Some people can choose a paint color in two minutes flat and never look back….But these people are vastly in the minority (and almost exclusively male). For the rest of us, we need to make an educated choice on the colors we’re going to live with. To help with this, I have compiled a list of the 4 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Paint Color with number 1 being the worst.
4. Choosing a color based only on a color strip
While this is a good way to get you close to what you’re looking for, it’s too easy to make a mistake based on how light or dark the color appears to be (or LRV). In order for you to really consider a color, it must be isolated from the others in the palette and when you do that, you end up with a sample that’s much too small for such a crucial color decision.
3. Not bringing home a paint sample before making a decision
No matter how good you think you are with color, it’s almost impossible to accurately carry a color in your head. At Kawer’s, we pride ourselves on our color studio. It has well balanced light color (2400k -5000k) and is far away from any windows and outside interference. This is important if your choosing colors over several days as the colors will always be the same come rain or shine. But this is only good for narrowing down the selection. There are so many factors that you just can’t reproduce at the store like carpet color, natural sunlight and which way the house faces, couch and window treatment fabrics, yada yada yada. Whether it’s a large paper or liquid paint sample, you must observe it in your home environment in order to make a good color choice.
2. Putting paint samples directly on the wall
Liquid paint samples are the absolute best way to keep from creating a color catastrophe and not having to re-paint your room. Benjamin Moore has every color available in a pint sample for $6.99 and it’s one of our best sellers. But unfortunately many people make the mistake of putting them directly on the wall. Time and time again I see people buy 6 or more samples and put them all on the same wall. While this may seem like a good idea, it’s impossible to focus on one color with others vying for your attention. It’s also hard to see how the color may appear in other parts of larger rooms. Painting sample boards or sheets of oak tag allow you to move the samples around the room and keep the different colors separate while you’re trying to choose between them. You may also need to apply an extra coat of paint in order to hide the texture of the paint samples, so save yourself this step and use sample boards instead.
1. Choosing paint colors from the Internet
Technology is amazing today and it’s no more apparent than in the paint industry. You can choose colors and order paint right on your phone while you watch CNN…. in bed. You can then send the painter to the store to pick up paint and when it’s all said and done, ….you wonder what the hell you were looking at online?!?. Connected devices can do wonderful things but one thing they cannot do is display accurate color! “How bad can it be?” you might ask…Pretty bad. Here is the latest victim (who’s name will be withheld) that thought she was getting a soft shade of salmon…..
But ended up with something different…….
So to recap, NEVER use just a color strip to make a color choice and ALWAYS bring home a sizeable color sample. Never paint liquid sample directly on the wall and NEVER EVER try and choose colors from the internet. EVER.
I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions , I’d love to hear from you!
-Tod