First tips
o Before buying paint, study closely the space you are going to paint. Consider whether you have the feeling of living in a large or limited space.
o Natural light entering your home is an essential factor when it comes to choose the right color.
o Poorly chosen colors can cause a sensation of irritation and even fatigue, so take your time.
o Any store can provide with you an almost unlimited number of colors. Each brand has it own range, and can provide with you with whatever dye you want. You can also fashion the paint yourself, buying the base paint yourself, generally white, then adding dyes or anilines.
o If you are going to do it yourself write down the proportions of the mix, or don't forget the code of the color made by the machine in the shop. These will come in handy if you want to paint again with the same colors, or do a partial restoration.

The language of color
o If you want to make the most of paint, you need not know the physical principles of color. But you should at least have a basic knowledge of how colors relate to and affect each other.
o The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. These are the basic colors, the fundamental ones for making any other color. They correspond to the solar spectrum, and mixing them you can achieve the rest of the colors.
o Secondary colors are an equal-parts mix of two primary colors. Orange is made with red and yellow; purple, with red and blue, and green from yellow and blue.
o Primary and secondary colors form a basic color wheel.
o Complementary colors are those formed with an equal-parts mix of a pure primary color and a secondary one.
o Colors are darkened or lightened by adding black or white. This is the also the way to achieve each color's tones and shades.

Warm and cold colors
o Warm colors are said to be those which run from red to yellow on the chromatic scale. Cold ones are greens, purples and blues. Their characteristics are associated with tones.
o Dark colors absorb light, so they are appropriate for rooms with much natural light.
o Bright tones reflect light, so they are recommended for rooms with little natural light.

Changing rooms through paint
Paint also helps to trick the eye. You will never really make rooms larger or smaller, but you can achieve this effect if you pick the right color of paint. Here are some examples.
o If you have tall rooms, you will achieve a different sensation by painting the ceiling a darker color than that of the walls. If you also have a dark floor, it and the ceiling will appear to be closer together.
o To the contrary, if the rooms are not tall, you will achieve an effect of more space using a lighter color on the ceiling than on the walls.
o In general, warm colors makes spaces seem smaller, and cold ones give a sensation of greater space.
o Paint is also important in hallways. If yours are narrow, you can broaden them by painting in white. If the hallway is long and appears to never end, you can achieve the effect of shortening it by painting the far wall in a darker color. Another trick is to paint the doors a dark color.
o Paneling walls - dividing them up into sections with different colors of paint - makes the most of rooms or hallways that are large. The edges of these panels can be painted in lighter colors than the interior.
o If you paint a wall in two colors, such as one high and another low, as in a skirting board or frieze, this appears to close off spaces, as long as you part the dark color down below.

A few practical examples
o If the kids' rooms are small, use pastel colors and paint a landscape with perspective on the wall just opposite from the entrance. As children's rooms are often the places where they play and store keep their toys, use several colors to brighten up the room.
o Complementary colors tend to harmonize well. If you use opposites, such as red and green, you will achieve strong contrasts and give the room personality.
o If you have rooms that are too sunny, you can use cold colors such as blues and greens to cool off the atmosphere.
o Oranges, reds, pinks and yellows create intimate environments, especially if the room doesn't have much natural light.
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