3 Things That Can Affect Paint Color
Have you ever chosen a paint color, one you absolutely love, and then once it’s up on the walls your love has turned to lukewarm like or downright disdain? Why? Why is this happening, you may ask yourself—especially if you already painted the entire living room the color you just knew would be perfect.
Today I’m going to share with you three things that can affect your color choice. Once you’ve learned these, you won’t ever have to suffer “painter’s remorse” again! So let’s walk through them.
Three Big Color Considerations
1. Lighting: Whether natural or artificial, lighting can cause all kinds of headaches when it comes to color and how it looks in different settings. Here’s an example most of us can relate to: you try clothes on in a dressing room and when you get home that same item looks completely different on you. The likely love-to-lemon culprit is lighting. Dressing room lights are hardly ever like lighting in our homes. The same is true for lighting in a paint store. Also, if you look closely at a painted wall in your home right now, then look at it during other times of the day, you will certainly notice how it changes depending on how natural light hits it. The differences are even more pronounced with various artificial lights.
2. Undertones: First of all, what are undertones? You may have learned at some point that all colors are created by blending some combination of primary colors: red, yellow, blue. So the vast majority of colors you see are really color blends. And lighting as well as surrounding items often brings out undertones—individual colors that comprise the “mixed color” you see. That can be a challenge because those pesky undertones are very good at hiding. This can especially be true when dealing with neutral colors…tans, taupes, beiges, grays, and even whites. Neutrals are the perfect hiding places for undertones. To help you win the undertone battle, try taking the color swatch you like and laying it on piece of bright white paper. This trick can often force the undertones out in the open where they reveal themselves to you.
3. Surroundings: Surroundings can mean anything from rooms next to the space you’re painting to fabric on your windows to the color of your flooring and furniture. Again, choosing a lovely gray in the store, one you’re positive is a pure gray, may all of the sudden look a little green when painted on your living room wall because of nearby walls, window treatments, flooring, or furniture. Or your dark sofa and loveseat against that newly painted red wall, makes the red wall tone appear much brighter and bolder than it did in the paint store.
The Solution
The number one best way to solve for all three of these common issues is to use samples. By samples I mean a large sample, preferably one that can be secured to the wall where you can observe it for a day or two in all different lighting situations. If you paint your color on a poster board (use white if you can), cardboard or foam core board, you can easily move it around to see it against the floor, or the baseboards, or the furniture or window treatments. Using the sample first will definitely save you from making the costly mistake of painting a whole room and then discovering that your gray walls have a green undertone that doesn’t play nicely with the warm undertones in your wood floor. You may be out a little money and time but think of it as a small investment that can save you from having to start all over purchasing another couple of gallons and hoping for the best.
I hope these tips help you the next time you go to choose paint colors for a project in your home. Because, after all, knowledge is power~
Now, what will you do next to love where you live?
Please feel free to reach out to us at The Redesign Habit and ask questions or simply share a project that you are working on or have completed.
For more great stories and ideas please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
