Why Is Picking a Paint Color So Hard?!
Picking paint colors for a renovation project or a room refresh is hard. Tiny paint chips never show the actual color and looking online at what a room looks like in that color rarely matches reality. Sample paint pots only come in one finish and sometimes aren’t accurate because it’s such a small amount being mixed - plus they are now $7 a pop!
I’ve read blogs on colors lots of designers recommend and picking a color with no sample was the one time I actually made my husband repaint a room. I hated that color that much (repose gray by SW). Why is it so hard to pick the right color paint?
One of the biggest factors is light. Light affects how a color looks and light changes throughout the day. Ideally you will paint large swathes of the color on different walls and observe how it looks at different times of the day. Do you like it no matter what the light situation? This takes time and you have to be willing to repaint and try again.
Another challenge is when you are picking paint for a gut job, often the lighting isn’t installed before you have to pick out the paint color. You can get a feel for how natural light affects the color but not artificial light. You do have options on what color temperature you want bulbs to be. So, if you are having to pick paint before lighting is installed, go with what you like with the natural light and then change light bulbs if you don’t like the look once the lighting is installed. See below for paint chip examples vs reality on different surfaces.
Big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot only show paint chips for some of the brands they carry. I’ve learned that I need to go to the Sherwin Williams store to have more color options. You can still get that paint mixed at Lowes but you need to have the color number and not just the color name. Many designers that post to social media or make it to magazines use fancy paint brands like Farrow and Ball. It looks high end and lovely, but how do I get sample paint pots when I live in Watkinsville, Ga? A quick google brought me to the website Samplize where you can buy 9 x 15 peel and stick swathes that have actually been painted with two coats of the actual paint brand. They cost $6.95 each (the cost of a sample paint can) and if you order 10 they give you free overnight shipping. Samplize claims you can reposition them multiple times on different surfaces.
Spending $70 on paint samples feels a little expensive to this frugal girl. But, I am actually going to give this a try. You don’t have the mess of swathes of paint colors that you will have to paint over and wet paint to deal with. In the scope of a larger renovation project, $70 is a tiny percentage of most budgets. And, it sounds like you can keep them and reuse them for future projects. If you do fall in love with that Farrow and Ball color, FYI, you may not get a 100% exact match if you use Home Depot or Lowes to mix the paint for you since Farrow and Ball will use their own base and pigments. Your best bet will be to either order the Farrow and Ball paint or second best would be to take the sample card in and have Lowes color match it.
I am going to give Samplize a try and report back.
