How to ensure you pick the right paint colour

[redracer01]

G'day Everyone,

How many times have you heard you or your partner saying "That colour looks so different." That's because factors such as light entering the room, the time of day, the colour of the floor and sometimes even the furnishings casts a tonal shade to the paint on the wall that you've chosen. There is a quick and affordable way to find out what that colour will look like in your room without blowing the budget. A paint sample test pot is what you need. Sometimes in our mad rush to see the project finished and done we often bypass these handy steps that are there to prevent you from making a forced and hurried decision. I often suggest to paint customers to take a minimum of two sample pots with different colours. Paint a minimum half meter square close to the window with at least 2 coats. Observe the color at different times of the day from morning, noon and night. You will see that it actually changes hue and character during the day. The lights we use in the room also change the nature of the colour from washed out using a cool to daylight led to a warm yellow casting light that enhances colour. The best part is you and other members of the family can place their vote right next to the colour that they like then you decide to put the colour that you like on the wall! Is it worth doing? Yes, nothing is more disappointing and annoying having chosen a colour that absolutely does not suit the room. Imagine the number of " if only's " that could have been avoided. My suggestion is to take your time use the tools available to you get a colour test pot and to rest in the knowledge that while "Lime green mocha" looked fantastic at the shop display, it does not look good in your home. 

Cheers,

Red 

 

[MitchellMc]

Great advice @redracer01!

One of the best visual representations which depicts what you are mentioning is this colour cube. The brown square on the top is the same colour as the orange square on the side. I've sampled the colours and placed them off the cube to illustrate that they are actually the same colour. The visual allusion is due to the lighting, background and surrounding colours. It's all very interesting and a great illustration of why sampling colours is important.

I would often recommend getting a 1-metre square sheet of board and painting your sample colour onto it. You can then move this board around the house to see the colour's appearance under different conditions.

It would be fantastic to hear from our members about any interesting colour choice experiences they've had. 

Mitchell