5 Expert Tips for Testing Paint Colours
What's the right way to test your chosen paint colours before using them? Five experts share their tips for getting your colour picks right
It’s a common image: someone selecting a wall colour paints several sheets of paper or sample boards and hangs them on the wall to compare colours. It looks artistic and even a bit hip, but it may not be the most accurate way to vet wall paint. We talked to five pros, including painters and designers. Here’s what they suggest instead for how to test paint colours.
Tip: If you’re hiring a paint company, see if they will provide free sample pots of the colours you’re considering. Many companies do. Remember, once you’ve had the paint tinted (mixed), you can’t get your money back. Even if you have to pay for them yourself, sample pots (typically around $10) are well worth the expense.
Which Paints for Which Walls?
Which Paints for Which Walls?
2. Paint two coats
That’s the amount of coverage you’ll typically need on any wall. The second coat usually makes a big difference in the way the paint reads. Also, paint large swaths – at least 30 x 30 centimetres, and even larger is better. The 5-centimetre swatches won’t give you a good sense.
That’s the amount of coverage you’ll typically need on any wall. The second coat usually makes a big difference in the way the paint reads. Also, paint large swaths – at least 30 x 30 centimetres, and even larger is better. The 5-centimetre swatches won’t give you a good sense.
3. For certain rich colours, use a primer
A small selection of deep paint colours can be created only in conjunction with specific primers. Pictured here are four by Sherwin-Williams, clockwise from top left: ‘Lemon Twist’, ‘Hyper Blue’, ‘Daredevil’, ‘African Violet’.)
For these specific colours, you probably won’t be able to get a sample size in the paint, though you may be able to in the primer, says JT Trainor, owner of Freshcoat Painting.
How paint names influence your choices
A small selection of deep paint colours can be created only in conjunction with specific primers. Pictured here are four by Sherwin-Williams, clockwise from top left: ‘Lemon Twist’, ‘Hyper Blue’, ‘Daredevil’, ‘African Violet’.)
For these specific colours, you probably won’t be able to get a sample size in the paint, though you may be able to in the primer, says JT Trainor, owner of Freshcoat Painting.
How paint names influence your choices
4. Paint multiple walls
The colours you’re testing will read differently depending on the amount of light that hits them. “We recommend you paint on a wall that doesn’t get direct sunlight and one that does,” Trainor says.
How to choose the right white paint
The colours you’re testing will read differently depending on the amount of light that hits them. “We recommend you paint on a wall that doesn’t get direct sunlight and one that does,” Trainor says.
How to choose the right white paint
In this photo, notice how much darker the grey on the right side of the room is than on the left. The orange colour also appears much deeper at the back wall, where it is in shadow, and less intense on the left and right walls, where more light hits.
Also, landscaping outside a window can colour the light streaming through it and change how a paint looks on the wall as well. In the previous photo, where the green trees can be seen through the window, they’ve tinted the grey on the right side of the room a greener hue. See it, in the corner?
As you view the colours, make sure you consider what time of day you’ll most often be in the room that you’re painting. You will want to like how the colour looks at that time.
Also, landscaping outside a window can colour the light streaming through it and change how a paint looks on the wall as well. In the previous photo, where the green trees can be seen through the window, they’ve tinted the grey on the right side of the room a greener hue. See it, in the corner?
As you view the colours, make sure you consider what time of day you’ll most often be in the room that you’re painting. You will want to like how the colour looks at that time.
5. Place lighting before you test
It’s simple, but true: it’s better to use the lighting that fits your needs than try to select your lighting to complement your paint colours. “You wouldn’t want to pick a lightbulb that looks good with your paint colour, but you can’t read in the room,” says Jennifer Ott, a colour consultant and interior designer.
Here, the overhead lighting is casting a yellow glow throughout the room, warming the colour of the off-white paint towards a pale shade of honey.
Make sure your lighting is in place as you’re considering colours. They may look quite different in bright bulbs that you prefer for nighttime use – or softer yellow-hued ones, if that’s what you’re going for – than they do during daylight hours. Having the right fixtures and bulbs in place can help you decide which shades will work for you.
If you’re not yet sure what lighting you prefer, you can use the time you spend examining your samples to experiment. “Even changing out lightbulbs is a good thing to do,” says Carl Mattison, an interior designer. “Like any colour in the world – just like your eyes or your hair or your skin tone – things will change in different light.”
Brush Up on Paint: Know Your Matts From Your Glosses
It’s simple, but true: it’s better to use the lighting that fits your needs than try to select your lighting to complement your paint colours. “You wouldn’t want to pick a lightbulb that looks good with your paint colour, but you can’t read in the room,” says Jennifer Ott, a colour consultant and interior designer.
Here, the overhead lighting is casting a yellow glow throughout the room, warming the colour of the off-white paint towards a pale shade of honey.
Make sure your lighting is in place as you’re considering colours. They may look quite different in bright bulbs that you prefer for nighttime use – or softer yellow-hued ones, if that’s what you’re going for – than they do during daylight hours. Having the right fixtures and bulbs in place can help you decide which shades will work for you.
If you’re not yet sure what lighting you prefer, you can use the time you spend examining your samples to experiment. “Even changing out lightbulbs is a good thing to do,” says Carl Mattison, an interior designer. “Like any colour in the world – just like your eyes or your hair or your skin tone – things will change in different light.”
Brush Up on Paint: Know Your Matts From Your Glosses
Here, the yellow light from the chandelier and sconces warms up the cooler white of the walls.
Tell us
What do you think is the right way to test paint colours? Share your tried and tested methods in the Comments below. And if you found this story helpful, like it, bookmark it, save the photos and share your thoughts below. Join the conversation.
More
10 Rules for Your Next Painting Project
Tell us
What do you think is the right way to test paint colours? Share your tried and tested methods in the Comments below. And if you found this story helpful, like it, bookmark it, save the photos and share your thoughts below. Join the conversation.
More
10 Rules for Your Next Painting Project
This is true for interiors as well as exteriors: you’ll get the best sense of how the colour will really look if you paint it directly on the wall. Each of the five pros we spoke with agreed. “If you use a board, I feel like it just doesn’t saturate the same way,” says interior designer Keith Wardlaw of Plus Modern Designs.
Kelly Porter, an interior designer, explains the problem with using boards: “The texture is really not representative. It’s not the same as what’s on your wall, and that can really affect the look,” she says.
If you haven’t yet narrowed down your selection to just one colour, Porter suggests painting your choices side by side on the wall to see the differences. For some, this can be overwhelming to the eye; if that’s you, make it easier by leaving some space between the samples. Also, keep in mind that the existing colour of the wall will affect how the paint reads. Colours will appear darker against a light backdrop and lighter against a dark backdrop.
In this image, the colours are not samples, but intentional horizontal stripes in a finished room. The paint colours are Benjamin Moore’s ‘Arctic Blue’, ‘Palladian Blue’ and ‘Blue Bonnet’.