When redecorating a bedroom is it better to pick the paint or decor first?

Question

It's my first time redocorating and I have yet to decide what type of theme. Should I pick a color of paint I like first and purchase items that match afterwards or buy the items then choose the paint. What's the best way to go about it?

I'm redecorating my daughter's shared room. I intend to toss the current bunk beds and get two regular twin beds, new sheets, duvet covers, rug and some other items. Also, when I start painting I do intend on putting all items covered in the middle of the room.

Answer 1

I will answer because of your neat nickname...Pick the furniture first...it is hard to match in furniture to paint. Make it bright and cheerful, while I like 'French blue" with white enameled woodwork, a gold with a white trim is good. Avoid beige as it is too neutral...pink is very feminine but if you are married, it seems stuffy for a man. Light curtains are better than heavy drapes. Dark colors are depressing in smaller rooms but work alright in larger rooms. The floor covering should compliment the walls...if you have carpeting, then that will dictate the color of the walls...and consequently the type of furniture suitable. But if it is a stark bare room, select furniture, and choose a complimentary paint and curtains...after you decide floor covering.

Answer 2

Aesthetically speaking, it doesn't matter where you start. So, I'd start off with a few questions...

Are there any items that you are keeping?
Sort through these and see if any of them would go with a particular wall color. You'll save yourself some money rather than painting and then realizing that some furniture or accents you wanted to keep don't go with your new color.

Are there any items that you or your daughters really love?
Sometimes a whole decor can start with something as simple as a pillow or a "knick-knack."
I.e. - Maybe your daughter is ready to move on to a "big girl" theme, but still loves a teddy bear with a blue bow around its neck. You could start with this idea and plan a shelving arrangement with the bear featured. (You know, up high enough that she won't feel "baby-ish" but where she can still look and enjoy it.) Then, play your colors off of the tan in the bear or the blue in its ribbon. I've seen whole rooms planned off of the colors in a favorite pillow sham.

Also, consider flooring. It's probably the one thing in the room that would cost you the most to change. If it's a neutral floor color, like wood or a tan carpet, you could pick up almost any wall color with a throw rug, but if it's a particular rug color or tile, you want to consider that.

If you are still undecided, go to the hardware store. Ask them if they have any discounted batch colors. (Sometimes people pick a specialty color, have several gallons made, then get it home and decide its not what they wanted. If the store has a guarantee, they have no choice but to take it back and are stuck with someone's custom colors. Often, they'll be happy to get rid of it at a deep discount.) Maybe something someone else didn't like will look perfect to you and you'll save big!

If you are more of a visual person, and need to see everything together. Check out the Behr paint website. It has a section where you can select different colors for wall, moulding, accent, etc. and it will put them all together in a picture for you to get an idea of what a finished product will look like.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I would say, if you're starting from scratch( an empty room) I would consider the theme first. For example, do you plan on having expensive ornaments, sparsely dispersed, or an african theme, do you plan to have china cabinets full of trinkets, and if so, what kind? You should try to consider all the factors... is the room very small? If so, you probably don't want dark colors, it'll look smaller. Again, if you will have many ornaments, the room might look too busy with dark walls. All in all, I would think about both, there are many shades of paint and the ornaments don't neccessarily have to be the same color. Try to pick a paint shade, in general, before you have the decor and then you can pick the exact shade when you're ready to put the room together.(at most paint stores, you can match the paint to something you bring in, or at least very close) Good luck!

Answer 4

No, don't choose the wall color first. Choose your theme first. Several previous answerers have suggested good methods for choosing a theme - such as an inspiration piece, bedding, colors that flatter you, etc. Whatever your method, your theme will suggest ideas for wall color choice (and window treatments, floor treatments, accessories, etc.

When you actually get down to the nitty gritty of carrying out your redecorating project, of course you do the actual wall-painting first. It's neater that way. But you have to have a good reason for choosing the wall color and unless you choose boring white walls, your choice should be influenced by what you want to put in the room, what you want the mood of the room to be, even what type of room it is and what kind of exposure it has (a room with northern exposure will receive little direct sun while one with a southern exposure may have sun all the time). Example: In a house in the north central US, decorating a room with a northern exposure blue might yield a room that feels cold. In contrast, a brighter or warmer color choice might at least create a warmer, cozier feel.

However, don't agonize over color choice. In the first place, painting is one of the cheapest changes you can make to a room. To be on the safe side, remember that colors on sample chips will probably look a lot darker when you do an entire wall in that color. So lighter tints may be wise choices. And consider neutrals (other than white) where you are not settling on a distinct color such as blue or green or yellow. It is practical to have your wall color be neutral enough that you don't have to repaint every time you buy a new bedspread or hang a picture.

Also, do consider ragging and faux finish techniques which can create interesting textures.

Happy decorating.

Answer 5

I would look at decor first, you can always find a paint color to match but finding the style and colors of decor may not be as easy depending on what is in fashion at the time vs what you would like to do with the room. Paint is just a matter of going to the local paint store with a sample of what you want to match and letting them mix the color.

Now I would paint the room first before actually puting the items in the room but choose the decor first and just store it somewhere else until the room is painted.
Best of Luck

Answer 6

You need to have the whole room in your mind, but start with decor. NOT meaning you're going to put all of your decor in decide on paint remove start painting and put it back in. What will happen (trust me, this WILL happen) When you have a picture in your mind how you want the room to look in the end, you'll go shopping a find ONE thing that you have to have to make that room sing to you! Whether it's the coffee table, the cuckoo clock in pink and turquoise, or the picture of the leopard, you'll find something and then you'll do the room around the colors and other pieces that would fit with whatever struck your fancy! Everything will start to fit and then the paint will be just to highlight the decore. Don't shy away from bold paint though, that's a huge mistake a new decorator makes. Go with your gut and go with your favorite colors, don't let anyone tell you they're too much!

Answer 7

NOT meaning you're going to put all of your decor in decide on paint remove start painting and put it back in. What will happen (trust me, this WILL happen) When you have a picture in your mind how you want the room to look in the end, you'll go shopping a find ONE thing that you have to have to make that room sing to you! Whether it's the coffee table, the cuckoo clock in pink and turquoise, or the picture of the leopard, you'll find something and then you'll do the room around the colors and other pieces that would fit with whatever struck your fancy! Everything will start to fit and then the paint will be just to highlight the decore. Don't shy away from bold paint though, that's a huge mistake a new decorator makes. Go with your gut and go with your favorite colors, don't let anyone tell you they're too much!

Answer 8

You don't want to paint the room and then have a difficult time finding things to go in it because of the color you chose.

I would start with the bedding and choose paint and other decorations around that. You can find sheets or any fabric or even paper with a color that you like and have Lowe's color match it (they are usually an exact match).

I'd take everything out..cover the whole floor with those paper tarps with a plastic layer on the bottom (it keeps any paint drippings from soaking through into the floor)...also tape it down all the way around the room ...that'll suck but it keeps it from moving around or from paint getting through the edges...

Answer 9

First choose the decor or theme that you love. Then you can pick out a paint color that matches it but isn't too overpowering that it distracts from your decor. There are a million colors of paint so you will always be able to find one that goes well with the decor, however, if you get the paint first you might have trouble finding enough matching accessories to fill the room.

Answer 10

I would say, through years of experience (some painful!) That you should choose your decor first. The reason I say this is because I once wanted to do my downstairs in a very pretty faux finish that I handbrushed and it was fabulous. I did so and then I stood back and realized that some items that were dear to me like Gramma's couch throw and my antique "this and that" just didn't work so well. I say to gather the things you love.. old or new and then figure what they have in common and narrow it down from there. If you love the walls and you stand back and realize that your pieces just can't fit in... you are in trouble. Gather the items/furniture you like, the things that make you feel good...and then ask yourself what will compliment the things that make you happy. Start from the center and work out. Just my two cents. If you are painting little Johnny's room and you pick a wall shade... then you go to the store looking for some cool items, Johnny might see some far out dresser that just won't work with the walls and he just can't live without it. Let them pick the decor that will please them, then grab a 99 cent color wheel and go from there.

Answer 11

I just did 2 rooms and a vestibule in my place. I first thought of the general effect I wanted. In one room, I wanted to feel like I am outside on an early summer day... green is the overall color then, with brown, and flowery accents. The exact shade of green was the hardest thing. Paints can look different in the store than on your wall. I ended up with a kind of light thalo green, which goes with everything. did the trim both white and dark green,,, and the floor is wooden,so I refinished that. I searched and searched for the right curtains, and was getting discouraged when I just happened to be passing through a children's department and find curtains that are white and then rainbow.

The other room had a problem,, it is dark because of trees outside the northern window.. so that had to be a light color... I wanted it to look like the sun was shining through, and also natural. I found a pale custard and did that, and found light curtains with a few big roses on them. wood furniture, wood floor, and a rug that is tan and forest green accent.

So I think the theme comes first, the exact shade of paint is important, then the accent colors. but the poster whose 'inspiration' was somethjing that would be a center piece and everything built around that works too. If you have some very important items that are your centerpieces,, then you need the paint and curtains to go with those.