Reflective/Absorbant Wall Colours

Hi everyone

I'm thinking about paints for my (fingers crossed) new house and am observing paint colours and finishes every where I go. As you do.

Some paints seem to absorb light even if the colour is bright and should be sunny and eventhough the finish is soft sheen (and not matt) and can make the room seem dull/dark. I really don't understand why this happens but I'd love to know because it could stop some simple mistakes.

I know about advancing/receding colours and warm/cool colours but none of this really explains it. Maybe it's a brand issue.

Rebecca

Have you had a read of Painting/Wallpapering Some of the links therein might give some tips/help.

If you want to brighten up a back room, consider painting yoyur garden wall-sunlight will reflect off the wall into the room and really brighten it up. daithi

Hi Rebecca
How exciting for you picking paint colours ... and how daunting too.

IMHO it is the light in the room rather than the paint that has the most influence ... eg. in a small dark room, no amount of white paint is really going to brighten it up.

The paint finish is purely a personal choice ... I don't think having soft sheen rather than matt paint will make a whole lot of difference really. Assuming you don't have sticky fingered children running around ...! Have you considered using natural paints ... ?

I would suggest a consulatation with an interior designer would be money well spent at this stage ... a new house can be overwhelming and mistakes can be expensive. Plus I think you have to be living in a house to get the feel of it to know what really works and doesn't work, where an interior designer has a trained eye for this kind of thing.

If it's any help, I will give you the details of the lady I used in Athlone by PM ...

HP