How to Choose a Paint Color for Your Home
If you have EVER tried to paint even a single room in your home, you know how difficult it can be to select:
the "right" color
with the "right" finish
with the "right" quality of paint
from the "right" manufacturer
Even when you do decide on your "right" color, how can you be sure that the color on the paint chip will be the same when you've applied it to your walls.
Heaven forbid you've got a perfectionist personality....the sheer variety & number of options will drive you crazy.
Even for professionals, color selection can be tricky. For example, if you were to ask the world's top interior designers....
does paint dry darker or lighter than the chip?
or how does sheen affect overall color appearance?
or how does anyone choose between all the different versions of white paint?
....you're going to get a whole bunch of different answers.
Luckily for you, I’ve heard all these questions and more during my career in the paint biz. Paint is tricky at times, but there are always ways we can help with the process. So, let’s dive in with the number one question in the paint industry:
Does the paint dry a tone lighter or darker than the chip?
The simple answer is neither. To understand the depth of this question, you need to learn about the color changing effects of sheen. In the paint industry, gloss and sheen are measured by reflecting light off a painted surface from specific angles.
Sheen is measured by deflecting a beam of light off a surface from a 85-degree angle into a receptor .
In the real world, this means that color of paint that we see on our walls will vary depending on:
the sheen of the product we choose
and the amount of, or absence of lighting in the room.
This play of optics, sheen and lighting has a major impact on how paint colors are perceived by the human eye. If this wasn't complicated enough, there is another factor at play here - the light reflectance value (LRV) of the color itself.
The science behind LRV is quite simple. In summer, a black t-shirt is going to absorb the sun's hot rays and make you hot. A white t-shirt is going to reflect some of the sun's rays keeping you cooler. That's LRV in a nutshell. Lighter colors reflect light and darker colors absorb light.
The LRV scale goes from 0 (absorbs all light) to 100 (reflects all light).
the higher the number – more relectance of light
the lower the numer - less reflectance of light - more absorbance of light
For reference, an absolute black would be a 0 and a pure white would be 100.
When we add sheen into the mix and we start to increase light reflectivity, we start making your paint color APPEAR to be lighter & brighter.
White paint + a high sheen = high light reflectivity
Dark paint + a low sheen = low light reflectivity
This brings us back to the question of Does the paint dry a tone lighter or darker than the chip?
The question of darker or lighter than the chip can be understood by utilizing a few predictors.
Check the back of any Sherwin-Williams colour chip for the Light Reflective Value (LRV) and select your sheen with care. A flat or matte finish has no, or very little light reflectance. This creates more depth in color as there will be no sheen to create a visual break in overall colour tonality. This means that your wall color will appear closer to the color chip.
Stepping up the sheen into a Eg-Shel or Satin finish will create a moderate color “change”. Your finished wall color will look slightly lighter than the paint chip. Going with a Semi-Gloss or Gloss finish will produce the biggest colour “change”. This will make your wall color appear noticeably lighter than the chip. One reason for the visual “change” in colour is that all paint chip color samples are printed ink, making it a different kind of flat finish!
For matters of sheen application, I have a bit more expert advice to share.
With technology advancements in product durability (Sherwin-Williams Emerald & Duration product lines), we can abandon the tired adage that a higher sheen equals more durable paint. Flat and matte finishes are now completely washable and even scrubbable. These product innovations allow you to ignore the paint durability question and focus exclusively on color and design.
It also allows you to create design concepts utilizing the play of sheen, colour and light reflectance. Utilizing these factors can create a very subtle or dramatic change in the space and can produce a very multi-dimensional visual appeal to your project.
This conversation about sheen, gloss and lighting also applies to the second most popular question, how to select the RIGHT white for your space.
The psychology of color is a topic of great research and study, as far as the symbolism, that too is well understood. In terms of color psychology and interior design, that is a topic of great divide. For some, utilizing white in a space can feel clinical, cold and abrasive. For others, it creates a feeling of vastness, openness and light to a previously dark and dingy space. When you speak about color and its perception that’s when the conversation gets tricky.
Diving deeper, the undertone and mass tone play a very large role in a color’s perception. To some, white means, straight out of the can, crisp and clean white. To others, white paint lives more in the realm of off-white or even the neutral section of the color scale.
The concept of white to off-white to neutral is simple. By adding varying levels of certain colorants will push the white into the desired state.
COOL WHITE - SW 6203 SPARE WHITE - WARM WHITE SW7005 PURE WHITE
sw7570 egret white, sw7551 greek villa, sw7005 pure white
There can be some understanding as to how a color will be perceived by acknowledging the undertone versus the mass tone. Whenever a color is created by mixing two or more colors together, that color will have both a mass tone and an undertone.
The mass tone is what you see first. It’s what tells you the color is red, blue, green and so forth.
The closer the undertone is to the mass tone, the truer the color will appear.
For example:
true red will have a mass tone and undertone that are very similar.
magenta will have a blue undertone
poppy will have an orange undertone.
To understand the undertones in any color, neutral or white you can look to the color theory design concepts - complementary, analogous or monochromatic.
Colour Theory - Analagous
Simply put, the other elements in the room will also change the perception of the color. For instance, if you designed a space with dark espresso floors, a taupe couch, beige, tan and bone colored decorative items then you select a white paint for the walls with a COOL blue undertone, you may be unknowingly creating a complementary color palette.
Complementary colors are located across from each other on the color wheel. These color combinations offer warm and cool colors and provide contrast. Other complementary color schemes include:
split-complementary, where a hue is combined with the two colors adjacent to its complement
analogous-complementary, where two adjacent colors and the complement of one of those two are combined
and double-complementary, which combines two hues and both complements
While many color wheels sport bright colors – colors, perhaps, less likely to be specified by a designer – don't dismiss them. They are valuable tools of the trade. The color wheel nicely illustrates several color characteristics to share with your clients.
Colors of similar visual temperatures lay adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Because of this arrangement, it is easy to contrast the differences. The warm colors (reds, oranges and yellows) appear opposite the cool colors (greens, blues and purples). The color wheels also make it easier to apply classic color theories to a design project.
Monochromatic, analogous, triadic and complementary color schemes are used most often.
Monochromatic schemes utilize one hue.
Analogous schemes use two hues that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
Triads use three hues that are equidistant from each other on the wheel.
Tetrads are four hues evenly spaced on the color wheel.
Color systems are particularly helpful in monochromatic and analogous schemes, where value and saturation variables provide variety and contrast, rather than multiple hues. Color wheels provide solutions to potential color difficulties, too.
For example, monochromatic color schemes may cause a problem with successive contrast, also called after-image phenomenon. Say you're in a room that has been designed in various shades of green. A very relaxing color, indeed, but when you leave the room, your eyes automatically start seeing red. This can make a light blue hallway look violet. This effect occurs because the receptors in the eye become fatigued when they are exposed to the same color for a period of time.
This specific “after-image” effect is also a play of optics just as the sheen and visual discrepancies of the color chip versus the wall paint. Also known as the eye’s state of adaption, there are many ways this scientific human trait can affect how we view color. The use of lighting or absence of lighting is a major component in a color’s visual acuity.
The additional layer of the chromacity of light in the space can also cause a change in color tone. It's a simple fact that light can change the appearance of any given color. Take the same can of paint and apply it to two rooms...
one that receives limited natural light
and another that's flooded with sunshine
...and you will see that it will look and act like two different colors.
For example:
a warm orange-red paint in a room with a north-facing window will make the room appear brighter and warmer and help offset the bluish cast to the light
that same red-orange paint in a room with a west-facing window will become intensely vivid in the late afternoon.
Now that we’ve reviewed the factors that affect color, let’s talk about how you CAN get it right the first time.
Sherwin-Williams has developed an online application that helps with color selection. Called ColorSnap, it’s a free download available on your Ipad or Tablet, Smartphone or even your web browser. It enables you to use your OWN photos of your space and digitally paint your walls.
This is my recommended first step to developing your design.
Using the “Day VS Night’ light toggle switch can be a fun way to facilitate conversation about expected color changes when using your sample photos.
You can also view Sherwin-Williams 1500 hues digitally displayed and speak to undertone and mass tone and how it will affect the space.
If you’re looking for design inspiration:
click and view your colors suggested accents by clicking Co-ordinating colors
view the colors scale by clicking Similar colors and color strip to find a monochromatic hue.
You can try it out here: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer
The next step is to test it.
Complete the design phase with a swipe of a tester pot by Sherwin-Williams. Each color 2 Go sample pot is designed to be large enough to spread the color throughout your space.
Remember my example of the North & West facing rooms?
We understand that there are no two spaces alike in your home – so we’ve made the sample big enough for you to spread around the color love! Sample pots are the finale to any design project. It’s the confirmation needed to provide the final approval for all of its design and expected elements. Bringing in your other design specifications will help too.
Create a large paint sample on the wall, and view the with tile, fabric and flooring etcetera that you’ve selected. You may notice that the tone changes with each item added into the vignette. This simple step is the best way to select the right color.
The fact is color never stands alone. Remember, any kind of light – daylight, artificial light, candlelight or reflectance from sheen – can dramatically change the way your paint color appears to your eye.
Acknowledging all the elements in your space before selecting paint colors will help ensure you select the right color, the first time!
For more great tips on Color & Design, head to www.sherwin-williams.com or to your local neighborhood store.
About the Author
EMILY GRUNDY - DESIGNER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, CANADA
Emily supports the residential interior designer market with color and paint specifications and provides continuing education for designers and industry partners. She works with the Canadian design account team.
Dedicated to the exploration of color and trends, Emily studied fine arts at OCAD University in Toronto. She is an allied member of the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), Decorators and Designers Association of Canada (DDA), and the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO), and a proud member of the arts community in Toronto.
Emily is also the author of Paint Color Trends for 2020
Email: Emily.t.grundy@sherwin.com
Instagram: @emily_grundy_
