General Tips on Choosing New Colors for Your Painting Project
Choosing the right colors for your interior or exterior paint job is tough! The average color palette contains thousands of choices of different paint colors. From bold to bright colors and the more common earth tones, there is shortage to pick from. We’ve learned a few tricks over the years. Hopefully they help!
Brainstorming
First, we always recommend brainstorming some general ideas of the colors you have in mind. Take a drive around your neighborhood if you need some inspiration. You can also speak with a professional at your local paint store. Most Sherwin Williams locations now offer outside color consultations. That can be really helpful to assist homeowners in choosing new colors!
Pick some tester paints
Next, pick some actual colors from a paint manufacturer of your choice (we recommend either Sherwin Williams or Behr). It’s smart to pick a few different shades of each color you like since most paints will look a little different in your home compared to how they appear on the index card. Check out this app from Sherwin Williams called ColorSnap. It lets you overlay colors that they sell over a picture of a room in your home. That way you can try out a bunch of different colors without actually buying them! Although ColorSnap is super helpful, we still recommend actually buying some sample paints and trying them in a room first.
Try out the samples
After purchasing a few samples of the colors you have in mind, try applying a physical “test-patch” to either the exterior or interior of your house. We recommend at least one square foot per color, and in various locations across the house. This is a very important step that many homeowners overlook. Colors sometimes look different in different rooms and different times of day. By applying samples all over your house, you’ll get the most accurate feel for how the paint will look.
Got an HOA?
Remember if you live in an area with a homeowners association, most color changes need to be submitted to your review board prior to be approved for painting. We recommend allowing at least one to two months for this process as each HOA can be different. We hope this helps in your color selection for your next painting project.
Leave us a comment below if you have any questions!
