July 25, 2020

How Paint Can Shape a Room

How Paint Can Shape a Room

If you are looking for a budget-friendly way to change the appearance of a room, paint placement may help. Whether you are looking to lengthen, expand, shorten, or raise the ceiling height, strategically placing paint may offer a solution, without needing to tear down walls. Read on to learn just how paint can shape a room.

 

Expand and Shrink

The easiest way to change the appearance of the size in your room is by the colors you choose. Light colors tend to make a room appear larger while dark colors can close-in a space. If you have a small room, consider shades of white, light grey,  or light blue to make the space feel bigger. On the contrary, if you have a large room, experiment with darker colors for a romantic or moody vibe.

Painting the walls and the ceiling light colors expands the space.

 

Dark paint colors can appear to decrease the size of a room.

 

Lengthen and Shorten

You can play with paint placement in order to lengthen or shorten a room. Paint the ceiling and far wall an accent color in order to elongate the space. Conversely, painting just the far wall an accent color can appear to shorten the space.

 

A darker shade applied to the far wall and ceiling can appear to lengthen the room.

 

Just one accent wall can appear to shorten a room.

 

Wide Open: How paint can shape a room

A dado rail (also known as a chair rail) is an applied decorative molding.  If you use a darker color beneath the chair rail, the color can make the room appear wider. This darker color also helps anchor the room.

 

how paint can change a room
Widen the appearance of a room with an accent color painted up to chair rail height.

 

If you ever wanted to make a room appear more narrow, try this method. Keep the ceiling and far wall light and bright, while painting the remaining walls darker. This closes-off the space, reducing the appearance of a wide room.

 

2 dark walls with a light ceiling and back wall can make a wide room appear more narrow.

Raise or Lower a Ceiling with Paint

Suffering from low ceilings? Try painting the walls a darker shade and lightening the ceiling. This can give the appearance of a higher ceiling. On the other hand, a dark ceiling with light walls will make the ceiling appear lower.

 

Lower a ceiling height by painting it a darker shade.

 

Raise a low ceiling with paint color
A low ceiling can be remedied by painting the ceiling lighter than the walls.

 

Highlight

Finally, if you want to highlight one wall to draw attention – keep it light and darken everything else. The eye will be immediately drawn to the light wall. Perfect for highlighting a piece of art, a fireplace, or a mantel.

Highlight a wall through the contrast of light and dark paint.

 

Get Help Choosing a Paint Style

If you think a new paint job will help your next project – consult the experts. The Red House design team will walk you through colors, paint placement, and decorative molding to make sure you get the most out of your space. We aim to enhance the quality of time you and your family spend in your home. Contact us to learn more.