Tips for Finding a Good Colour Pallet

Picking a good colour pallet that works can be a bit of a challenge if you’re a little rusty on the rules of colour combinations and design that the professionals follow. What’s the best choice for the particular room you’re working with? How can you best use colour to compliment your room’s furniture? Here are a few good tips you can use when looking for the perfect colour pallet for your next painting project.

Dark to light, bottom to top

Keeping darker colours closer to the floor and getting lighter as you go up is a great way to make a room look good. You can start with using darker colours on the floor such as dark carpets and baseboards, then move into medium colour values for the walls, and finally light colours for the ceiling. This style of colouring in a room is largely inspired by the earth, with the ground being dark, the trees and buildings being medium shades, and the sky being sunny and bright.

Consult the colour wheel

Usually, analogous colour schemes (colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, such as blue and green) are more relaxing and casual when they are combined. These combinations are usually best used in informal or private spaces such as a bedroom. Since the bedroom is the place you go to rest and recover, analogous colour schemes are a perfect choice in this regard.

Paint it black

Just like in clothing, black will never go out of style in the world of painting. Though you don’t have to think about painting an entire room black, it’s always a good idea to keep a little bit of black in each room. Maybe consider painting your kitchen cabinets black, or a nightstand in your bedroom. No matter what your decision, keeping a little black in each room will always look great.

Combine warm and cool

Contrasting warm and cool colours is not as difficult as you may think. Consider painting a room a cool grey and contrasting it with warmer, say honey-coloured accents to achieve a look that is both easy on the eyes and soothing for the soul.

Obey the rule of three

Always try to follow the rule of three and never use more than three different colours to make up your colour pallet. Using more than three colours can make a room look to busy and will give the appearance that its designer couldn’t make up his or her mind. You want your newly-designed room to breathe confidence and style, not have multiple personalities.

Consider your clothes

You may not think it, but looking at what colours you best like to wear is a great way to determine a colour pallet that will work for you. When you go shopping for clothes, you generally pick colours that you feel look good on you, so why not do the same when shopping for paint? Choosing a colour pallet that you associate with and feel good about is a wonderful way to make any room truly yours.

How Colour can Affect Mood

Ever wonder why fast food chains use red and orange colour schemes? Why do health spas love blue and green? It’s because colour really does affect our emotions! In fact, the right colour paint can make all the difference between a happy, fun-loving house and a tense, stressful environment. So, which colours should you choose to give a room the right kind of mood?

All about Balance

Remember that too much of a good thing quickly becomes a bad thing. To use the psychology of colour effectively, balance desired hues with one another so one doesn’t overwhelm the other. Each colour has positive and negative aspects, factors that are important to take into account when choosing paint as well as accents

Social Colours

If you’re looking to spark some life into your living room or turn the dining room into the hottest dinner party in town, these colours are for you!

●     Red - The colour of passion and optimism. Perfect for sparking lively conversation and stimulating appetites. Too much red can become overwhelming and create anxiety. Good for rooms with a lot of social activity.

●     Orange - Stimulates social interaction and promotes reassuring feelings. Good colour for physical motivation. Can be seen as negative for those who associate orange with prisons. A good choice for rooms where you exercise.

Energetic Colours

Choose these hues for rooms where confidence and energy are important such as bathrooms, exercise rooms, or offices.

●     Yellow - The colour of energy and happiness. Creates excitement and boosts self-confidence. It’s important to choose the right shade of yellow, as strong yellow can be distressing.

●     Purple - Borrowing elements from blue and red, purple promotes both energetic activity and peace of mind. Dark purple is noted for making a room feel sophisticated and dramatic while lighter hues make rooms feel peaceful. Too much purple can make a room feel dark and depressing.

Comforting Colour

●     Blue - The colour of intelligence and serenity. Students are more likely to retain what they study and feel less test anxiety when surrounded by blue. Too much blue can make a room feel cold and deeper shades can make one feel depressed.

●     Green - Nature’s own favourite colour, green promotes tranquility and balance. Studies show this colour wards off nightmares. Too much green runs the risk of inciting feelings of envy or jealousy.

●     Pink - The sweet and calming colour of love. Studies show pink can soothe even the criminally aggressive. Too much pink can be seen as immature or unsophisticated.

Black, White, and Grey

These are versatile colours that stand out from the pack. Also known as neutrals, they can enhance the positive and subdue the negative elements in the other colours on this list when paired correctly.

●     Black - A strong and formal colour, black promotes feelings of power and independence. Often chosen as paint as an accent to create an elegant, sophisticated mood. In large amounts it can feel oppressive and depressing.

●     White - The colour of purity and innocence. White is often used to make spaces feel larger than they really are. Too much white can make a room seem empty or unexciting.

●     Grey - Combining elements of black and white, grey adds a flair of drama while retaining an open and airy atmosphere. Be careful to choose the right shade of grey to match the intended mood.

Summer 2017 Colour Trends

Summer is fast approaching, and that means new trends are starting to make waves in terms of paint colours for your home. If you are going to be doing any painting this summer, you’re probably wondering what colour or colours to go with. Do you pick something bright and vibrant to reflect the pleasant weather the summer months bring with them? Do you go with one of the multiple shades of green that are currently winning the popularity contest? Or maybe you want to be more of a traditionalist and stick with one of this year’s mysterious earth colours or deep jewel tones. To help you decide, here are some of the biggest colour trends for summer 2017.

Bringing Summer Inside

The biggest and most popular colour trend you can expect this summer is the use of shades and hues that complement the warm, sunny weather of the summer months. Your home is likely to be flooded with sunlight over the course of the season, so you’ll want your choice of colour to play well with that. Fresh air, soft breezes, plentiful sunshine, blooming flowers; all of these things can be brought right into your home. Colours such as Florida pink and Persian velvet, will give any room in your home that blossoming summer feel that screams summer beauty, while bright yellows and greens such as lemon freeze and potpourri green work with the sunlight that makes its way into a room and will help turn the interior of your home into a beautiful, sun-filled space.

Going Green

One particular colour that is sure to make waves this summer season is green. What colour comes to mind when you hear the word “summer”? If you answered with the colour green, you’d be in the likely majority. Green conjures up images of sprawling summer fields, tall and leafy trees, and fresh summer salad and watermelon; it’s no surprise that shades of green are already making their mark in freshly painted home interiors as we edge closer to summer. Shades such as courtyard green and olive are giving rooms a vibrant summer feel while at the same time remaining perfectly traditional. Green and all its shades are also going to work wonders to accent your various pieces of furniture. Picture a room with olive green-coloured walls as the backdrop for a beautiful brown leather couch and dark-stained wooden coffee table. Not bad right?

Embracing Earth and Jewel Tones

In somewhat of a contrast to the bright, vibrant colours that help turn your interior into a sun-filled summer sanctuary, many people are choosing to stick to darker earthy colours and deep jewel shades this year. This trend will no doubt trickle right into the summer months, giving you even more options when choosing your summer colours this season. Colours such as charcoal gray, soft aqua, and artful magenta are here to stay this summer and can help make your interiors look great by providing opportunities for layering and helping to accent and showcase other colours in a room’s décor and furniture.

Now that you have an idea of what’s trending for summer 2017, you’re sure to have an easier and more enjoyable time selecting the perfect colours for your next painting project.

The Different Types of Paint to Use in Your Home

When you’re tackling a renovation project often the first thing that you plan is the paint job. If you’re tackling this yourself, it can be confusing to determine which paints will work with which projects, especially considering the variety at your disposal. Here are some great tips to finding the perfect paint for the job at hand.

1. You’ll want to make sure that your walls are in good shape. If this means new walls have been built and you’re facing new drywall, or there have been a number of patched repairs, your first step should be a primer. Choose a good, thick primer that will coat the walls and hide any further imperfections to give you an even, smooth surface to work with. Depending on the type of primer, this may need more time to cure than your paint colors will.

2. Choosing the right paint can be confusing, and often a homeowner with no experience will choose something that is cheap, assuming that all paints are created equal and a more expensive paint is just “buying the name brand”. You’ll quickly find out that buying better quality paint will save you both time and money in the long run and eliminate many issues associated with a cheap paint. Higher quality paints often have a thicker consistency and the coverage is far superior, meaning that less paint goes a lot further and covers well in 2 coats with minor touch ups.

3. Paints come in a variety of finishes from ulti-matte to high gloss, with eggshell running right down the center and the most often purchased. Depending on the use of your space (How much traffic will your space get and are the walls often touched?) different finishes will provide different benefits. Your ceiling is most often painted in matte, while walls are usually painted in eggshell or flat and very glossy finishes are reserved for trim and baseboards, doors and chair rails. Your paint can give you an average drying time between coats, which can change from finish to finish. 

Other things to note:

1. Using a good edging brush and a steady hand can eliminate the need for much of your taping work. Taping is time-consuming and can add hours to your job, whereas the careful use of an edging brush can mean the rooms are finished in half the time. It takes practice to master, but it’s worth it.

2. Don’t skimp on your drop cloth use. You may think that small splatters can be easily taken care of “later”, but often they harden to the floor’s surface and mean you’ll be on your knees scrubbing away. Use those drop cloth and move them to every new work area.

3. When painting wood trim, take the time to sand the surfaces first, and then prime. Allow primed wood surfaces to cure for 24 hours between coats. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint are often enough to get the look you want to achieve and provide a durable surface to withstand normal wear and tear.

Benefits of Paint Over Wallpaper

If you’re considering doing some home renovations, one great way to drastically change a room is to freshen up the colour of your walls.  To do this, there are a few options, and if you’re debating between paint and wallpaper for your home, we’ve got some pros and cons that might help tip the scales. 

Versatility

If you’re looking for versatility, you simply can’t go wrong with paint.  Wallpaper comes in two different surface materials; vinyl and paper.  Each offers a different look, and there’s no question that you can find wallpaper in a wide variety of different colours and patterns, but when it comes to having a wealth of colours and finishes, paint takes the cake.  Anything from ultra-matte to high gloss finish is at your fingertips and the colour range is mind boggling.  It’s a lot easier to change a colour from room to room, or even to highlight a feature wall, when you choose paint.

The Prep Work

Before your contractor arrives, walls should be cleared of decor and any drips or cobwebs wiped away.  Furniture will need to be pulled away at least a few feet from the walls; ideally it will be pushed towards the center of the room to allow as much working space as possible.   After that, the preparation work differs greatly between a wallpaper and a paint job. While paint can be applied directly over a previously painted wall and the job can start right away, it’s not recommended that wallpaper be applied over a previous layer, so the first task for your contractor will be to remove the existing layer of wallpaper.  Any accidental damage will have to be filled and sanded, and then the walls will need a coat of primer.  A room that could be painted in a day might take a few days to have wallpaper applied. 

Tools of the trade

Both painting and the wallpapering process do require specially designed tools.  To do a proper job, a painter will be equipped with trays and liners, brushes and rollers, sleeves and drop cloths.  Although this might seem like a lot, wallpapering requires far more. Paste is necessary for wallpaper-to-wall adherence, along with a paste brush or a roller to apply it.  A knife to cut the paper and a level to hang it properly are also necessary, along with a tape measure, a putty knife or straight edge, a pencil, drop cloth, smoothing brush, a sponge and bucket of clean water.  

Cost

When it comes to supplies, a very good quality paint can cost you about $50/gallon and will be enough to do a standard sized bedroom, while a top quality roll of wallpaper will cost you anywhere from $75 to $100.  Besides the cost of supplies, labour for wallpapering can be much more than it would be for painting.

When it comes to making a big change in the look of your home, both wallpaper and a fresh coat of paint will do the trick, but painting will go a lot faster and is ultimately more cost effective.  The versatility of paint and the colours you can choose from makes this a smart choice.

5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Professional Painter the First Time

Having good looking, well-painted walls is important to any homeowner.

When most people think of a professional painter, they often think of commercial renovations. However, there are many benefits to having your own home painted by professionals. A professional paint job can change the way that your home feels and the way that you and your family feel in it.

Aside from guaranteeing a great looking paint job having your home painted by a professional comes with a tonne of other benefits. Below we have the listed the top 5 reasons you should have your home painted by a professional.

Your Time is Valuable

Most people would agree that you should be spending your time on the things that matter most to you and many of us just don’t have the time to paint our homes ourselves. It may be because we have kids, or because we are needed at the office all day and night. Whatever the reason, if you don’t have the time to renovate your home yourself, especially when it comes to painting, it only makes sense to hire a professional.

Every moment you spend on chores like painting is a missed opportunity to spend time with those that you value most. Or a missed chance to make more money at work. Your time is valuable and should be treated that way.

Get Advice from an Expert

A professional painter has years of experience seeing rooms transformed into homes. You can trust the professionals at Lince’s painting with using the right tools and techniques. If you need advice choosing colours that reflect you and the way you want your home feels, our painters are always happy to help.

Save on Tools and Material Costs

You may think that hiring a painter is expensive since you have to pay for their labour and materials. However doing it yourself can be an even more overwhelming and expensive experience. A professional painter saves you money by being efficient as well as timely and brings his own tools and materials.

Professional Painters knows what to do, how to properly prime the walls, paint the trim and how much paint they will need for specific sections of your home. Painting a house is not an everyday thing; people do it once a year and in many cases only once every few years. There is no point of paying for tools which you will rarely use. A professional can save you all the unnecessary costs and headaches that occur during painting. When you consider the cost of materials and the value of your time, hiring a professional is a no brainer.

Avoid Common Mistakes

You may have never painted your home before and it can seem overwhelming if it’s your first time. The professional’s at Lince’s Painting have over 20 years of experience painting homes and can work quickly while also providing high-quality work. Painting a home properly is a challenging task and something that you want to be done right. The walls in your home surround you daily and it’s important that they look good. If you want to ensure a job is done properly, you should hire a professional painter today.

Painting is More Than Painting

Professional painters do so much more for each job than amateur painters. Someone without as much experience may not plan and prepare their paint job well enough before starting. They might mix too little paint, use too much on certain areas creating uneven colours, or simply do a bad job. A professional painter; however, will make sure the painting areas are prepared, will use the right tools, and will deliver better results in less time.

The next time you have a major painting project, either residential or commercial, you can trust Lince’s Painting to get the job done right. Call us today for your free consultation.

What Colour Should You Paint Your Kitchen?

Are you in the process of building a new home or perhaps you’ve decided to take the plunge and renovate?  Maybe you’ve just moved into a home where the previous owners’ colour choices leave a lot to be desired.  Choosing paint colours for your home can be an exciting and stressful process, and even more so when it comes to making those choices for the heart of your home; the kitchen.

Most of us tend to spend a lot of our waking hours in our kitchen, and it can be a wonderful gathering place for friends and family alike.  It’s important that your kitchen reflects both smart functionality and your personality. The experts at Lince’s Painting have gathered some great tips together to help you pick colours that let you enjoy this sometimes underappreciated room.

Natural Light

Your paint choice may be somewhat limited due to the natural light in your home.  Even with plenty of artificial light, a kitchen may look unwelcoming or heavy with a dark paint colour.  It may even make space appear smaller.  If you don’t have the option to add more natural light to your kitchen but you have your heart set on a dark colour, consider using that colour on a feature wall or even on some of your furniture or decor.  On the flip side, if your kitchen has plenty of natural light, this may open up some possibilities for adding the dramatic flair that a dark or rich wall colour can bring.

Cupboards, flooring and furniture

Think about how your wall colour choice will complement the existing colours in the room.  Will the colour make your cupboards pop as you’d hoped, or does it blend and flow more naturally?  There’s no right or wrong answer, only take into account how your colour choice works with the floors, cupboards and the furniture in the room.

Moods

Certain colours lend themselves well to evoking a particular mood or feeling.  Yellow increases energy, blue motivates and increases efficiency, while lavender will make you feel calm and green offers tranquillity and health.  Interestingly, red is said to increase appetite.  Each colour can have warm or cool undertones and colours can shift fairly drastically depending on lighting throughout the day.  If you are unsure of how the colour will change throughout the day your best bet is to paint a tester patch and see how it looks from morning through to the evening.

Going Neutral

If you’re not sure how long you’ll be living in your space, or if you’re sure that a sale is in your future, it’s prudent to consider the buyers when painting your kitchen space.  When considering a home, the kitchen is one of the very first things a potential buyer looks at, and every buyer wants to easily picture themselves in the space.  Neutral doesn’t mean boring, and it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t put splashes of your personality in easily removed decor or furniture.  A more neutral colour on the walls can actually give a more pleasing background against which your favourite pieces shine.

The next time you are looking to have your kitchen painted, feel free to contact the experts at Lince’s Painting. We have experience painting many kitchens and can help make sure it is a smooth and stress-free process.

6 Things To Consider When Choosing Paint Colours For Your Home

Choosing the right paint for your home can be tough, with various colours and types of finish to select from, the process can get extremely difficult. As a starting point, what colour do you prefer? With that, you’ve begun your journey to picking the perfect paint colour for your home. It can feel daunting but, we’re here to help ease the process by suggesting important key points.

Lighting

You’ve probably heard it before, lighting is an important factor when deciding on a paint colour. Every paint manufacturer is different, and depending on what type of substrate finish your home is designed with, the radiance outside can greatly affect the binds and adhesion of the paint. Light bulbs can also affect on how you perceive colour, varying from fluorescent, halogens to lumens –  each bulb has different tints and colour. So, keep in mind that the paint colours you see at the store are different from what you see in your home.  

Home style

The size, feel, fixtures and ceiling heights of your living space are all important factors to take into consideration. Tall ceilings open-up options for darker colours, while a smaller room will have a different effect. We recommend choosing a lighter paint colour with warm tones, creating an illusion of a bigger space. If you’ve got chair rails, you have the option for different complementary colours on the same wall. If you have a small room, consider feature walls for that dark colour you’ve fallen in love with. An alternative option is to go with a neutral palette throughout the home, leaving bright colours for furniture accents.

Furniture

Do they already have punchy furniture colours? Maybe, you’ll want to go with something more understated for your walls. Alternatively, if your furniture is less dramatic, you have an opportunity to go bold with your room colours.

Paint brand

Can’t find the colour you’ve been searching for? Try a different paint brand. Not all brands are created equal and some offer hue variations right on the same paint chip. Each paint manufacturer has different adherence and binding ingredients to their products, some paint may look great on your furniture but, may have a different effect on your wall.

Finish

Every paint has a different binding finish to them. The 2 most common finishes are gloss and matte but, depending on your furniture and walls, you may choose one or the other. Do you like a high gloss? Or is matte up your alley? Lifestyle may come into play here, as a mid-range finish like eggshell will be easy to clean and wear well, while a high shine will resist even a water splash. But the matte finish will hide wall imperfections and roller marks. You can get the best of both worlds if, for example, you go with one finish on the walls and use another for trim and baseboards.

Visit the pros

With over 20 years of experience, our reputation is set on trust. We work with you to achieve the best results for your home and experience. Our services are recognized to be the highest quality of work and craftsmanship. Call us today at (416) 893-4338 for guidance and recommendations. We will be happy to assist you with any questions and offer booklets from paint companies which showcase specific colours for each season. We have established ourselves as one of the best painters in Brampton, Mississauga, and Vaughan. We work with you to achieve the best results for your home and the best experience for you.  

Ultimately, picking paint colours for your home is a very personal choice, and only you can decide what works best. Everyone has a style that is unique to them, and your home is the perfect way to showcase your personality.