What paint to choose while painting a small, dark gaming room?

Sajjad Rizvi

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Aug 29, 2014
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I am shifting to a new place and it's kind of old. The room I have chosen is small and a bit dark then the rest. (around 15 ft in length and 10-12 ft in width) What I would be keeping there will be a monitor for PC and the other monitor for my XBOX (these will be put somewhere prominent) Please suggest me good paint to apply in my room. There's a bed too in there. Here is the link of the picture of the paint/wallpaper I think I should go for.

how-to-paint-a-dark-room


Look at the picture just below the title that says "don't paint it white" and the wallpaper that looks something close to wooden texture. Are they good?
 
Solution
sajjad,

you have mentioned that the room appears to be a bit "dark". painting the room "white" or a slight color tint to white would brighten up the room by a very large degree. it can literally double the brightness of a room. generally color "tints" of white or eggshell are better suggested for walls than straight white. the only issue with light colors is how shadows can play in the corner and on light colors some people associate shadows with looking dirty or dingy. correct lighting placement can solve this look as the reason why white or off-tones can look harsh or dingy is because of the type of light hitting it. in a room without windows, shadows can be very sharp and prominent. if you used multiple diffused type lighting with...
sajjad,

you have mentioned that the room appears to be a bit "dark". painting the room "white" or a slight color tint to white would brighten up the room by a very large degree. it can literally double the brightness of a room. generally color "tints" of white or eggshell are better suggested for walls than straight white. the only issue with light colors is how shadows can play in the corner and on light colors some people associate shadows with looking dirty or dingy. correct lighting placement can solve this look as the reason why white or off-tones can look harsh or dingy is because of the type of light hitting it. in a room without windows, shadows can be very sharp and prominent. if you used multiple diffused type lighting with warmer color bulbs this solves the issue.

if you want to make the room brighter and use darker colors or patterns you would need to have brighter lighting or more of it or a good amount of windows to let in natural light. otherwise it will be very dark.

one trick to brightening up a room and having darker walls is to keep a white ceiling and have lighting which shines upward. this will bounce off the ceiling and diffuse into the room. a straight white is suggested.

now it is possible to have darker colors in a low light room http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-pick-a-paint-color-for-a-room-with-little-natural-light-202086 but you need to be careful about what you pick and having a white ceiling and either a window or multiple light sources are a good idea. please note that the room will still look "darker" than a light or white color but the way shadows play on darker colors doesnt give the "dingy" look some people associate with

as far as wallpaper is concerned, you want to be careful not to choose a pattern that is too busy as it will draw your eye away from other objects. generally the best pattern behind a computer monitor or television is a solid color however you could make due with a rather subdued and sparse pattern without issue.

another idea is two toning a room. having a white ceiling with a ligther top half of the wall with darker bottom half. this not only breaks up large walls but provides darker color without darkening a room. chair rail or moulding can be used to seperate the two halves. two modifications of this theme are a wallpaper upper so the room doesnt look completely busy or a panelling lower which gives a different look then paint.

yet another idea is to have a focal wall which is painted in a different color or otherwise styled in a different manner than the others. for example a brick wall, tile mosaic wall, dark color wall or other wall treatment paired up with a rather normal style room with lighter colors. since light can bounce around a dark surface would not darken the room too much.

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generally... just pick what you like the look of. there are lots of guides for what you should and should not be doing but there is no perfect solution and what you think of their ideas is really just opinion. whatever you like the look of best which fits in with the kind of room and lighting scenario you have is the best answer regardless of what anyone else thinks.
 
Solution