Tricks to Picking the Right Paint

Last time we talked paint, it was about the paint colors in our last house. In this house, the painting was a little more urgent as the current wall colors are a bit unsettling. One of my main goals in this house is to create flow by using paint colors that all mix and mesh well together. The other challenge is picking the perfect white! Believe it or not, not all whites are created equal. Every white has some sort of color undertone, and each one looks different depending on lighting (especially when candy apple green threatens every wall!) So in honor of picking paint for our new house, I want to give you my best tips on picking the right paint.

1. Buy paint samples. Don't rely on computer images or the tiny square paint chips you can get for free at the paint store. Spend the $5-$7 it costs to purchase the samples and save yourself some angst! (Another hint: I usually wait for a 30% or 40% off sale at Sherwin and then buy all of my samples at once.) 

2. Paint LARGE splotches on the walls in several areas of the room with your paint samples and stare at them for days. Every color will change throughout the day and will look different in different areas of the room. Make sure you like the paint color in every setting.

3. Create flow with your paint colors by picking paints that mesh well together. There are several ways to do this. One way is to stay within your paint card. Another is to stay within the cool color family or the warm color family. 

4. Be aware of color undertones. As I mentioned before, all whites have some sort of color undertone but so do colored paints. For example, Anonymous by Sherwin Williams has a green undertone in the right light, although it appears to be a very greige (brown -grey) color at first glance. If you have a hard time seeing undertones, look at the darkest color on the paint strip. When in doubt, ask a friend. Grays are the worst, in my opinion, for changing colors. Remember, my struggle to pick a gray in our last house. Most of them looked pink or purple when I got them on the wall, except for one: Mindful Grey. 

5. Don't be afraid to be bold. I often find myself picking a color I like and then being scared to go "that dark" or "that light." What ends up happening is a I pick a shade darker or lighter and its the wrong color - totally washing out the space. Be bold. Pick the color you like and go with it.

Still don't know where to start? Look at what you have pinned on Pinterest and write down what you like about each room. Is it the wall color or the sofa? Once you have done this with ten to fifteen rooms, you will most likely see a color trend and you can start picking paint from there. Just remember, don't rely on computer generated images for your paint colors - It will look different in your home!

Happy Painting!