1. Not considering light
Without light, colours wouldn’t be much to look at. And as much as the right light can make a colours sing…it can also make a gray go lavender or a white look dingy. Before painting a wall, use a sample painted or taped up to view your potential new colours in all light of the day — as well as artificial light. If a colours you thought would work doesn’t, take it back to the paint store and explain to someone working there which type of light made the colours go wrong — someone with the right experience should be able to point you in the right direction.
2. Mixing too many colours at once in the wrong balances
There’s no official limit of how many colours are allowed in one room. But the saying “the more the merrier” doesn’t always apply when it comes to colours. Want to know whether or not you have too much colours mixing in one room? The room will feel the opposite of peaceful — sometimes it even feels like it’s closing in. You can eliminate colours until you start feeling balance. Or you can pay attention to the amount of each colours you use (aim for one or two primary colours and a handful of secondary, accent colours), as well as where the colours are located (spread around evenly to carry your eye through a room).
3. Using the wrong finish/sheen
This has a surprisingly huge effect on the success of colours you choose to paint in your home. Have you ever put the right colours on the wall or a furniture piece, but something still felt off? You may have had the wrong finish. Something with a bit of sheen could have been better if you went full glossy. Or something too shiny really could have been softened with a nice matte finish. The remedy is the same with trying to get the right colours — pin up or paint up a sample of different finishes when picking out colours to see it in the space and in the light.
4. Going too bright/harsh
There’s a phenomenon that people who paint bold colours on walls come across often. And that’s choosing the perfect paint colours sample, putting it up on the wall, and it being WAY too bright. Much harsher than you would have imagined. If you try out a sample and the same thing happens, don’t give up on the colours, just get it lightened a few steps to be a little more palatable.
