Creative Use Of Interior Paint Can "Reshape" The Dimensions Of Your Home

Well, correcting these shortcomings in the dimensions of your rooms may be easier-and far less expensive-than you think.

According to experts at the Paint Quality Institute, using paint color and pattern on the walls and ceilings can often fool the eye into "seeing" a room differently.

Here are some visual tricks you can use to change the dimensions of your home.

To make a room seem more spacious:

... use a light colored paint. Lighter colors not only give an illusion of expansiveness, they actually reflect more daylight and artificial lighting than do darker colors. The result is a room that feels airy, open, and bigger. (To push the walls out further, consider applying a more reflective, semi-gloss or gloss paint.)

Want the space to feel larger still? Decorate the room in a monochromatic color scheme using similar light colors-such as various beiges, for example-on walls, ceilings, rugs and furniture.

If a room seems cramped not because of the walls, but due to a low ceiling, apply the same principles: paint the ceiling white or another very light color, possibly using a satin or semigloss finish. To enhance the illusion of height, use a corresponding light color on the carpeting or floor.

Pattern, as well as color, can be used to expand a room. As an example, painting vertical patterns on the walls will "raise" the ceiling. If you're artistic, painting a mural of an outdoor scene can sometimes make walls "recede" and enlarge a room.

To make a room seem smaller:

... apply dark, warm colors (reds, apricots and golds) to walls and ceilings. These darker shades of paint will infuse the space with a more intimate feeling.

You can also "shrink" space with pattern. If a room seems oversized and cold, add a chair rail and apply different colors of paint above and below the molding. Adding texture by "sponging" or "stippling" the walls will shrink it still further.

Another way to scale down a room is to create large, window-sized rectangular shapes on walls, then paint them with a color that contrasts with the surrounding areas.

To restrict the height of a ceiling, paint it darker than the walls; to lower it still further, use the ceiling color to paint a wide band of ,'molding" around the top six inches of the walls below.

To "reconfigure " a room:

If a room or hallway seems too narrow, you can use color to "square it off." To do this, just use a light color of paint on the longer walls, and a darker shade of paint on the narrower sides.

Conversely, if you want to narrow a space, apply light paint to the shorter walls, and dark paint to the longer walls.

To get the best results:

... always use a top quality interior paint. According to experts at the Paint Quality Institute, top-of-the-line interior latex paint is best for most jobs. It goes on smoothly and evenly, covers well, resists stains and touches up nicely.

For more advice on interior painting, speak to a knowledgeable salesperson at your local paint store, hardware store or decorating center.

You can also learn more about interior painting by visiting the Paint Quality Institute's extensive Web site at www.paintquality.com.

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