Daycare centres and other preschool facilities need frequent painting and maintenance. Preschoolers have many things in their wandering minds but being careful with their surroundings is not one of them. Yet parents and teachers expect sparkling clean walls and preschooler friendly colours.
Servicing a facility that is solely focused on the care of children is difficult. Facility managers know that having the right contractor will go a long in helping the redecorating process.
How to Find the Right Painting Company for your Daycare Centre
If you don’t already have an existing relationship with a commercial painter, it’s time to start looking for one. Despite the plethora of available vendors, not many contractors are qualified to do this type of work:
- Work needs to be performed after hours when children are away.
- Some children have sensitivities to chemicals and paint is one of these chemicals.
- Parents can be overprotective of their little ones and sometimes are not very cooperative.
- Teachers don’t want their workplace to be interrupted.
- The wrong choice of colour can have a negative effect on young children.
How Do You Pre-qualify the Painters?
How knowledgeable and experienced are they? An experienced contractor is the facility manager’s ally throughout this process. It is inevitable that some parent or teacher will complain about the colour, the smell or about some inconvenience. You want the painters to be a phone call away and ready to respond to any of these issues. To complete such a project successfully you need to work with the right professionals. Ask the right questions:
- Did they work in schools before?
- Do they have daycare centres as regular clients?
- Can they provide references?
- Do they use safer zero VOC paints?
- Are they fully staffed or will they use subcontractors?
After receiving all quotes and proposals make sure to compare them apples to apples. The cheapest quote is not necessarily the best one for your daycare. The price differences between established and qualified professionals are actually small. If a quote seems very low compared to the rest, it should be scrutinized for possible red flags. Did they include everything you asked for? Are they specifying the right prep and paints? Do they really know the work that’s involved and the responsibility they are getting themselves into?
This is the appropriate time to ask the right questions. Maybe they use subcontractors and they are not fully insured. Proper insurance is crucial for this type of job and peace of mind is something any facility manager appreciates.
Ecopainting’s experience with Preschool Institutions
Whenever you need professionalism and 100% accountability the best choice is Ecopainting. Being eco-friendly, you know our paints will not be harmful to the children and your teachers. Our body of work includes many schools, classrooms and daycare centres.
In the east we paint for Montcrest School annually and have been servicing the Matthew John Day Care on a regular basis. During the last two years we had the privilege of painting for the Waldorf Academy. Waldorf is located near Casa Loma in the heart of Toronto. Waldorf offers a half-day Preschool program for children aged 2 ½ – 4 years from September to June.
In the spring of 2018 we painted the Forum Italia Daycare in Mississauga. This was a big project as we ended up painting the entire facility. It was not an easy job, as we needed to schedule around the needs of the customer. We started working on on evenings but parents complained that despite using zero VOC paint they could still smell paint in the morning. Considering the limited time available to air out the classrooms, this could not be avoided.
After meeting with the customer we agreed to slow down the project and eventually complete it during weekends. Our job manager Katie and her amazing crew completed the work successfully and still accommodated the customer!
What are the Best Colours for Preschoolers Classrooms?
The effect of colour on young children has been documented by psychologists and educators. Painting and maintenance of your daycare requires planning and hard work. To best take advantage of all this effort and resources, why not choose the correct colour? Your painting contractor should have the experience and resources to help you. At Ecopainting we provide the client colour swatches and even paint large samples on the walls. If necessary, we can connect the customer with a colour consultant that will assist with making the right colour decision.
Some General Colour Guidelines
Keep the main surfaces such as walls and ceilings lightly coloured. The ceiling should be white or a light colour. This is especially true for a room in a basement with low ceilings. Lighter colours such as soft yellow and blue pastels have shown to elicit positive feelings to young minds.
Colours should compliment each other and big contrasts should be avoided as not to cause unnecessary distractions. Very dark colours such as deep blue, black or charcoal create negative emotions and should not be used. Red can cause anxiety to some young children. Use glossy paints sparingly despite their ability to withstand scrubbing and cleaning.
Tips to Make your Daycare Look Bigger
Sometimes space is at a premium and renovation funds are not available. Not to worry, paint can do wonders to make space feel spacious and comfortable. Talk to your painters about it but here are some time proven tips.
- Use light colours on walls and ceilings.
- Paint ceilings with glossier paint to reflect more light.
- Use horizontal stripes toned slightly darker than the main colour.
- Install single shelf, horizontal bookcases and paint them a little darker than the wall.
- Create the same effect with a wallpaper border but use a soft pattern.
- Cooler colours like light blues, light greens and crisp whites make a space feel more spacious.
- Avoid warm colours in main areas, save them for the lounge and lunchroom.
- Avoid painting vertical shapes and tall furniture with bright colours.
Note: most of colour suggestions here steer you away from too much colour and contrast. This is certainly against the grain of what a preschool space should look like. The reality is, bright colours will always find their way into the classroom. Toys, artwork, posters and books, they are all colourful and this is all the colour stimulation a preschooler’s mind needs.
Do you need your daycare centre painted? Call Ecopainting and speak to one of our representatives. We will help you create a beautiful space that will help your young students learn in comfort.