20 May 1, 2015 Spring Home Improvement LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
market value of the home as part of the
planning process.
Sidings
Permanent color siding products generally
offer a longer-term, low maintenance
solution for exterior surfaces. If you are
planning to add or replace siding, different
grades have specific color options. Blue
and tan sidings are common choices,
Peacock said. Thinner siding is cheapest.
Darker colors will cost more and premium
grade sidings have wood grain.
Interiors
As with the exterior, you will probably not
choose interior colors all at once either.
But having a plan for the future, and the
flow from one room to another, especially
where open floor plans prevail will be
important.
Again, bring home a variety of color
charts to test out. Observe how the colors
are affected by the change in lighting at
different times of the day. Both natural and
artificial lighting have tremendous impact
on color perception. So, look at these
colors in the sun, gloom, various hours of
the day and with various lights on and off,
and at night. You’ll be surprised at the
differences.
Via the internet your will find numerous
tools to help you visualize how your color
choices will harmonize.
Better Homes and Gardens offers a
wonderful quick and easy to use tool where
you can choose between their stock rooms
or you may upload digital photos of your
own home. You can choose wall, trim,
ceiling and floor colors. In the click of a
button you can change colors and see how
specific colors will work together in your
home. Again, you might be surprised at
what you see when you do this activity.
Play and have fun before you invest your
time and money in painting.
When it comes to color choices with the
possibility of selling a home, Peacocks
says, “Not every one has the same taste.”
He offered these suggestions:
- Try to stay with neutral colors. A bright
canary yellow in a living room would not
sit well with some people.
- Or, suit yourself for now and plan to
repaint if you go on the market.
- Unless you are in for a long duration,
avoid strong colors or designs. Zebra
stripes are hard to cover over.
- Avoid wallpaper. Papers patterns can
quickly get outdated and can be difficult to
remove.
In short, neutral colors are always the safest
choice. Blend with the neighborhood in
style and setting and stay within a budget
coordinating with the value of your home.
Story by Jan Youngquist
Better Homes and Gardens Color-finder
(Uncheck the few boxes during set-up if
you don’t want added emails.)
bhg.com/decorating/color-finder/main/
paint_room/75
