Ok. now confession time. If you like me, 10 years ago if I wanted to choose a paint colour I would just choose a whole stack of paint chips from my local Paint shop, bring them home and stare at them. How long would I stare at them, well that depended on the project.
Or were you like me, did you line them all up on your wall waiting for the right one to just speak up saying.. “PICK ME!”
Before we get into the teaching part about how to test a colour, there are a few things that you need to know.
1. There are many undertones in all colours.
There are undertones in grays that include blue, violet, and green. Now in beige we see green undertones, gold/beige, pink beige, yellow-beige, and green-beige. This list goes on and one for each different colour.
2. Choose a colour for your walls that relates to the finishes in your home.
This is known as your hard finishings such as your Wood floors, cabinetry, stone, furniture, and other soft major furnishings. This applies to all hard surfaces that cannot be easily moved, or surfaces that are here to stay.
Here we see Gray/violet floors, violet gray sofa, and violet/Gray walls. It all blends seamlessly, without calling out attention. The correctly chosen spaces are the ones where the space is perfect without not a lot of attention. However, if our colours are “off” then usually this is the time where you can see that something is off in your home, but you just can’t put your finger on why?
3. Test your Colour if you are unsure.
If there is an existing colour on the walls you must look at the new colour with a white background. Otherwise, you will visually be comparing the new colour to the old one and that will influence your colour choices.
You never and most likely will never be able to choose a paint colour perfectly by just viewing the itty bitty paint chip. The small paint chips that you bring home from your hardware shop are all printed, and not an actual paint colour.
What I usually advise my clients if they are choosing a colour is to purchase a large piece of poster board. You can find these at all dollar stores, or craft stores.
I advise to paint at least a 11X14 size piece, with 2 coats of paint from a sample pot. Paint a few boards up and place them around your room at all times of the day. This will give you the confidence that you will love the colour that you have chosen with out painting your room 5 times.
Still confused or need some help choosing a colour? We’re just an email away…
Have a fabulous day!
Jodi