use colors inside the home doesn’t share a message about the past or our reality, but, instead, portraits our personality.
#3. Mastering The Homely Feeling
It may sound overly simplistic, but it is the presence of paint that transforms a room into a homely place. Indeed as you start to paint walls, you inject your personality into your interior décor. The house suddenly becomes a home, a nest even. There is no way around it: Newly painted walls, in the color that you have chosen – which is not magnolia paint as this is a neutral tone that is left for tenancy agreement or home inspection – immediately adds a feeling of cozy homeliness and comfort.
#4. Defining Who We Are
When children begin to discover who they are and where their personal boundaries sit in space coincides with the time where they experiment with colors to paints to express their limits. For a young child, knowing where the hand stops and where the wall begins can only be resolved through the medium of paint. In an attempt of marking where they exist in the world, children are renowned for painting or drawing on walls and other elements. Most parents who left by mistake a pot of paint of a pen by a young child will have discovered their inconvenient artistic side. Yes, children can make a mess. But it is interesting to notice that they use paint as a way of defining space, and themselves in it. In this sense, the DIY painter who decorates the living room shares the same purpose: Paint is the element that defines the personality of the homeowner and that sets the mood in the home.
Maximizing The Outdoors
When one thinks of using paint as a catalyst of personality, there is more than a choice of colors that comes to mind. There are a variety of elements that can be utilized as personality carriers, and that can be used to express who you are to those who know where to watch. If you decide to focus your attention first on the curb appeal and the outdoors, your property offers elegant options to highlight the playfulness or the romantic side of your personality with the clever use of colors. For many, painting elements that are visible in your neighborhood is the most direct and the fastest way of sharing a message about yourself. One could even say that you choose to paint the outdoors because you want it to be seen.
#5. The Unique Car Feeling
If you think of the first thing that neighbors tend to notice on your drive, it is likely to be your car. Whichever color your car was when you first bought, nothing is forcing you to keep it that way. Indeed, you can opt for a unique car with an elegant paint job to personalize your car. While some like to pick the cliché image of the flame along the side, you can choose unusual color patterns – such as a rainbow car, which could be a hit if you are a professional baker, for example, especially if you have a rainbow cake – or even chameleon paint that changes colors when the light hits it. Or maybe you are after a vintage feeling for your car paint? Whatever you pick, you know that this is saying about you. So let the car do the talking.
#6. The Welcoming Front Door
Countless homeowners consider painting the outside of their house, but it is far easier and more effective to focus your attention on the front door. Indeed, you can use the door as a way to express your originality, and you can pick a color that you wouldn’t want to see on your internal walls, such as bright pink or turquoise. Let the door show to your neighbors the cool person that you are. The trendy colors for front doors, at the moment, are red, gray, blue, yellow, black and wood. But why should you stop at these when there are so many other possibilities?
#7. The Playful Cottage Fence
If you have a garden, it’s likely that you could do with marking your boundaries. Fences are great for this purpose because they let you add playful and friendly colors that seem to open up the garden. While most homeowners choose a white fence for a clean and clear look, you can have a look at pastel options and even multicolored fences. If you are a creative soul, why not paint a landscape on your fence? It will be a great addition to your garden décor.
Maximizing The Indoors
There is naturally the interior décor to take into consideration too. This is the décor that expresses who you are in subtle and aesthetic accents. While you can be bold on the outside, you will rapidly find it difficult to walk in your house without catching a headache if you were to pick bright and powerful colors. So keep things simple but elegant with smart decorative touches.
#8. Giving Your Favorite Pieces Some Colors
The easiest way to keep your interior décor personal but subtle is to focus your attention on small elements, such as a piece of furniture that you could redecorate. Indeed, using either chalk paint or high-volume low-pressure sprayer – if you don’t know how to use theses, Tool Nerds explains the HVLP sprayer for amateurs here – you can achieve professional looking results in no time. Chalk paint has the advantage to dry in under 30 mins, while HVLP sprayers are a favorite on the DIY market too because they are effective and easy to handle. Both are ideal for your chest of drawers, for example, so which method you pick is up to your personal preferences.
#9. Bringing A Room To Life
Naturally, you can also decide to use painted walls to bring the various elements of décor together. For example, a pastel green is a perfect background to combine pieces of furniture in white and blue. Earthy colors, such as olive green and beige, are a hit for a modern and yet traditional looking kitchen. For kids’ bedrooms, you can be more inventive and use a bright blue or purple as a background for bold and exciting furniture, from the bed to the side table. If you are up for a challenge, you can create a new finish touch, with a distressed effect https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/distressed-walls/ for example, to highlight a vintage décor, or to subtly bring colorful pieces of furniture together. Be careful, though, as distressed walls are reserved for large rooms that receive plenty of natural light. In a small and dark room, they will make your décor look out-dated and out of place.
So how do you feel about painting it black or any other color?
