Interior designer and colour expert Johanna McLellan of PARA Paints fills us in on everything we need to know about colour and how to use it (without going overboard...).
I've often heard that you should paint a small room a light colour to make it look bigger. Are there any other tips to transforming a space by using colour?
Similar to using light colours in small spaces, dark colours tend to tighten up the room and bring the walls in. It really comes down to a combination of paint colours and lighting in a room (natural and artificial) that will affect the feel, size and mood of the space. Using vertical stripes will often give more height to walls, or painting the ceiling a white or light colour and then coming down the wall 3-4 inches with the same colour. The second treatment will work better with more contrasting colours; using a light colour on the walls won't have the same effect. Using a dark colour as a feature wall when the other three are more neutral can help to lengthen a room, while using three darker or warmer colours and a light feature wall will help to shorten a room.
I just moved into a house and I'm not sure if the paint on the walls is an oil or acrylic. Is there any way to tell?
Here is a simple test using a clean cloth and denatured alcohol or acetone. Apply the alcohol to the cloth and gently rub the wall surface. If any paint is softened or removed then the finish is an acrylic or latex paint. If no colour is on the rag and the finish is still unaffected then it is an oil base.
Every time I pick a paint colour, I'm afraid whatever I've chosen will turn out badly. Is there any sure-fire way to make sure a colour will work in a room?
There's no sure-fire way to know if a paint colour is going to work or not. However, you should know that most colours will dry slightly darker than in a brochure or on a chip. If what you're looking to do is a little bolder than what you're used to, you can always start with painting a shadow box directly on the wall to help highlight an item. A second option is to paint a feature wall to get a sense of the colour you've chosen. Remember that paint is a reflection of personality and there's a reason you've chosen that colour. We suggest giving the colour at least a month, but if you really detest it, you can always repaint; painting is not like committing to a major renovation.
Johanna McLellan is a part of the Brand team at PARA Paints. Johanna was part of a key team that launched PARA’s new colour system in 2008, and she took on the lead role in both the naming of their colours along with the new set of colour cards which focus on fashion and destination.