Tips on Choosing Paint
Paint is beautiful. The way it brightens up a room or adds a theme to a space. It can be tricky choosing paint for a space. A few important factors when choosing paint are light (sunlight/artificial) and adjacent colors. Another factor of equal importance but trickier is overall desired result. I see this almost universally with my clients, they do not have the ability to see the color on all of the walls and foresee how it will look at different times of day.
Here Are Some Examples of Common Struggles:
I thought I was choosing a tan color but when it was on the walls it looked lighter than I expected and more yellow than I’d hoped.
I was shooting for a peaceful sage green and I wound up with a minty easter egg color.
I’m trying to choose a grey but there are so many samples to choose from and I’ve already spent hours and can’t decide.
Pro Tip
Look for swatches of color that you like in a paint or hardware store also look online at websites that show pictures of rooms you like.
Find at least one that you like, or a dozen samples can be good too for comparison.
The Swatch Test
Step 1
Use scotch tape or blue painters tape and tape the swatches* on the WHITE TRIM or DOOR in the room that you want to paint.
Why is this? Because when you hold the new paint swatch up against the old color your eye cannot differentiate them from each other. You will only see and compare the two. Each color takes on properties relative to the other color in your mind's eye. For example: Hold a tan beige color up against a yellow wall and it may appear to be a pinkish peach tone. Hold the same tan beige up to the white door and you will see it’s true hue.
Larger samples are available from any paint store or online if you need a bigger sample to analyze.
(*Do not waste your time and money on buying pints of paint and painting larger swatches on the walls. Now that you understand the science of it you know it will repeat the same problem with a big mess.)
Step 2
With the swatch taped on the trim or door, stand back 10-20 ft and look from a distance and at different times of day. Take into view the whole wall and the room from that vantage point and imagine the swatch all over the walls.
Why should we stand far away? The color will change from a distance. What looked like a blue grey up close may look more like a grey from a distance. This common mistake has people buying and applying paint that they liked on a swatch but when on the wall they say looks too pastel or surprised them by turning out to be grey rather than blue.
Step 3
After you have eliminated a few of the samples, take a favorite and hold it up to the other adjacent colors in the room like carpet, floor, furniture, pillows, window shades, etc and consider as you do this “does this go with this or clash?”.
Application Tips
Prime first if you're going from a color to a color and use two coats. If you’re painting a neutral over another neutral and using a high quality paint you will just need two coats.
Most folks enjoy their wall colors for 5-10 years or more so when you’re asked about the quality of paint you prefer and the least expensive gallon costs $25 and the professional line costs $32, go for the handful of extra dollars to get better coverage and quality.
It’s worth it!
Contact me for a consultation.