Covering Up A Multitude Of Sins With Paint

Nothing's perfect, including your home. But paint can cover up a multitude of sins. Is your room too long or too short? Is your ceiling too high or too low? Is your room crying out for windows? Paint colors can be used to fool the eye, giving you a quick-fix for all of these room problems. Solve a problematic space with these painting tricks of the trade.

Moving In

*Room is too long—paint a warm color, for instance tones of red, orange, yellow, brown, and black on just one wall of a room painted in neutral or cooler colors. The wall painted with warm color will look as though it is moving in toward the room. This will have the effect of shortening the room so it seems cozier and not so endless.

*Room is too short—Paint a cool color, for instance tones of green, blue, white, gray, and silver on just one wall of a room painted predominantly in warm colors. The cooler-colored wall will appear to be moving away from the room. This creates an illusion of a length.

*Too high ceilings—Many homeowners would kill for high ceilings, but some people find it hard to create a cozy, intimate feel when the ceilings are very high. You can counter the feeling of height by painting the ceiling a darker color than the walls of the room. If you paint the top 12" of the wall with the same, darker color, this will bring the height down even further.

Open Up

*Ceilings Are Too Low—If your room feels claustrophobic, you can open things up by painting the ceiling a lighter color. If you use the same lighter color for the final six inches of the wall leading up to the ceiling, this will lend an even greater illusion of height. Still feels like the ceiling is falling in on you? Paint the baseboards using the same color that you've applied to the walls.

*Windowless rooms—Your room has no windows and you can't deal with making structural changes. Maybe it's the expense, or maybe it's the fuss and/or bureaucratic headaches, or maybe you're living in a rental. No matter, you can give the illusion of light by painting the walls in a light color using paint with a reflective finish. Matte paint finishes absorb light while paint with some gloss will reflect light within the room. Try a satin finish.

In general, if you want walls and ceilings to come toward the room for a cozier feeling, use warm colors. By the same token, if you want to open up a cramped space, use cool colors to make a wall or ceiling recede. Need more light? Apply paint with some gloss in the finish.