Why getting the right colour for your interior walls is important

The shades on your walls should be so much more than just a trendy colour or a practical solution.   From the lighting in the room that strikes greatly onto your wall spaces and brings forth a coordinated flooring and accessories, there is so much to behold from a carefully painted home. 

To avoid a dull home, embrace and put in play different colour shades within your home space. Andrew Mugisha a paint consultant and marketing manager at Linqwood Services Limited says this can be achieved with guidance from a colour wheel which has a feature of a triangular colour spectrum. The colour spectrum he explains enables one to identify which shades of colours easily blend in together.

“While using this instrument, home designers are expected to creatively adjust from what the chart suggests to ensure a better outlay,” he says. While choosing paint shades for home spaces, the expert says the following factors ought to be considered.

 Types and costing
According to Mugisha, vinyl silk emulsion paints are highly recommended in home spaces largely because they are easy to clean using a damp cloth. 
Weather Guard Matt paints he adds, are very attractive and last longer but can only be repaired and not wiped clean. 
The market prices for paints vary from Shs70,000 to Shs100,000 depending on  packages and paint companies that a consumer may prefer.

 However, to have a professional outlook on which paint suits your home spaces, Mugisha estimates it can cost about Shs150,000 to Shs300,000.  This price, he says is expected to cover planning for each room by a professional. “For a home built in a swampy area, one should consider using waterproof paints,” he advices.

Living room and staircase
Mugisha recommends putting into consideration the size of your home before painting your living room with darker shades.  “For a room with small windows, light does not spread evenly in the room which makes it unpleasant to paint the walls dark which is not the case for huge home spaces with big windows,” he explains.

According to the expert, living rooms and dinning spaces require lighter colours such as cream or a mixture of pale blue and white (a tint). Also if you need to differentiate a small television area you can apply a darker colour only on that television background. 

Bedrooms
Brenda Mangheni, a mother of two chose to paint her girls’ room pink. “Since my girls love pink choosing a colour for their room serves the purpose,” she assures. Mangheni says she painted other spaces in her home with calm colours. 

Mugisha, however, recommends choosing different colours when painting a children’s room which helps enhance creative thinking among toddlers. 
“If you are opting for a hard colour, use it sparingly and ensure it is well distributed in the room,” he advises.  According to him, colours that inspire calmness should be considered for spaces meant for relaxing.

Dr Peter Alele, a paediatrician from Kingsley Medical Center, Mukono says child health care centres have embraced colourful environments for their patients because it motivates a healthy mindset for them.

Kitchen and cabinets
According to Mangheni, her kitchen is painted a dark cream colour largely because she has to deal with the smoke.  
“Away from my choice and love for bright colours that dominate most of my home spaces, my kitchen is extremely exceptional because I need to consider what suits my easy cleaning solutions,” she says. Mugisha recommends that kitchen spaces should have darker shades such as navy blue and probably light blue cabinets to blend along with it. 

“Considering the dirt from cooking equipment to the smokes and fires, dark shades of paint would serve the best purpose,” he explains.

Mainteinance
To maintain a good look, comes at a cost. It could be from regularly mopping the dirt off your wall surfaces or renovating your home space. Mugisha recommends regular repainting of home spaces every after six months every year.

“Regular maintenance of your home spaces allows for the paint to stay looking fresh and gets rid of it peeling,” he adds.  Mugisha also cautions consumers to pay attention to paint that easily washes off from being soaked with water or peeling off from sun. 

He urges that one should consider purchasing paints that meet good standards and are appropriate for the environments they are set in such as swampy areas and areas infested with mosquitoes. 

Some paints he notes come with chemicals that avert hazardous insects and areas. Next time you plan to revamp your home spaces consider getting  the help of a professional to  establish which colours best suit your needs and decor.

Bathrooms
Andrew Mugisha recommends the use of neutral colours in bathroom walls such as grey, cream and white. These, he explains are able to make the room  lighter and brighter creating a calm bathroom space.

 “The paint in the bathroom should allow light to protrude straight down to the floor to avoid accidents from slipping over a dark bathroom floor,” he suggests.

Authored by Esther Bridget Nakalya 

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