There are few things we can do to freshen a look, spruce up a design, enhance a feeling, or improve someone’s mood as applying paint. Paint has a vibrancy that can help us transform any space or object into something new – even when the room, space, or object being painted is not changed other than in the way it looks and makes us feel.
It’s uncanny how a fresh coat of paint on a wall or on a piece of furniture can really help. It adds new life to that surface or object, hides whatever the paint can cover, makes us feel better about the object or our living space, and in some cases, even transforms what used to be into an entirely different look.
Something as simple as as relatively inexpensive as a fresh coat of paint can make old things new – in appearance and in our attitude about them. This is why paint is such a great aging in place tool.
As we are interested in staying in our own homes ourselves or as we help our clients feel better about the homes they have selected to remain living in long-term, paint is a wonderful tool for creating a great feeling about that living environment.
It doesn’t even need to be a radically different color that is applied. It could be the same color that was present – just fresh and clean. Then again, it could dramatically change the look and feel of a space, making it seem brighter, larger, or more cozy and intimate. It can help make a room look warmer, brighter, or otherwise change the feel of it, depending on the color selected and the reflective properties of that particular paint and color.
Paint comes in so many hues that we can use it change our mood and attitude or use it to brighten a space or complement a color choice in our furnishings or flooring.
As the springtime is approaching, this is a great time to consider painting the inside or outside of our homes – or both. Because it won’t be long before we can have the windows open, the fresh air and springtime breezes will make us feel good about contributing to that airy feel, and it will help the paint to dry and cure. Paint odors are mostly a thing of the past, but the fresh air just seems to go with the fresh paint we are applying.
It doesn’t matter how many times a wall, ceiling, or piece of furniture has been painted before, new paint makes the object or space come alive. All of the stains, old memories, and color associated with a different furnishing plan can be covered with fresh paint. The room or furniture takes on a new, clean look and helps us to look at it differently and to be more comfortable in our space.
Paint is often an individual expression. It can be neutral, bright, bold, subtle, muted, or dark. Even white – if that is the choice – comes in a variety of colors and finishes. The other colors do as well. The new color can be an exact match to what has been there (just fresher and something new), it can be a shade lighter or darker, or it can be a very different look.
As a design tool, paint is something we should turn to often. It can change a look even when nothing else is done to a space.