How to Choose a Paint Colour for your Furniture

My students often ask me, "What colour do you think I should paint my bookshelf/coffee table/dining suite?" or whatever it is they want to paint.

Without seeing their decor it's really difficult to give advice, however the first question I ask is, "What colours do you have in the room already?". The next question I ask is: "What colours do you like?" These two questions form the basis of our conversation and are a great place to start.

From here we look at the Upcycled & Co. Furniture Paint colour chart and talk about COLOUR MIXING so they can achieve the colour they are after.

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS FOR CHOOSING COLOURS:
1. Take your time. Try not to rush into choosing the colour.
2. Look at house and garden magazines to find rooms or pieces of furniture you love.
3. Head on over to Pinterest and search for rooms and colour schemes.
4. Go for colours you like. Remember you are living in your home and you want to love walking into each room.
5. If you've got a dominant colour in the room, you will want to use a contrast colour for accents. Say your room has white ceilings, skirting boards and doors, with light grey walls. In this room you could remain very neutral with white furniture, you could introduce black or you could go with something like burgundy, mustard or another contrasting colour you like.
6. Choose the colour not only for your piece of furniture, but for the entire room, thinking about what other pieces you might like to add later - lamps, cushions, throws, curtains or blinds, rugs...
7. As you gather your ideas; paint colours, and fabrics, you can create your own colour scheme. This one is on my office whiteboard. 

​Here is a Pinterest board I created when choosing our new colour scheme:
https://www.pinterest.nz/upcycledandco/colour-yellows/

And, here's another selection of colour schemes I have put together for you on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.nz/upcycledandco/colour-schemes/

​There's a lot to think about, so as I said earlier, take your time. I know I often change my mind on colours, so if you're the same, choose something that can easily be altered at a later date.

Most of all, enjoy the process of making your home beautiful and have fun with your furniture painting.

Until next time,
Kathryn