Choosing the right paint color is never easy—and this is especially true when you’re tackling the walls of a room with funky lighting conditions. Overhangs, color casts, too-few windows, and exterior landscaping can all impact how sun enters through the windows and how your chosen paint color looks. So, what should you do to avoid instant (or eventual) paint remorse? We talked to Emily Grundy, affiliate partnership manager at peel-and-stick paint sample retailer Samplize, to get her best tips.
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Always (always) get a real sample on your wall.
“Testing is key,” says Grundy. “You want to be sure you’re seeing an accurate color—and the small square chip isn’t going to give you the read you need.” She recommends using her company Samplize, which allows you to order peel-and-stick swatches from over 8,000 colors from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, PPG and Farrow & Ball. It’s not the only option, however: Many paint brands, including Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams, as well as Backdrop and Clare, offer their own adhesive samples.
Check the color on multiple walls of the room you’re painting, including the corners.
This is one most people don’t think to do, but it’s super important. The wall you put your sample paint on could get either the most or least amount of light in your space, and it could be quite the different shade in another area of your room. Since corners tend to be the darkest spot in a room, give your sample a try there too.
Know what direction your windows face.
If your room is north-facing, “a general rule of thumb is that you’ll get consistent softer, indirect light most times of the day with a cooler color cast,” Grundy notes. The opposite is true for south-facing rooms, which get intense light exposure and get a much warmer color cast, making darker colors look brighter and duller. Western windows get strong afternoon light often with deep orange tones, while eastern windows get crisp, neutral morning light.
Observe how the color changes throughout the day, in natural light and in lamp light.
Even if you’re directionally challenged, watching the color on your wall throughout multiple points in the day and across a few days should be enough to make sure that shade of blue you thought was perfect doesn’t lean too gray or green. “You could have a really bright day, or an overcast day, and it’s all going to change the color,” Grundy says. She adds that playing around with your artificial lighting is also key: “Shut your lights on and off, see how the hue changes and make sure you’re happy with it.”
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Check the color against your floors and other furniture or upholstery.
And don’t forget to check the color you’re thinking about using against the three Fs: finishes, furniture, and flooring. This is especially true with neutrals, but the undertones of wood or tile flooring could really work for or against that shade of white you’ve been eyeing. A floor with yellow undertones will make a neutral with green undertones feel sickly (and vice versa).
Take your time.
Finally, Grundy suggests taking your time. “Picking paint is really hard because it’s so personal,” she concludes. “As much as you think it’s just a white or it’s just a blue, what you put on your walls evokes a feeling in your space that’s unique to you.”
