How to Pick the Right Paint Color

Have you ever had trouble picking paint colors for your walls?  Don't feel bad, because I think we all have!  Sometimes picking paint colors can be difficult even for the best decorators.  Trying to pick a color from a little paint chip is almost impossible to get right on the first try.  The lighting, furnishings and surroundings in a room can completely change the look of a color.  A paint chip is not a large enough representation of what a color will actually look like when it's up in an entire room.   

I admit that I've actually had my husband re-paint a room three times until I got it right.  Since then I've started painting samples on the wall in the room I am working on.  It helps me to get a much more accurate look at the color... It may cost a few dollars for samples, but ultimately it saves time and money, because you don't have to paint, paint and re-paint a room... (sorry honey!).   My wonderful husband, who does all of my painting, probably prefers that I get it right the first time from now on :)

I leave my painted samples on the wall for a few days, making sure to look at them several different times a day (since lighting changes throughout the day, it is best to look at them morning, noon and night) to see and know for sure which you like best.  If you decide you don't like any of them, then it's off to the store for a few more samples.  But at least this way you didn't paint an entire room before realizing that it is the wrong color for you. 

In case you were wondering, in the above posted picture, if I had painted my headboard?  No I did not.  That is not a real headboard.  It is a wall that is painted dark chocolate with trim moulding (casing) around the edge to make it look like a headboard.  Since I am re-doing my master bedroom, this faux headboard is going away... which made it a perfect place to sample these new colors.  

Most paint and home improvement stores now have sample jars available that can be mixed for most of their colors.  These samples are large enough to paint about a 3 foot square on your wall, which is much better to look at than a tiny paint chip!!!

I am working on re-doing my master bedroom.  So, yesterday I got a number of paint samples from Lowe's.  They are less than $3 each and are worth every penny!

The current color of my master bedroom is sort of a baby blue (it is more intense of a color than this picture is showing and it is a bit too blue for me).  I want something with a bit more grey in it.  I want the room to have a peaceful serene retreat feeling (not feel like a baby boy's room).  The top left sample color is "Light Silver Sage" from Restoration Hardware.  I've used this color once before (about 5 years ago) at a rental we used to live in.  I love the color!  The color on the right is called "Linen".  I am loving this color too but I'm thinking about using it elsewhere in our house.  The middle color is the one I've decided to use for our bedroom.  I actually mixed the light silver sage 50/50 with a lighter greyish white sample that I have.  I love the outcome of my mixed color.  I am going to go back to Lowe's to have them do a custom paint match of the color for me.  

Most paint stores have a computer that can take any color and match it for you and mix you custom paint.  Color matching is a free service and a good way to get a specific color that you can't necessarily find on a paint chip.  

Over the next couple of weeks our master bedroom will be undergoing some major transformations... A wood wall treatment, new paint, new mouldings, new beds (yes, I said beds, plural... I will explain that in the future).  Also, possibly new DIY headboards. some fun furniture changes, new lighting and more... I can't wait to share each step of it as we progress.

Looking forward to next time,
Happy decorating!