When it comes to room design and decoration, choosing paint colors and tones can really be a challenge. With so many choices, it is still quite difficult to know where to start, since colors and tones are very important and will set the style and feeling for the room.
What tone means is a color’s intensity, how light or dark it is. For instance, when we add gray to a color like red, it renders a darker tone and dulls the intensity.
Every color can have a variety of tones. Their intensity, darkness or lightness depends on the color. It is very important to understand that tones really depend on what surrounds them. An obviously light tone in one setting may seem darker in another, even if it is surrounded by lighter colors or tones.
Colors can also produce a different range of tones. Lighter tones like yellow or blue can produce less tones than darker ones like black or dark blue.
Why is Tone Important?
To decorate the room, you must choose correct tones; otherwise it may seem like a visual noise. It is important to recognize the tone rather than the hue and to understand tonal contrast or a range of color values. If you select only mid-tones, the walls risk being dull. Tonal contrast creates excitement.
If you need to lighten a color, the easiest way to do so is to add white. However, this is not the only way and in many cases it reduces the intensity of the color. A color can be lightened by adding another color of a lighter value; for example, if you want to lighten a dark red, add yellow tones to the paint.
What is a Two or Three Tone Paint?
A room can be painted in two, three or more tones, which means two, three or more colors seperated in either horizontal or vertical lines.
Planning a Room
When planning a room, it is good to collect paint chips, but do not make final choices until you have thoroughly planned an overall room scheme with all its furniture, rugs, fabrics, etc. Paint is the most versatile element of any room décor and it is the easiest to change.
When selecting the paint tones, keep in mind your room settings and be sure to select the most appropriate color for the room that will brighten the dark room or add shadows to the light room.
Two- and Three-Tone Walls
A great idea for the room decoration is to paint your walls with two or three tones. Color combinations add fun and excitement. Besides, painting two- or three tone walls is something that can be easily accomplished with just a few important guidelines:
Plan your color and tone scheme and see where you want the first color to end and the second to continue. These areas can be marked using a painters tape.
Before painting, make sure that your base boards and floor areas are covered properly. You can use painters tape or plastic. Remember that the paint will trickle all over the place and it doesn’t matter what you are going to use—a brush or a roller—if the base boards and floor isn’t covered, expect the paint there. Don’t forget about the ceilings, too.
If you use a roller, put on the first color and concentrate on the uppermost part first. This would allow you to hide the drippings when working with the lowermost part. Many experts recommend drying each coat before adding the next one. You should wait for at least a day to work on the remaining part of the wall. Now, when the paint is dry, you can take off the painter tape and mark the line for the lower portion of the wall. You can use painters tape to set the new line and protect the paint you already applied in the top parts of the wall. The second tone should get dry in another day. It is better to wait till the walls are completely dry before removing the painters tape; otherwise the coating may be removed as well.
Painting Tips
Start painting with lighter tones first. This will allow darker colors more easily cover any errors you made with the first tone. When applying two or more tones, remember to use painters tape so that your color separation is clean and neat. To make curved lines, very thin painters tapes can be used.