Modern paints for interiors: colours and effects for “dressing” the walls of your home

It’s called colour harmony. You must have heard of it before.
The stylists who took to emphasising the beauty of Hollywood’s divas relied on it for years and even today there’s no red carpet look that fails to consider it.

Colour harmony is the choice of the most suitable colours for a person, based on the nuances of the latter’s skin colour and eye-hair colour combination. Developed by colour experts such as Albert Henry Munsell and Johannes Itten and supported by cosmetologists such as Bernice Kentern, Corele Jackson and Mary Spillane, this field is crucial for enhancing the garments we choose to wear.

But can we speak of “colour harmony applied to home living”?

We certainly can! We can simply imagine our home interiors as being the dress we want to wear. And to create the right look, our starting point is without doubt the new paints for interiors. Colours, but also effects, capable of embellishing space and turning any project into something unique and entirely personal, made to measure like a fine tailored suit.

VALPAINT, the Italian company leader in the decorative paints sector, works with the same attention to detail as a tailor confronted with his creation. The design phase of a decorative paint involves finding the right balance between the product’s nuances, texture and material aspect.

The sources of inspiration? There are many: from trendy colours to the colours of nature and even the nuances of artificial materials. The resulting colour palette is the starting point for a project that merges to perfection the decorative product, the composition and the structure of the place where the wall is situated.

New painting techniques for interiors: the colours that reflect our personality

To assess the right modern wall paints for interiors based on colour, we must first consider the importance of the shades and how their choice can influence the context of our home.

Generally speaking, decorative wall paints can be grouped into:

• Neutral and natural shades: this category includes colours such as white, cream, ivory and ecru. They are shades laden with light and are thus able to convey an elegant and clean impression.

They are unbeatable for their range of effects, which resemble stone or sandblasted and glittered surfaces. The characteristics of these decorative products emphasise the light-and-shade and iridescent effects imparted by the product on the decorated surface.

• Warm shades: simply envisioning yellow and orange shades instantly conveys the impression of being in a warm and welcoming environment. These colours are able to instil a feeling of calmness, serenity and security.

For this reason, warm shades are ideal for sand, glitter and stone effects, but especially on fabric effects. Decorative paints such as VALRENNA, VALSETIN and POLISTOF support warm shades with a tactile surface effect, further heightening the feeling or warmth and well-being in an environment.

The more “intense” versions, such as copper and bronze, produce their best results on metallic finishes and can be used to obtain highly original paints for interiors.

• Pastel shades: light dusty pink, light blue, sea green, lilac and all pastel shades in general are studied to instil inner peace. No wonder they are the optimal choice for environments dedicated to rest and relaxation.

However, they can also produce an unexpected twist: simply work them with glitter or pearlescent finishes to obtain modern and unique interior wall paints full of character.

• Cool shades: just picture the effects of stone, cement and metal, which can yield decidedly elegant and sophisticated solutions. There’s only one precaution: they should be used in very bright settings and preferably enhanced by matching them with coloured accessories.

Surfaces decorated with VALPAINT METEORE 10 CEMENTO with shades veering towards grey, like concrete used in building applications, produce a furnishing element that conveys distinct perceptions associated with coldness.

Want to discover the trendy colours for 2020? Read also “Distinctive walls for interiors: ideas for painting homes with on-trend colours in 2020”

Special-effects wall paint: the fabric effect and Venetian plaster

VALPAINT, a reference company in the decorative paints industry, works tirelessly on the aesthetic-chemical-technical relationship. Thanks to an in-house research laboratory, each decorative effect is designed to combine these three elements.

The end result is new modern wall painting techniques and original solutions such as:

1) POLISTOF, for “painting” the home with fabric

POLISTOF is a finish on the boundary between polychrome paint and fabric. Its strength lies in its capacity to impart a velvety effect on the home’s walls, almost as if these were wearing a velours outfit.

But there’s more. This decorative paint contains special luminous micro-crystals that enhance its glossy appearance. That is where colour harmony comes into play: carefully studying the colours and lights that form this synergy can yield a surprising functional and visual harmony (for further details: “Fabric-effect wall paint: all the features of POLISTOF”).

Venetian plaster, for a regal home

ROCOCÒ is a decorative paint with a versatile character as it embodies all the elements handed down through history, making it ideal for emphasising the past or for creating a contemporary feel.

This is possible thanks the decorator, who imparts the ultimate decorative effect of ROCOCÒ during the application process. The key to switching from a classical connotation to extreme minimalism therefore lies in the choice of the colours (to explore the potential effects of this decorative paint, consult Stucco Veneziano – Venetian plaster: the decorative paint that offers regal elegance).

Paint for interiors with metallic effect: the unbeatable beauty of the corten effect

The collection of new paints for interiors by VALPAINT could not overlook a material that has been highly sought-after by designers, architects and interior designers in recent years: corten steel.

KLONDIKE CORTEN is a paint with rust effect capable of replicating the same visual impact and performance profile of steel (we spoke about it also in the article Corten-effect paint: the elegance of a rusty glow).

Also in this case, the possibility of experimenting with textures bestows a vigorous character to a decorative paint that adds a distinctive and personal touch to the environments in which it is used:

• the “dripped effect”, which mimics the trickled look commonly found on slabs that have deteriorated due to weathering;
• the “polished plaster effect”, in which the paint appears more uniform.

The cement effect: an essential “look” among the original paints for interiors

We tend to think of cement as a structural material. In actual fact, it also plays a significant role as a decorative element, especially in industrial projects.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO VALPAINT proposes cement in various versions, so that it can be worked and moulded according to the design specifications.

For further information on the various types of effects, read “Cement-effect wall paint: how to create interior-design solutions with an industrial style”.

“Inhabiting” a home is more than merely spending time in it. It has to do with our relationship to every space, corner and colour chosen to decorate it. Colour harmony applied to home living refers precisely to this dimension. And the modern paints for interiors are the right tool to design it.