Repainting: Picking a New Paint Color

Before we begin, let’s be clear on our goal for today. The aim is to refresh your space with a wall color that’s hopefully equal to or better than your last one. We want a hue you won’t regret! No need to rush picking one then. Take your time and weigh your options. Here are tips to help you out.

Consider the Existing Colors

It would be safe to assume you already have stuff in the room you’re repainting. Now, think of the big furniture and fixtures in the space—such as sofas and chairs, curtains, kitchen cabinets and countertops, tables and drawers—as your “fixed colors.” These are the colors in the space that won’t change and, therefore, will have to go with your next wall paint color.

An easy trick to help ensure the new wall color goes with the room is to take a “fixed color” and use that as inspiration. For example, if your sofa is dark green in color, take a desaturated green and use that for the walls. Head here to learn about how to do this: Desaturation: #TeamKulay Trick for Color Newbies. If you’re #TeamPuti though, it’s hard to go wrong with neutrals like off-white, cream, or gray.

Look at Lighting

Whenever you’re painting, always remember that whatever color you pick will be affected by the lighting in the room. Let’s say your room has a west-facing window. This would mean it gets a lot of afternoon sunlight which will then add a warm undertone to your paint color. Meanwhile, having no windows in the room and just a fluorescent tube light will cast a cool undertone.

So, context matters a lot when it comes to color. The swatch of the paint color you saw at the home depot may look noticeably different once it’s on your walls. The takeaway? If you can, bring in paint samples into the space you want to repaint to see how it will react to the lighting in the room.

Utilize the Tools at Your Disposal

Can’t imagine how a color would look like in a room? We’ve got you. Among the many useful features of the Boysen app is the “Visualizer” tool. It lets you take a photo (or choose one from your phone’s gallery) and color it in using any of the more than a thousand Boysen paint colors available.

If you want to take home a bit of a paint color to test it out before committing, Boysen also has sample pots available. Sample pots come in 200 ml containers. That’s enough coverage to visualize colors in different lighting conditions and see how the hues will respond to other elements in the space. You can find and purchase them at The Color Library by Boysen or via the Boysen website.

Apply a Primer If Needed

Have a hue in mind already? If your chosen color is lighter than your existing paint color, you will need a paint primer. Otherwise, bleeding will occur. Bleeding is a painting problem where the old layer of paint becomes visible through your new, fresh topcoat. It’s especially common when painting a lighter color of paint over an existing darker colored one.

To avoid bleeding, apply a primer beforehand such as the Boysen Permacoat Flat Latex B-701. It comes in white and is applied before the topcoat (a.k.a. your chosen color) to ensure your old color will not be seen through your new one.

Ready to pick out a paint color? Here’s a good place to start: Your Paint Color Options: 5 Ways to Browse Boysen Paint Colors. Good luck!

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