3 Tips for Avoiding Color Sample Mistakes

Most homeowners have gone through the process of painting a room in their homes. They pick the room, search for a nice color sample online, and go to the store, only to be left confused by the many different shades available.

Once they finally spot the color sample card that matches the one they found online, they notice something off about it. They pick it up and put it right next to their smartphones to compare the colors. It turns out they don’t match up with what they found online and look nothing like the sample card.

Did you know that most paint sample cards are not taken directly from the paint themselves? With that being said, how are you going to pick the right shade of color you already decided on?

Here are three great tips for avoiding color sample mistakes

Several Shades

Most homeowners are usually set on the color sample they found online until they reach the sample section of the paint aisle. Now, there are several shades of their preferred color, and they all look so different in person. They all look great, and it’s hard to decide which is best.

This is a good problem to have, and one of the best things to do is take home several samples of these color variations. They will all look different in the room you plan to paint. Settling on just one will leave you having to return to the store over and over until you find the one that fits your situation best. This leads to the next step in the color-picking process.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

When deciding on a room color, you need to consider what the room looks like in all types of lighting. When trying to see what a color looks like in their home, most people bring just one sample home. They then flick on all the lights in the room and hold the sample up against the wall. If they more or less like what they see, they buy several paint buckets and let the brushes fly.

However, the room is not always going to have the lights on all the time. Maybe the room in question has lots of natural light coming in. Maybe the room doesn’t have any natural light at all, which would drastically change the way the color looks.

When picking out a swatch or paint card color sample, test your favorite in different types of lighting. The type of lightbulb you have will also change the way a shade looks. At the store, all the samples will be displayed with the same store lighting.

Store lighting is very different from residential lighting, so the color may change as fast as it takes you to drive home. Don’t be afraid of testing your color out in the dark and test as many lighting scenarios as possible.

Have Patience

It is no secret that wet paint looks different compared to dry paint. When the painting begins, the color on the wall will look completely different than the one you had imagined. Please have some patience with it, as it will take a while before it dries and displays its actual color. Some oil-based paints can take as long as 8 hours to dry!

Whether it is oil or water-based paint, it is recommended that a homeowner wait 24 hours before applying a second coat of paint. That should give you an idea of how long you have to wait before the paint on your walls displays its final, true color.

Without experience, time, and patience, the color picking process can be a daunting one. Make it easy on yourself, and reach out to us so we can help you with color samples! We have color consultants with years of experience who can help you pick out the exact color that is best for your situation. Their expertise will speed the whole process up, and all you’ll have to do is wait to admire your finished project.