6 Tips for Choosing Paint Colours

[Julie-Ann]

Choosing paint colours can drive us crazy.
I came across this great blog post on tips for choosing paint colours. I hope it takes the stress out of it for some of you.


I learned quite a bit about choosing colors when I painted the breakfast nook in our old apartment. I used Haven from Sherwin Williams and while it grew on me, it wasn't the look I was going for. It was much more of a spring green than the sage green I wanted. It looks like it would be sage, but it really isn't once on the wall. The mistake I made was choosing my color from one of those little squares on a card and not painting a sample first. When I bought the paint, brought it home and opened up the paint can, I was a little shocked. It looked like lime sherbet in the can, but fortunately dried a little darker.

Here are the main things I've learned about choosing paint colors:

1. The color on that little square in the paint shop won't look anything like it does on the wall;

2. The color will change depending on the lighting in the house, the flooring, and the color that is already on the wall;

3. Paint applied to a white wall will look different than paint applied to a beige wall. (my walls are beige);

4. The color will also change depending on different light at different times of the day;

5. The color in the paint can will be different than the color it ends up being on the wall;

6. The color on the wall isn't true until it dries.

So, basically it's best to paint a big sample on the wall and live it with it for a week or so and see how it looks at different times of the day. The paint guy at Sherwin Williams told me that's why they don't have a lot of brochures with big pictures of rooms painted in different colors. People come in and want that exact color of the room in the brochure and it's awfully hard to get it exactly as in the pictures because of all the different variables. Or they go ahead and paint a room assuming that it will look exactly as the picture and they're upset when it doesn't.

Case in point was Green Sprout. Sherwin Williams does have a brochure with a room painted in Green Sprout and I loved it. But after I painted the sample, it looked lighter on my wall. I still like Green Sprout and haven't ruled it out, but it isn't going to look like the brochure in my house.


To see the whole post pop over to Kari's Creations blog

[Beverley]

Thanks for those tips Julie-Ann...I find choosing paint colours one of my biggest challenges and my husband has nick-named me the 'Queen of sample pots!'

I find it helpful to go down to our local Freedom furniture store as they have lots of rooms set up with Dulux painted walls and they put the name of the paint colour on the wall. Not sure if all Freedom stores do this or ours just got sick of customers constantly asking what the paint colours were, but it is useful. Of course you still have to get a sample tin to check it in your house because of all the variables like light, floor colour etc

[Julie-Ann]

I don't think our Freedom store did that. What a great idea.
If you really get stuck and are spending a fortune on sample pots I would highly recommend using a colour consultant. I couldn't find the right colour for this house as it is on top of a hill and the light reflection of neutral colours is crazy. I ended up calling the Dulux colour consultant because they have large hand painted sample cards of each colour and different grades of lots of colours. I picked the colour within 15 minutes. Borrowed the card overnight and bought the paint the next day. The best $100 I had spent.

That's a great idea Beverly...Great nicknames here onthe forum. Queen of the sample pots...Minister of Finance lol
I wouldn't have much of a clue with colours I would chose my self to paint, but I would copy a room. Always a good idea to go for something not to wild if planning on reselling at some stage.
CATHX

[kimzboyz]

I agree with colour looking completely different depending on its context - and it never seems to look like the sample in the end.

I found the following blog yesterday, and some really interesting reading on paint and colours.

http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/

[Julie-Ann]

A very interesting blog Kimzboyz. I better get some grey paint out.