Choosing Paint Colors – Tools, Tips & Suggestions

Selecting the right colors for your home or business painting project can be a daunting task.  There are thousands of colors available and you can create your very own colors by color matching a sample at your local paint store.

As a professional painting contractor, ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs frequently gets asked for help in selecting a color for the client’s project.  Almost everyone struggles with selecting the perfect color.  There is no simple solution but there are a few tools that can help narrow the range of choices.  We set out to find a few of them and see if they work.  Here’s what we found.

Issues & Observations

• Paint color systems are designed by designers, not paint companies
• Color on a chip, computer or phone is not the same as on the wall
• Light colors are frequently the most difficult to match
• Colors may not render the same in different paints (even same manufacturer)
• Matching systems do not compensate for sheen (gloss) variations
• Fabric, metallic and textured surfaces are almost impossible to match
• Flat smooth surfaces are best for matching – like paint on a 2”x2” white board
• Light plays a very important role in color (i.e. sunlight versus fluorescent)
• Consumers tend to trust computers more than “experts” in the stores
• There’s been little change in matching software since it was introduced
• In store matching hardware is often not properly calibrated or maintained
• Each tool renders a different result (even with same company stores)
• Color is subjective and each person will see things differently

Interesting Place to Start Your Search

Porter / Pittsburg Paints has an interesting place to start.  Perhaps you don’t have any ideas on what colors appeal to your sense of emotional well being.  You are thinking blue but you entire house is brown.  You are tired of what you have and want a fresh new start.  

The Voice of Color, ColorSense Game is a unique color selection tool with consideration of the colors “best suited” for you. It’s all about you, your personality, your style, and your senses. I have no clue has this thing works. Having completed the exercise many times and even tried to cheat on my answers, it almost always comes back with my preferred colors.  http://porter.voiceofcolor.com/porterpaintgame/

Online Selection Tools

There are a variety of tools which can help a consumer narrow the choices from 3500-4000 colors.  Use these tools to cull down the choices.  After reviewing the sites below, my professional opinion is none of them are going to give you a perfect solution.  This is certainly not an exhaustive list and they are not in any particular order.  I just picked some of the more readily available options on the Web.  Best option is to use one or more of them to create an initial selection of three to five colors for further evaluation.

HB PaintBrush http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/paint-colors/  HB PaintBrush lets you play with paint with colors from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and Valspar

Sherwin Williams Visulizer https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer  Sherwin Williams online tool allows you to upload a photo and color each area with your selections. 

Colorjive http://colorjive.com/home.action Three free and you have to pay for this service.

CBN Selector http://www.cbnsystem.com/services/home.asp  You will need to purchase and download the software for this one. 

Ben Moore Personal Color Viewer http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=portletInstance_2&portletInstance_2_actionOverride=%2Fbm%2Fcms%2FContentRenderer%2FrenderContent&portletInstance_2cnp=public_site%2Farticles%2Fmain_page_articles%2Ffh_home&portletInstance_2np=public_site%2Farticles%2Fapplication_article%2Fapp_personal_color_viewer&_pageLabel=fh_home

Behr Color Smart http://www.behr.com/dsm-ext/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=8328ea6621ca5110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD#channel=INSPIRATION;vgnextoid=8328ea6621ca5110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD;view=26  This is Home Depot’s solution for their store brand.

Mobile Phone Apps

House Beautiful I-Phone App  http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/color-personality-3

Sherwin Williams ColorSnaphttp://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/paint_color_palette/colorsnap/index.jsp Simply take a picture of the color and let the app provide a suggested match.

Ben Moore Color Capture http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fh_home&WT.ac=Catch-a-Color&cachebuster=Mon+Jun+08+12%3A26%3A42+EDT+2009&np=public_site%2Farticles%2Fpromotions%2Fpromo_iphone

In Store Color Matching Services

Most paint stores provide some level of color matching services.  As stated earlier, consumers seem to trust the computer more than the paint store clerk.  The paint store personnel are there to sell paint and supplies.  They tend to get frustrated quickly with consumers looking for color help.  Don’t let this bother you.  Press on until you get what you need. 

The level of training for color matching and the equipment available has a tremendous impact on the store’s ability to help you match.  Even with the technology, it helps to have a paint professional that has some artistic talents.  Find someone who has the ability to use intuitive judgment to adjust the numbers and get closer to the color you desire. 

Paint stores are better at matching standard colors from other manufacturers than totally custom colors.  Consider finding the color you like in a competing brand and have you the color created in the paint system you wish to use.  If the store has matched this color in the past, they may the formula already in their database and be able to remove some of the guess work.

We visit a lot of paint stores and spend a fair amount of time working to match colors for clients.  This is not an easy task even for the professional painter. Quite frankly there is just about as much art as science in trying to get to the color you want. Ask for the person at the store who has the best skills at matching paint.  Don’t just assume that anyone in the store can help.

Test Samples – May Be the Only Way to Know

In most cases, you should be able to purchase a test sample of the colors you selected.  Select the top two or three colors.  Have the store create a take home sample and paint a test patch on the area of your project.  Here are a few things you should consider about samples:

• Get samples even if you plan to use a standard manufacturer’s color
• Colors on paint chips rarely are an absolute match for the color on the wall
• Most samples are satin or eggshell formula – buy a quart for flat or gloss tests
• Create test patches on several areas, lighting conditions and surfaces
• Avoid trying to darken or lighten test samples where possible – start fresh
• Don’t give up – finding your ideal color may take several attempts

Results & Recommendation

 Using online, mobile and store based tools can help you narrow the selection process. They may save you some valuable time.  You still may not find color nirvana, but at least you can get a bit closer to your goal. 
Where possible select a standard color from the paint supplier used for the project. While standard colors and codes do change, most of your high quality paint companies maintain these codes indefinitely.  Use only high quality paint stores or contractors that keep a record of the paint and colors used.  You will need this information for future repaints and touch-ups.

Stick with the stores and manufacturers that have trained paint professionals or hire a professional painting contractor to help.  Color may only be surface deep, but it is the most visible portion of your emotional and intangible investment.