How many times have you finished painting a room, and the color wasn’t at all what you had in mind?  You really wanted a gray wall and it ended up being blue.   You were going for a nice neutral beige, but somehow it has a green cast.  I’m going to let you in on a little secret that I use when picking out the perfect paint color.

How to Pick Out the Perfect Paint Color

Every color has a predominant undertone.   As you know, there are many, many different shades of white when you look at a wall full of samples.  And, each of those whites have a predominant color.  Some whites look pink.  Some whites look blue.  It’s easy for some people to see those undertones and, for others, it’s pretty difficult.  I have a trick for those of you who can’t see the undertones.

Single Color Samples

I’m using gray as an example, but it works with every color.

We’ve all done it.  We’ve all gone in the paint store and grabbed an entire handful of single color samples of gray.   They were all called “something gray” or “gray something.”  All of them look gray to you.  You picked out the most perfect shade of gray that you just know is exactly the look you are going for and spent all day painting your living room.  The furniture is all pushed back into place and pictures all hung.  You sit down with a glass of wine, (maybe that’s just me)  and, your walls are a lovely shade of purple.  Violet to be exact.  ☹️ I’m not at all dissing on violet walls, but you wanted gray.

Grab a Full Color Swatch

If you are one that cannot see the predominant undertones of color, this trick works every time.   As you know, single paint swatches also come in larger swatches of 7 colors, with the top being the lightest.   That light color may be called “gray something” or “something gray”.  It looks gray to your eye.   Grab a full color swatch of the colors you already have picked out.  On that same full color swatch, head all the way down to the bottom color.  What color does that “darker gray” appear?

The darkest color on your “gray something” sample is what color your gray is going to appear once painted.  It can be dark green, dark purple, or even dark brown.  All of those “grays” are fine, if you wanted a gray color with green undertones.  If you want a “true” gray, you need to find a sample with the darker sample being black.

This Trick Works for All Colors

I used gray as an example above because gray is the HARDEST color to pick.  Finding a “true gray” is difficult.  I’ve heard of people painting their entire room “gray something” three different times because it looked purple, then blue, and finally gray.  This trick works for all colors.  If you pay attention to that bottom color, you will be fine in your choices.  If you have dark brown furniture and want gray walls, your paint choice could be the gray with brown undertones.  And it would look fantastic.

A Tip When Picking out WHITE Paint…

When picking out a “true white” without pink, blue, or yellow undertones, don’t forget about Paint Boy’s store brand of white….. right out of the can.  Every brand has a “white” for mixing, etc.  That white is a true white.  Paint Boy will know exactly what you are talking about.  White right out of the can doesn’t need to be mixed because it’s just plain old white.  (That’s what I use, by the way.)

Oh….. and one more tip.  Once you get your paint color picked out with the full swatch, grab a few of the single swatches of that color.  Take them home and tape them to the wall in the room you are going to paint and look at it for a few days.  Both direct sunlight and ceiling lights especially make a color appear different, at different times of the day.  This should help you, too, pick out the perfect paint color.

I hope this helps you all.  I shared this tip on my Instagram stories a few days back and had an overwhelming response to it.  Stop by Instagram and Facebook to chat.  I love hearing from you guys.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!  You know how much I pledge my love to each and every one of you!

Buh bye now, said in an old lady’s voice whose wifey just finished a breakfast casserole that I’m going to shove down my hatch!  ????

Danelle