Understanding Paint Colors and Shades

Have you ever painted a room and something just wasn't right? Even after bringing home test colors, paint swatches and color cards, it just doesn't look right. Perhaps your wall color doesn't look at glorious as you had hoped with the border color you chose. Or, your brand new Ralph Lauren bedspread looks like it doesn't even belong in the room. What happened?

Picking and matching colors isn't as easy at it looks. That's why color cards were invented. However, few people understand the true meaning behind these color cards. You know the ones - those strips with four and five shads on each one with those odd little numbers.

There's an entire science behind these! If you are planning on painting, this is the perfect time to understand how to achieve a perfect look all around.

First, head over to your local hardware or home improvement store. If you happen to have an idea of what brand paint you want to use, be aware that all brands aren't carried in every store. For instance, Behr is carried in Home Depot but not at Ace Hardware. Your brand should be taken into consideration before the color. Some brands offer some worthwhile benefits such as easy cleaning, dirt repellant, mold retardation, and primer included.

Some companies have different types of color cards, but any assortment works under the same principle - and this is the key - the placement of a color on one card can be coordinated with the a color on an adjoining card in the same place. In other words, the first color, or the darkest color, on each swatch is the same shade as the darkest color on all the cards. (See photo above.)

If you are trying to coordinate colors for one particular room, you are always safe in using colors from the same paint card. THAT is the entire purpose of putting all those colors on one card, or swatch. They have the same undertone. Having the same undertone is vital in matching and coordinating colors.

Deciphering undertones takes a bit of practice. If you can remember the cosmetic craze during the 80s about figuring out if you were a Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall based on your skin tones, this is the exact same principle. Most undertones are yellows or reds.

This is where many mistakes are made. On a recent trip to a friend's house, I learned she has just redone her bedroom and was very disappointed in the results. She asked my opinion. I'm no expert in home decorations, but I did take the time to attend a painting class at my local Home Depot and I learned all about the importance of the color wheel.

When I looked at her bedroom I saw immediately what was wrong. She had chosen a deep rust color for her walls. This rust had a very strong yellow or gold undertone. Her baseboards were done is a pale beige that had a red undertone. They clashed like crazy! And to make matters worse, her curtains and throw rugs and bed spread were a pale cream with an orange undertone. This is the oil and water mixture of the decorating world!

To correct the problem she simply repainted the baseboard with the lightest color from the paint swatch she used for her walls. Then she exchanged her new bedroom spread and throw rugs for ones that matched the color scheme that now had all gold/yellow undertones.

Most large home improvement centers even have large brochures for specific coloring groups for bathrooms, kitchens, etc. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance. These people don't just mix paint, they need to understand color concepts, color swatches and the color wheel.