Choosing a paint color - a few suggestions

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Often when I am at the paint store I watch people struggle to select a color from the library of swatches they have on display. Just recently I was at Home Depot trying to find a match to a Benjamin Moore color for an out of town client. While I was there I overheard a couple arguing about the colors they were trying to select for their new home. It was painful to listen to them because neither one of them was going about it the right way. I felt bad because I knew they were making a mistake and they didn't know any better so I walked over to help them. 

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The following are a few tips I shared with them: 

1. You should not select a color based on a 1" swatch of color. 

2. But if you insist on doing it, take the color down a shade. The color will intensify when it is up on the walls. 

3. The lighting in a store is going to be different then the lighting in your house and the paint chip will look very different when you get it home, so at the very least, take the swatch home and look at it in your own lighting before making a decision.

The best way to select a color is to have a large enough swatch to be able to really see the true color. I like to paint a poster board size sample and I use foam core so that it can stand up on its own. I prefer to paint my samples on a board rather than on the wall directly so that I can move the sample from wall to wall and from room to room to see what the color does in different lighting. 

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Another important thing to consider is what you are putting your sample against. Different colors affect each other and can make a swatch look wrong just because you have it up against a conflicting color. I solve this by keeping the edge of my sample white. When I am painting my samples, I tape the edges with blue painter's tape to keep the edge clean. I write the name of the color on the back so that when I am testing colors I am not swayed by knowing what color it is. 

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A lot of paint companies are now offering small size paint samples. These are great. The 2 oz. samples that Benjamin Moore sells for $4.99 perfectly cover the poster boards that I use with two coats. Always paint your samples with at least two coats.

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And finally, remember that paint will look different in every space and at different times of day. A wall color that looks great in one house may not look great in another.  I have my tried-and-true colors that I love but I always check them in each space I am thinking about using them in. What looks good in one room, may not in another depending on the amount of light the room gets and the surrounding decor. Matching your new paint color to the existing elements in your room (your woods, your fabrics, etc.) is another factor to take into consideration which is another reason why selecting a paint color in the store is not a good idea.

Canadian Home and Country via House of Turquoise

House of Turquoise

House of Turquoise

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