Choosing a Colour Scheme for your Living Room

With summer just around the corner, you might feel it’s time to give the house a little facelift. Transforming your house needn’t cost the earth and for just a few pounds you could give your home a new style.

With a tin of paint and a few hours spent interior decorating you can transform the look and feel of any room. The only important decision you have to make is what colour to choose.

This being summer, you probably want to go for something bold and bright. With the sunshine streaming in through the windows, light and bright colours seem like the obvious choice and the most popular shades right now are those which are bright and fresh.

However, you do have to remember that it won’t be summer forever, no matter how much you want it to be, so unless you want to have to paint it all again in a few months, you should choose a colour that can be just as warming when the nights start to draw in.

Bright and Beautiful

Choosing paint colours can be difficult, especially with so many shades and hues to choose from. It also depends on the size of the room and what furniture you have in there: painting the walls is a lot easier and cheaper than changing your sofa, so try and find a colour that complements existing colour schemes.

If you are concerned about cost, try using our decorating calculator to give you an estimate on amount of paint you may need. Simply input some basic details like the dimensions of the walls and ceilings to be painted and it will estimate how much paint you will need to buy.

It’s an invaluable tool for those decorating on a budget as even small jobs have a habit of racking up costs – mostly because once you’ve started you start to notice all the other things that need doing. Giving yourself a clear picture of expenses beforehand is therefore definitely a good idea.

Do it yourself

Anybody can turn their hand to decorating but if you’ve never done it before, you might find it a little tricky at first. Ask friends for some decorating tips before you start – you might be amazed how a few bits of advice from those in the know can save stacks of time and improve the quality of the job.

One golden rule of decorating you need to know is that a good job is all about the preparation. It’s roughly 90% preparation to 10% finish so you must be prepared to rub a few things down and scrub a few walls before you start.

Take on the Bathroom

Once you’ve started in the living room, the chances are you’ll get the decorating bug and feel like doing the rest of the house. After all, if a job is worth doing…

If you’re thinking about tackling the bathroom next, look into bathroom tiling as a great way to give an immediate face-lift. This is an affordable and high impact way of updating your bathroom and another job you can do yourself.

If you want to go the whole way, new baths, showers and sinks will totally transform the room but alternatively, changing the lighting, towel rails and taps could have a similarly striking effect for those on a tighter budget.

Decorating is an endlessly satisfying pursuit and one that can add loads of value and comfort to your home but it all starts with the living room – and choosing that all-important colour for the walls.