Interior paint reference?

March 3, 2005 10:26 AM

We found the house, and we'll be painting before we move in. I'm looking for a good reference book or website that covers wall treatments, painting in general, and color effects.

For example, we want to do that blue shimmery thing that Candice Olsen does a lot, but I've had no luck finding it. And I'd love a good reference that told me what colors were best for different room sizes, availability of natural light, etc.

posted by frykitty to home & garden (9 comments total)

Behr's website provides lots of information about choosing colors - particularly about choosing appropriate colors per room (warm vs cool tones), how much paint you need per room, how to create various effects, etc. Go take a look.

From personal experience, I would say if you're going to add color and you have a lot of natural light coming into the room, you might need to pick a stonger color than you think. Buy a pint/quart or whatever the smallest amount you can get away with and try it out before you commit.

Good luck and happy painting.
posted by glyphlet at 11:13 AM on March 3, 2005

This book was exactly what I needed when I bought my first house (about 8 months ago). If you have a Home Depot nearby, take a look at this one or at any of the related books, such as this one on painting. Good luck!
posted by xorowo at 12:11 PM on March 3, 2005

I found it helpful in choosing colors to get a handful of sample chips in all the variations on my basic colors (cut apart the chips that show multiple colors) and tape them to the wall(s) in the room where I planned to use them. You may need to put a neutral color under them, so you're not responding to their contrast to the existing paint. Watching how the colors change in the varying light qualities through the day and night made for some surprising eliminations. We just took down a few unfavorites every day until we were left with the shades that most pleased us in the light we actually have.

If you're working with very intense colors, a larger, painted test patch is a good idea: the little samples won't really tell you the ones that will burn out your retinas and keep you awake at night.
posted by salt at 12:17 PM on March 3, 2005

xorowo--both of those links go to general pages. Got an amazon link?
posted by frykitty at 12:27 PM on March 3, 2005

If you have a Rodda Paints near you, they sell quarts of any color you want (custom mixes included) for about $3.00. My hubby painted wallboard scraps with various colors for about 3 months before we agreed on colors for our master suite/remodeled upstairs (picky, picky, picky).
Fun Stuff to Try: Ask for your color in different 'strengths' - we used a "full recipe" on the main walls, 3/4 recipe on the alcoves (only 75% of the tint) and 1/4 recipe on the ceiling (only 25% of the tint). The color does some amazing things depending on natural light and how it's reflected. It makes the room really interesting - sometimes it's hard to tell that the ceiling really is lighter, until you look in a different corner. It's a very subtle, but nice effect.
posted by dbmcd at 1:35 PM on March 3, 2005

I have found that it is worth every penny to hire a good interior decorator. The results have been perfect both times, and it saves a lot of stress, guesswork, and puzzling.

Cheap, too; about $50-75/hr around here, and it only takes an hour.
posted by five fresh fish at 2:25 PM on March 3, 2005

I had no idea who Candice Olsen is, so I looked her up and found out that she appears on a show called "Divine Design"... Right? So about the "blue shimmery thing", you might have some luck consulting the Divine Design message board. (Also if anybody has any kind of links about this effect, please post — I'm very curious.)

Congratulations, and have fun, frykitty!
posted by taz at 12:37 AM on March 4, 2005

That's weird...Those links worked when I first submitted them. I suppose they were session-based links. Try these:

First book (general): Home Improvement 1-2-3

Second book (decorative painting): Decorative Painting 1-2-3
posted by xorowo at 6:09 AM on March 4, 2005

Thanks xorowo! One of my co-workers seconded your recommendation on Home Improvement 1-2-3 yesterday, and is bringing me her extra copy.

fff: we are seriously considering your recommendation. Any tips on picking a designer that won't horrify us?
posted by frykitty at 7:41 AM on March 4, 2005