Choosing the perfect paint colour

There are more options than ever before when it comes to paint colours but choosing the right one for you doesn't have to be difficult. There are many ways to make sure that the colour you are committing to is the right one.

There are several things to consider when choosing colour. 

• We always recommend testing the colour in situ before you commit to buying a larger amount. The colour of paint can be affected by many things, such as, other furniture in the room, carpet colour, colours on opposing walls and also the fact that colours will look different at certain times of day, or, if a room has lots of natural light or not.
• A good tip in these situations is to paint your sample pot on to several pieces of card and stick them to different walls and see how they change throughout the day. You might be surprised in the differences you see.
• Never judge a paint colour by looking at wet paint, the differences in shade between wet paint in the can, and paint given time to dry on a wall can be huge. 
• If you're looking for ideas on what colours to use, take a look at home decorating magazine such as Living Etc for some pictures of the paints we sell that others have used. Interior magazines are a super tool when looking for ideas and paint colours. Not forgetting websites such as Instagram and Pintrest.

Above: Paint your samples on to small pieces of card, rather than cover your walls in different coloured squares.

• Always try to buy all the paint you need at the same time, and always have it mixed on the same tinting machine. Different tinting machines can tint the same colour slightly differently. If you buy all the paint you need at the same time, you'll get much more consistent results, plus, you'll also benefit from the same colourants being used, as these also differ very slightly from batch to batch.
• Always buy quality paints, cheaper paints have less covering power, and in our experience can dry patchy and look unattractive. They usually struggle to cover in two coats and sometimes need 4 or more coats to achieve coverage! Over time cheaper paints will not perform as well as a quality trade or designer paint when it comes to strength and are only available in a limited range as they are usually made and sold in bulk.
• Please be aware that paint colours displayed on this or any other web site are for guidance only, as all computer monitors are different and will display colours differently.