How to pick out the perfect paint color

Hello all! I'm getting back into the groove after some time out of town with what else…a little DIY project. School is starting soon and I'm starting to feel the excitement of getting on a schedule again and preparing for fall. This is a fun time of the year for me because I'm usually fairly lazy over the summer (although I've been more productive than usual this year) and I get amped up to get things done. 

For this project I joined up with Sherwin-Williams again to share more tips on picking out the perfect paint color. I KNOW this is something so many of you struggle with. I've been there. Remember my orange office? :) You will save yourself so much time and effort if you are sure of your paint color before you begin. 

I'm working on a smaller project this time (more info in a minute) but I wanted to share how I picked out the perfect paint color. I've heard about the new ColorSnap system in the store (if you ever watch HGTV they've been sharing this) but when I walked in it was even better than I imagined:

THIS, my friends, is brilliant. I love it! I geek out about this kind of stuff, really. 

It's so easy to find the color you're looking for because you start with a broader tone. Love. Neutrals are big and I think always will be, so one end is more of those. I gravitated towards these two because the are the gray/beige tones that I love: 

When you turn one of the squares around (bring your kids -- they'll be entertained for hours) you get an array of colors in that tone: 

Before paint chips were always arranged by color, which works of course, but they had about six colors per paint chip. You had to pull out each one to see everything. This is so. much. easier. 

I found my beloved Analytical Gray (most of our house is painted this color) very quickly: 

They are still arranged by tones, which is helpful as well. 

As much as I love neutrals I was looking for something different this time. I'm painting our patio doors and really want to create some contrast and pull in some of the gray blues I've incorporated into the decor outside: 

It took mere seconds for me to find the square I needed:

Isn't it pretty? I told you a couple years ago how I've completely changed my views on using blue in our home. I used to dislike blue but now I use it everywhere -- it's my favorite color. 

When I turned the big square around I was excited to see my blue/gray options:

I found a bunch I liked immediately and just kept pulling: 

You see the direction I'm going with this? Kind of a moody blue. It will make a statement on the back of our very neutral house. 

These are the colors I ended up with and I also grabbed a chip of our shutter and trim color to compare them in the store:

This is the thing though -- do what I did. Grab as many colors as you like. You won't regret it -- I ended up going with a slightly different tone than I originally wanted. 

Here is a before photo for you…the flowers are barely hanging on right now: 

I painted that trim black last year and liked the dark contrast. We had our house trim painted this summer (for the first time in 12 years, yikes!) and they went ahead and repainted with the dark brown we use on our shutters instead. 

This area gets full sun so I made sure to check out the paint chip in the area where it will be painted. This is important folks! I know it's easier to grab a chip and decide in the store but I cannot express to you enough how important it is to take it home or get a sample before you buy. 

Check out the sample in the space you'll be using it. The same color will look different in different areas of your home. Darker rooms will look different than those with natural light. Paint in a room with fluorescent lights will look different than one with LED bulbs…there are a lot of variables. 

So when I got the chips home and started checking them all, I went with a color with a lot more aqua in it than I originally planned:  

Refuge for the win! I really, really love it. It's a beautiful blue, right? And it pulls in the color of our outdoor rug nicely. 

The helpful folks at my Sherwin-Williams store helped me pick out the perfect paint for this project. I'm excited to try it out! It's called SnapDry and it's made to dry quicker so it's great for doors. I'll show you the makeover later this week!

Now I have some fun news -- if you need paint for an upcoming project this weekend is the Sherwin-Williams Love for Color sale. It will run this Friday through next Monday and all paints and stains will be 35 percent off. Here's a big time tip for you…listen close. :) If you go into the store and buy untinted paint during the sale you can take it back later and have it tinted when you need it. So if you know you'll need paint for an upcoming project but don't know the color just yet, this is an AWESOME perk. Be sure to check with your local store before you buy!

To kick off the sale, the lovely folks at Sherwin-Williams are offering a $200 gift card to a lucky reader to spend as you wish. This giveaway is now closed.

I'll be back with my finished door makeover later this week! 

This post is sponsored by Sherwin-Williams but all opinions and experiences are mine. I only work with companies and products I know and trust. 

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