Why Paint Samples Don’t Work!

Many people are nervous about picking color. That is why I feel it is important to show real paint colors for people to see and feel what a color will look like. So in my paint stores I would have all my colors painted on samples that my clients could take home. AHHHH..  100% Success!

The average person goes to a paint store, picks a color from a paper fan deck, has the paint store mix the paint, all to get home, put it on the wall and then realize that it was not anything like the color they had envisioned. Sad but true, the color you are picking from a paper fan deck, is not the true paint color.

After this has happened several times, most people get it in their mind that they cannot pick the right color, and feel dis-empowered. This is so far from feeling good about what they have chosen. All to settle on something they do not really like.

In essence, people know what they like when they see it. With the right guidance we can pick colors that are right for our surroundings and us. Most people do not realize that in the normal paint color picking process many outside influences conspire against picking the right colors. The normal fan deck has a row of similar colors or shades that are computer generated.  When you look at the fan deck your minds eye sees not only the color you are considering but also the surrounding colors.  Result: you are not visually seeing the true representation of the color you are focusing on. With this working against you, it is no wonder that when you take a paint color home and put it on the wall it does not always look like the color you have picked.

Often people worry that a color may be too bold and they go to the color lighter on the fan deck, thinking it is a lighter version of the color they like. The problem is each color is its own color not a lighter tone of the following color. The end result,  again is not getting the feel or look desired. Since the fan deck is computer generated, many of the colors in the fan deck would not be a good paint color for the specific space.