What comes first - the carpet or the paint?

Lucy, from Manly West asks:

We are just at the beginning stages of our renovation. Should we paint the walls first then match the carpet, or do it the other way around?

Jane says:

I would suggest selecting your carpet first since there are far fewer carpet colours than paint colours to choose from and it will be much easier to find a match this way.

Start by narrowing down your carpet choices to two to three ranges based on your budget and requirements (what areas in your home are being carpeted, whether you have children/pets, location of the property etc).

Now make your final choice of carpet from this smaller group of options.

The next step is to select your paint colour. There are literally thousands of colour options out there – not only the standard colours from Dulux, Taubmans, Resene, Wattyl and Solver, just to name a few, but also custom made colours which a paint shop can tint up for you.

If you’re unsure which colours to go for, have an interior designer help you, browse the internet for ideas or ask at your carpet or paint shop for help.

Be aware that since you will be comparing small samples, these will not be a good indication of what the colours will look like in their entirety. For instance, if a brown-ish/beige carpet has a very slight green tinge to it, then it will be magnified significantly when applied to a larger area. The same goes for paint colours. Be careful not to go too grey, too blue, too green, too pink – you get the idea. It’s a maze out there!

When selecting your colours, make sure they are on the same colour spectrum. For instance, if the carpet colour you choose is a cool colour (has a greeny or bluey base – even if it’s mainly a beige or grey colour), ensure your wall colour does too. Mixing warm and cool colours in one space is a technique best left to the professionals.

In terms of the implementation of the reno, start with the painting. If there is existing carpet on the floors, trim this back by 100-150mm around the perimeter of the room and use the existing carpet as your drop sheet. This allows enough room for the bottom of the skirting boards to be painted while the carpet is still in place.

Once the painting is complete, rip up the existing carpet and replace it with new – and Voila!

Jane Eyles-Bennett is the founder of Hotspace Consultants and has more than 20 years of interior design and renovation experience.