3 Ways to Visualize Your Home's New Color Scheme Before Painting

Whether you’re redecorating a home for yourself, getting ready to sell, or preparing a flip for market, repainting is an essential first step. Fresh painted walls not only make a home look fresh and new, the right paint can make the house pop in ways it never did in previous color shades.
Of course, visualizing the right color scheme for a home isn’t always easy. You need to compare how the shades interact with the space. You need to see how the natural and artificial light play with the shades from one wall to the next. And you need to do all that without painting and then changing your mind. Fortunately, between online tools and color samples, you fully visualize your new painting plan before you lay a single drop of real paint on the walls.
Today, we’re here to share the three best tools and methods for planning your new interior color scheme. 

1) Sample Color Schemes

The first step for most interior paint projects is to look at other paint designs that you like. There are millions of interior decor photos on the internet that can give you an idea of the color combinations that might work well for your home. Once you find a few examples you like, the question is how to derive a real paint color from the images.
For this, you can use the SW tool Color Snap or another similar online tool designed to pull paint colors from images. Most of these tools allow you to upload an image and then extract the approximate (by brand) colors that could be used to recreate the palette. Color Snap has an additional and very useful feature, in that it comes with a chrome extension called Snap It that can pull color palettes from any image you find -without- downloading and re-uploading it into the tool.

2) Virtual Painting Visualization

The next step is to virtualize your theoretical new palette onto images of your home interior. There are online tools for this, too, and it’s surprisingly easy to both set up and experiment with. A color visualizer can help you see how paint colors will approximately look when added to your real space. This may be your best tool for figuring out which rooms will look good paler, darker, or with an accent wall to really make the layout pop.
Another SW tool, Color Visualizer, or something similar on another site, can help you do just that by using uploaded photos of the house.
First, create a photo-tour of the home including different angles of each room. Make sure to get plenty of clear, even light if possible. These photos can be uploaded into the tool, your paint areas selected, and then you can edit away testing different paint color combinations on each wall, trim, and cabinet.
Your sample photos will also serve as great ‘before’ pics once the new color is on the walls.

3) Real-World Wall Color Tests

Finally, you’re ready to start testing paint in the real world. Keeping in mind that virtual paint doesn’t always turn out the same on real walls, it’s important to test sample patches of real color up on the walls you intend to paint. However, painting on the walls is not actually our best bet.
The best way to sample paint colors on each wall is actually with poster board. Chances are, you’re going to want to test each color against a few different walls, see how the light plays out, and how the colors look painted, dried, and next to each other. Painted poster board shows the paint correctly, but it’s a lot easier to test and move around than paint on the wall.
Start by labeling the back of each poster with the color you’re painting. Then flip it over, tape it down, and cover the entire poster with your color edge to edge. When it dries, add a second coat just as you would on the walls. Once that dries, untape it and use the board as your portable test-swatch. Tape it onto walls you want to try, tape it next to accent colors, and when your decisions are made, you’ll have the exact paint color on the back to avoid shade confusions.

Bringing the Color to Life

Once you’re 100% sure that the paint you’ve chosen is perfect for the house, it’s time to put your plan into action. Using professional tricks like removing the baseboards and savvy use of painter’s tape, use your tried and tested palette to bring the colors to life. You know you’ve done right when your home pops, every color accenting a wall or curve that your family or the new buyers will love. 
If you’ve visualized the perfect color scheme for your home, rental, or flip then Satin Touch is ready to make those colors come to life. Don’t hesitate – Contact us online or call the painting professionals at Satin Touch today at (612) 388-7275.


Don’t make these House Flipping Mistakes

It might be cheap to buy, but is it the right place, do you have the right tools and professionals to turn it into a profit? 
With plenty of TV Shows about house flipping, there’s a lot of interest and a n allure of quick money in the industry, but be aware, it looks a lot easier than it does on HGTV. Make sure you know the pitfalls before taking one on, and always lean on professionals — especially for your first flip.

Problem: Lack of funds

Real estate is expensive. Research all your financing options and find a lender that offers low interest rates. An easy way to research a prospective property’s total cost is by using a mortgage calculator or speaking to a mortgage banker.

Problem: Lack of time

Simply put: flipping takes not only a lot of investment, but a lot of time. Once you own the house, you’ll need to invest time to not only rehab it, but also schedule a host of inspections before you can consider selling it. And if you’re selling yourself, you’ll act as a real estate agent doing lots of showings before you find the right buyer.

Problem: Lack of Handy-man Skills

Lots of people take on a house flip with little to moderate handy-man skills. This is not a good idea unless you have lots of time and money to sink into the project. Hiring professionals will ensure that you turn the house in a timely manner and on your budget.

Problem: Lack of Knowledge

You need to be able to choose the right property, at the right location, and at the right price, and keep your budget to fix it up within a good margin to sell at a healthy profit. It’s easier said than done.

Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR)

If you didn’t read anything until this point, know that before you get involved in house flipping, do your research and know what you’re getting into. And always hire professionals to get the job done right and on budget.