Why I Don't Recommend Lowe's for Paint Color Matching

I'm a notoriously impulsive painter for my own projects. I get in the mood to paint and off I go. It's been a while, but that's exactly what happened on Thursday night. I moved into a new home in February and had yet to choose my own colors. My friends *love* giving me a hard time about my ivory walls. I'd been eyeing Bunglehouse Blue by Sherwin Williams for my fireplace and media niche. I thought it would be a fantastic complement to my ruby red couch and oak floors.

I often work with Sherwin Williams colors because they have great oversized color samples, in addition to beautiful color selections. The most important reason I recommend their colors? The paint color is exactly like the samples, so what you see is what you get. You'd think I'd follow my own advice. Sherwin Williams was closed, so I headed over to Lowe's. In every color consultation, I tell clients to go to a paint storeto have the colors mixed because they are professionals and do the best job. I've even had new clients come to me to redo their colors because they didn't get good results from a box hardware store. I figured that I would be the exception. I got home and excitedly opened up the paint can to get to work. I thought it looked a little dark. I was sure that once it was applied and dried, it would be the right color. I was wrong! The beautiful blue I expected came out as a blackish green. This morning, I headed over to Sherwin Williams to start over again. Wouldn't you know it, my new paint looked exactly like the sample. I LOVE it.

I thought about people who get many gallons of paint for a large project. I'm lucky it was just a fireplace. So much time and energy and money spent on colors that just aren't right. It doesn't have to be that way. Lesson learned. Go with the professionals for the best results and for the colors you love.

To schedule a color consultation, call 702.202.7543.

Choosing Color with Your Heart, Not Your Head

In getting to know one of my clients and what she wanted, she showed me a number of pictures from interior design magazines and websites of what she had in mind. Most of the photos featured walls in numerous shades of tan. Then she showed me a living room wall that she had painted with those little tester pots from the paint store--a few different greens. "I don't like any of them. I don't know what to do. I know I should go with tan, but it just doesn't feel right to me." Bingo. I smiled and said, "Good for you. You're going with your gut. You already know that's not what you want. That feeling isn't going to change when you put it on your walls." She knew what she didn't want, but she was trying to talk herself into it because that's what she was "supposed" to do. 

When it comes to color, it's all about choosing with your heart rather than your head. It's sooo easy to let your mind talk you out of what you love because it isn't "right." Choosing with your head is what sent you to the paint store half a dozen times only to come up empty. You know the moment the color isn't right. It happens all the time in a color consultation when I put color samples up on the walls with clients. They squint their eyes and shake their heads, "No." We eliminate the "no's" and begin a search for the Yes. When I've hit up on the right color, their whole demeanor changes. A smile emerges. Everything opens up. Most often, it's a color that never occurred to them. Then the questions begin. "It's okay to use blue in my living room?" Absolutely. There are no wrong colors. Once we find the ones that make you feel good, I show you how to coordinate them and where to put them. All of the color theory and application? Leave that to me. I create the perfect color palette for YOU. All that vexing over color becomes a distant memory, and you're thrilled about what your home will become. 

You deserve to feel excited about your home. Let's make it happen together.

www.mycolordesigner.com

702.202.7543

How Do You Choose Paint Colors?

Since my background and training is in Color and the Human Response and Humane Design, I am fascinated with research and science that explains why we feel the way we do about color. Recently, I came across a study from Australia that describes how people choose paint colors. 

The researchers found that the subjects fell into 4 distinct categories for their starting points:

1. Abstract Ideas: How they wanted a room to "feel" or the "style" of a room with no specific color in mind. 
2. Objects: Color inspiration from an object, such as a piece of furniture, fabric, or artwork. Furniture was the most influential in this category.
3. No Idea: No clue where to start. This group researched ideas at the paint center and online.
4. A Color in Mind: Not only did this group have a color in mind, but they associated a quality or attribute with the color. The color may be "tranquil" or "warm".

The study also found that women were primarily responsible for choosing paint colors for the home. The women felt that men didn't understand the color selection process. I have a number of male clients who might take issue with that! Furthermore, people found paint chips, color samples, brochures, magazines, and model homes to be very helpful in the selection process. Technology like computerized color visualizers ranked low on the helpfulness scale. In my experience, computer generated examples do not reflect reality when it comes to color. It's very difficult to replicate paint color with computer monitors and printers with any degree of success. 

How do you choose your colors? Ultimately, color associations, emotions, and nature play the biggest roles in our decisions. It's all a matter of choosing colors that *you* feel good.

For more information on choosing colors, visit www.mycolordesigner.com