How much does a colour consultation cost? [2024]

When you go to a paint store, you're faced with a wide array of colours and colour schemes. Even a single colour will have a variety of shades to choose from. So what colours should you choose for your home interior or exterior? This is when hiring a Dulux colour consultant can be a home improvement worth paying for.

Read this guide to find out how much a colour consultation costs and why it can be worth hiring a colour consultant to help you choose your colours.

• What is a Dulux colour consultant?
• How can a colour consultation help you?
• Choosing colours for a home interior
• Choosing colours for a home exterior
• How much does a colour consultation cost?
• How should you choose a colour consultant?

What is a Dulux colour consultant?

Dulux has the largest range of paint colours of any brand, with thousands of highly specialised options to suit every possible situation. But having so many options can make decisions that much harder. That's why the company offers Colour Consultations to recommend the ideal paints for every part of your home.

A Dulux colour consultant is a qualified Dulux Designer who can offer consultations in-person at your home or commercial building or online.

• A comprehensive home colour consultation costs around $150-$200 per hour
• An online colour consultation costs from $80-$120 per hour

In-home and online consultations both include physical A4 colour swatches of your chosen paint colours.

How can a colour consultation help you?

Whether you want a minimalist home interior or exterior or you want to brighten your home with splashes of colour, it can be hard to choose colours based on swatches and colour charts alone. A colour consultation can be an ideal way to choose the colours that would be perfect for your home interior or exterior.

Some homes have light flooding in while others may have less light available. A swatch of colour does not tell you what would be right for your home, but a Dulux colour consultant or other consultant has seen them all and can help you choose the perfect colours for your home.

You may think a colour consultant will come into your home and tell you the colours you should use in any room of the house. That is far from the truth. In fact, they will ask you what colours you like and then help you to find matching paint colours for your home exterior or interior. When they come to your home, they will bring their own swatches of colour and ask you about the colours you want.

If you want to paint every room in your house, they will go into each room with you and discuss the wall colours and other colours you might need to brighten a room. They may start with wall colours, but won't leave out the colours of furnishings, bedspreads, curtains and even cushions. If you're focusing on a single room, such as the living room, they can help you with that, too.

Choosing colours for a home interior

A colour consultant understands colours and their psychological effect in the home. They will discuss colours with you and help you to choose the best colours for any room of the house. They won't dictate colours to you, but will ask you about your preferred colours and then suggest colours you might not have thought of or can't visualise for your interior scheme.

You may have a large living room with plenty of light coming in, but what will the colours look like at night, when you're using electricity to illuminate the room?

Do you want a minimalist interior? If so, you may be looking at whites, greys or beiges. White may not be the right colour for a minimalist interior and you may need a tinted white. A minimalist interior can sometimes be too minimalist and a colour consultant can tell you where to add splashes of colour to bring it to life and/or suggest a wallpaper that will make the room more interesting.

Do you want a more colourful living room? How much colour is appropriate and what about the shade of the colour? You may want a bright colour, but it may be too much for your space. Perhaps a more muted colour would be better than a bright colour, or perhaps the bright colour would look better on a feature wall or piece of furniture and not dominate the room. A Dulux colour consultant can help you with all of these decisions and more, so you won't make a mistake you may regret later.

These are just some of the things a colour consultation can help you with when you're choosing colours for a home interior. They may also suggest colours for furnishings, curtains and other colours to help lift the home interior.

Choosing colours for a home exterior

The exterior of a home tells a lot about your personality, and if you're planning on selling the home, you don't want to choose colours that will put people off. An exterior house colour consultant can help you to choose colours that reflect your personality or, if you're planning on selling, can suggest colours that most people would enjoy.

You might be thinking of white walls with blue trim, but a Dulux colour consultant might suggest the opposite. White walls can be harsh on the eyes, especially if the sun shines on them. Blue walls and white trim might be perfect in some situations and this is where a colour consultation can make all the difference to your home exterior. They will also suggest a shade of blue that will be perfect for a home exterior.

Are you thinking of painting the walls the same colour? This can look bland on some types of exterior walls, especially for modern homes. An exterior house colour consultant might suggest using different colours on the walls to add something special to the home exterior.

Colour consultants don't limit their practice to modern homes either. They can come into any home and choose the perfect colours for an exterior whether the house is older or more modern. They can create stunning colours for an older home that can add value to your property and make it a showcase home on your street.

How much does a colour consultation cost?

Hiring a colour consultant can be a wise decision whether you want to stay in your home or want to sell it, but how much does a colour consultation cost?

Colour consultants have varying costs. A colour consultant who is just starting their business may be very inexpensive (from $15 to $50 per hour), but a seasoned colour consultant may charge up to $150-$200 per hour. If you want to use the services of a qualified Dulux colour consultant, prices start from $170 per hour for a home visit or around $100 per hour online.

These costs may seem expensive, but an experienced colour consultant will charge nothing for an initial phone call, which could take 10 to 15 minutes. From the phone call, they can start thinking about colours for your room and an initial consultation may only take an hour to two hours for a single room.

Is it worth paying $300 or more for a colour consultation? Imagine choosing colours yourself and then discovering you chose the wrong shade or colour. You can live with the shade or colour, but are you happy with it? You might be thinking of having a painter come in and change the shade or colour, but painting a room can be quite a bit more expensive than a colour consultation to make sure you get it right.

How should you choose a colour consultant?

Any colour consultant you choose should have attended a design school to learn the psychology of colours and how to choose colours for a home interior and exterior. Dulux colour consultants are qualified Dulux Designers.

It's probably better to choose a colour consultant who has experience working with clients. They will work faster than a novice and have the confidence to choose the right colours and shades of colours for any room in the house or the home exterior.

Some colour consultants are also interior designers who can also help you to choose furnishings, curtains, lighting and flooring for a new home or make improvements to any home interior.

To help you make your decision, compare at least three quotes from colour consultants and choose one who has at least a few years of experience and has attended a design school.

*Costs and prices in this article are indicative and should only be used as a guide. They also vary locally and are subject to market forces.