Choosing A New Wall Colour

Choosing paint colours has NEVER been an issue for me.  I usually see a piece of furniture and pretty much instantly know what colour I would like to paint it. Choosing a new wall colour for my home though… that’s a whole other can of paint!

I have been living in my house for just over four years now and the walls are getting pretty banged up. I move a lot of furniture in and out and those pieces, as much as I adore them, have left their mark.  I finally decided it was time to paint the walls.  My house is very open concept and on the main floor the studio/work area leads to the kitchen which leads to the dining area which leads to the living room.  The stairs coming up to the main area lead directly into the walls around the dining area and the walls in the living area lead directly up to the second level with the bedrooms.  Do you see the problem?  Yep, all of the stairways and walls are all connected.  Which means… a lot of one paint colour.  There are few beaks that offer an opportunity to  change the colour so when you choose a colour… you reeeeally have to commit! The open concept of my house also allows for a TON of windows… which I adore.  However, with all of the light they let in, in 3 different directions, it creates a plethora of nooks and areas that are all lit differently.  Choosing (and committing) to a new paint colour for the walls has been no easy task thanks to the continuing walls and fantastic light.

  I picked up a whole lot of different paint cards from Home Depot to begin the process and hung them on one of the walls.  I left them there for days checking what they looked like at different times of the day and with different types of weather outside.  Once I thought I had it narrowed down to three colours I liked, I went back to Home Depot and got 3 little paint pot samples made.  Tip: if you are unsure what colour you will like… these paint pots, at $2.97 each, are a fantastic way to test out some colours! 

I took the little paint pots, with the three colours I thought I had chosen and painted three swatches in three different areas of my main floor.

 Unfortunately, this only led to more ongoing debate and confusion. The three colours looked like absolutely different paints in the different areas.  You would think that I wasn’t even using the same colours they looked so different.I have never been so indecisive on a paint colour in my entire life!  I could not (and can not) make up my mind.  In two areas, I liked number 2 the best.  In the other area I was in love with number 3.  UGH.  At least I was able to eliminate number 1 through the process; that was my silver lining!

I asked others to look and they were as confused as I was.  The colours looked so different in the different lights that they were convinced they weren’t even the same paint.     So, where has my great paint dilemma left me… with still no chosen colour and a whirling mind of indecision.  Choosing a new wall colour, even for someone who paints for a living is never as easy as it seems…