Home Improvement Tips

Using More Than Two Colors

The use of more than one color on the exterior of homes has been a popular trend for a long time. And as tastes change across different regions of the country so do color intensities and choices. For example, in the northeast, invariant colors are popular among older Victorian homes. In the west, lighter colors are more the taste.

Start with a primary color for use on the body of the house and a secondary color to be used on the trim, like overhangs and doors. Then, choose a complimentary color as an accent. This is usually a strong color used sparingly on windowsills or shutters.

Picking house colors is like picking out shoes -- it's a matter of personal likes. But if you're having trouble deciding it may be useful to take a drive and look at the different colors on other homes in your town. Take note of combinations of colors you like. Remember, your neighbors will be the one's looking at your house more than you will be. Picking colors with the wrong aesthetics for your street may be a quick way to get uninvited to the block party summer BBQ.

Bonus Tip: Selling your home? Studies have shown that certain colors used on homes sell better than others. Do some research and find the most pleasing colors to buyers in your area.

Color Matters When Painting Your Home

There are families of colors that work very well on homes, and some that don't. As far as your personal tastes are concerned the sky is the limit. There is an old saying in painting that people should let their neighbors pick the color of their house because they will be looking at it more than you will be. That's still up for debate, but what's for certain is that some color schemes are more durable and longer lasting than others.

Switching from dark colors to light and light to dark also can be tricky. An example of colors requiring more work and maintenance would be dark reds, yellows, purples, and greens. Often time these colors require much more colorant to be added to the paint and that it doesn't leave much room for the ingredients that give paint its durability. The result: poor hiding or covering of colors, which means additional coats of paint to produce the same effect that would normally be needed if your color choice was more neutral.

Natural rollers.

The wool rollers are used to apply latex painting to rough surfaces, such as cement blocks or concrete. Because they hold a large amount of paint and flow over the surface easily. Mohair rollers on the other hand are used to apply oil based paints where a super smooth finish is wanted. They are both natural products of animal hair.

Putting on the paint.

There are two basic ways to apply paint. With a brush and a roller. The brush is used to apply paint around the edges of what you are painting. For example walls, ceilings, and baseboards. The size of the brush depends on the detail of what your painting and the area. There are latex brushes and oil brushes. Rollers come in different sizes from nine inches to three inches. How thick the pile is on a roller is called the nap. The thicker the nap the rougher the finish will be.

White primers.

No. Today paint companies have made it possible to have a primer colored closer to the paint color you intend to use than ever before. Also, by tinting the primer it creates a foundation to support the finished color. As gray would support black or similar dark colors.