Makely

Let's Make Life Awesome

  • Home
  • Decorating/DIY
    • Create Your Decor
    • Decorate Your Home
    • Paint Your Walls
    • Transform Your Furniture
  • Healthy Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Family Wellness
    • Household Care
  • Project Gallery
  • Contact
You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Paint Your Walls » Testing the (Paint Color) Waters

Testing the (Paint Color) Waters

by Lindsay Ballard on November 26, 2009 15 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends! I hope that you are able to spend your day with friends and family and bask in the warm glow of laughter.

But, after you have eaten all of the leftovers you can stand, lost a football game (sorry Texas A&M; fans!), and listened to the cousins argue about whose turn with the Wii it is, you may be ready to think about something more fun. If you are anything like me, that fun thing to think about will be your home.

I’m in the beginning stages of re-painting our powder bath. It’s a forgotten room, although one frequently visited by guests. And it’s just bor-ing. I’m embarassed to even show you how boring it is. But, I’ll do it, because I apparently have no shame.

Yikes.

Are you thinking of repainting a room in your house right now? Do you want to show your Mom the color you are thinking of for your bedroom walls? Want your Aunt’s opinion on that new color you are considering for your son’s room? Well, this is a great time to do it, folks.

If you are ready to try out some paint colors but not ready to actually pull the trigger on painting the room, I have a great way to show you how to hide test paint.

Now you see them…

Now you don’t…

When I’m painting test colors, I like to hide them behind pictures hung on walls or pieces of furniture. There’s no reason to live with test stripes on your walls if you can figure out a great way to hide them! In a room where you have a variety of lighting throughout the day, make sure you test your colors in enough areas to get a sense of what the paint will look like as the light changes.

********************

Incidentally, I received my Farrow and Ball colour card (with THE Tori Spelling ‘Parma Gray’ paint chip) in the mail this week. I almost immediately rushed out to Home Depot to pick up a color match test sample of paint. As much as I know (or really, assume) that the F&B; paint is far superior in color depth and quality, I couldn’t pay $125 for a gallon of paint unless it was made with 24-karat gold. And maybe not even then.

My paint guru at Home Depot reminded me that the color match wouldn’t be absolutely, 100% perfect due to the base shade and pigment content, but since I was buying a $2.97 jar of test paint, that didn’t really matter to me. I slapped the test paint on my bedroom wall (behind my framed bridal portrait, if you most know), and it seems like a pretty dang good match to me! It may be slightly more blue than the Parma Gray chip, but the chip looks slightly more gray in person than it does to me on my computer screen.

Several of you had asked me to pass along the Home Depot formula if I was able to get a good match. For those of you, here it is:

BEHR
Base: Premium Plus Ultra Pure White (PP100)
Type: Interior
Sheen: Flat, Matte
Colorant for 8oz:

  • B- Oz (0) 384th (30)
  • D- Oz (0) 384th (7)
  • E- Oz (0) 384th (4)

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

« DIY Faux Boxwood Letter Wreaths
Deck the Halls and All That Jazz »

Comments

  1. K @ Thrifty Teacher Blog says

    November 26, 2009 at 7:45 am

    You are so smart!!! Love it!

    Reply
  2. southerninspiration says

    November 26, 2009 at 9:33 am

    FABULOUS idea to put the test stripes behind pictures!!!!!
    Good luck with your painting!

    Suzanne

    Reply
  3. Jenny says

    November 26, 2009 at 9:55 am

    So simple, yet so smart! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    November 26, 2009 at 10:16 am

    Great idea!!! My hubby hates testing paint colours maybe this will ease his pain. Let us know what colour you go with. I'm thinking of painting one of my bathrooms teal.

    Rochelle

    Reply
  5. Jen @ jentility.com says

    November 26, 2009 at 11:26 am

    I received my Farrow & Ball catalog and paint chips in the mail too. I'm thankful that you already got the formula at Home Depot (copied and printed out). I'm wondering if Lowe's can do a pretty good match as well because they are MUCH closer to me.

    Reply
  6. Craig, Blair and Turbo Skousen says

    November 26, 2009 at 8:27 am

    Thanks so much! Have a happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  7. debbie says

    November 26, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    Even better way to test your paint is to use a piece of poster board. Paint down the middle third, leaving white on either end. Three benefits- no permanent stripes on the wall, you can move it around the room to see it in all lighting and the original wall color next to the test stripes will affect the appearance of the test colors.

    Reply
  8. Living With Lindsay says

    November 26, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    Thanks, Debbie! That is a great idea! I have textured walls, which makes the paint color vary a bit, so I don't think that would work for me. But, I think that's perfect if you have non-textured walls, like I did in my old house. Great tip!

    Reply
  9. Red Lipstick Style says

    November 26, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    I want to paint my downstairs bath for the 3rd time since i've owned my home, haha! I don't know why I keep changing it! This is the first I've heard of the Tori Paint! I'm going to check it out, its really $125?!

    Reply
  10. Mikael@starter home to dream home says

    November 26, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    it's always so hard for me to do the stripe test like you have done. I paint a big BLOB on 1 wall of the first color, then another BLOB on another wall and so on… the blobs get so ubearable that they force me to pick one and get the project done 🙂
    Can't wait to see the tori paint on your walls

    Reply
  11. grangran says

    November 26, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    Would you mind sharing the current color of your powder room – I really like it!

    thank you,
    Cindy

    Reply
  12. jenjen says

    November 27, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Good luck with you painting project. Those colors are very pretty. I love the way you hide the paint too!

    XOOX
    Jen

    Reply
  13. Cara Starr @ JohnsonManorisms says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:01 am

    Well, *feet stomp* do we get to see the test strip o the wall?? 🙂

    Reply
  14. Shannon Rodriguez says

    December 2, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    I'm with grangran….what is the current color in your powder room????? Is it the same color as in your entry????

    Reply
  15. Magic Brush says

    January 20, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    You are so brave to color match. I vowed years ago I will never do it again after having things go awry in client's homes. Obviously you found someone who does it well!!!!

    Love that you hide the chips behind the pics!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


Archives

Categories

PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2009-2019 Makely School for Girls | All Rights Reserved | Posts may contain advertising content or affiliate links