The first consideration you should make before even choosing your paint is to think about the room you’re going to be painting. Is it a central part of your home, that should reflect the central theme of your lifestyle? Is it a child’s room, that should be colorful and stimulating? Will the traffic pattern in your home result in the room being seen alongside another room, so the color patterns should be harmonious? Does the room have wide expanses of open wall, so that large sections of the color will be on view all the time? A lot of the decisions you’ll make next about color, finish, and paint will depend on your assessment of the room you’re about to paint.
Consider the color
Probably the most important decision about your paint job that will determine its success is the color you choose. Think about the floor of the room - is there colored carpeting? If the floor is wood or tile, what color is it? The color of the walls should be a good complement to the color of the flooring material. Is there standard furniture in the room that isn’t going to change? If you have a dark blue couch, you probably don’t want to paint the walls of your living room purple. If you’re painting a child’s room, you may want to choose a darker color, which will be less likely to show the stains that little ones are prone to making. If the room has plenty of windows and natural light coming in, your options for choosing colors are unlimited - darker colors won’t interfere with the openness of the room. But if there aren’t many windows or the room is small, a darker color can be cloying and claustrophobic.
Finish should be a starting point
Before you go to pick up the paint, you need to consider which finish you’re going to use. Flat or satin finishes work well for bedrooms, living rooms, and ceilings. Flat paint doesn’t reflect light at all, so it will hide any imperfections or irregularities in walls. Satin finish, however, has a very slight sheen, so it looks a little richer and is easier to clean than flat paint. For a kitchen or bathroom, you may want to go with semi-gloss paint because it is more durable than flat or satin. For moldings and trim of any room, semi-gloss or even gloss is probably a good option, since those areas of rooms usually get the most abuse from hands, feet, and furniture.
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