An Easy Little Trick to Picking Paint Colors

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Before we moved into this house last summer, I had the whole thing painted. Choosing a color before I’d even lived in the space seemed a little daunting.

I’ve chose paint colors for houses we were building, but then I could take months thinking about it and comparing paint colors to cabinetry and floor samples.

I knew from having been in the house before that the tones of flooring and fixtures were warm, so I picked greige sample colors (a combination of gray and beige). I wanted to something that could blend the more modern light color I wanted with the woodsy warm traditional brown hues that were already there.

The Poster Board Paint Testing Trick –

Paint test colors on poster board for a large paint sample color!

I needed to pick the colors quickly this time, so I prepared in advance. While we were still staying with my parents (in between houses), I painted these poster boards with possible neutrals.

Different colors can look so different with lighting and architectural differences, so I went around this house while holding up the different poster boards. There was one color combo that definitely looked best in this space.

I ended up choosing modern gray walls with pure white ceilings. The colors don’t even look like themselves in these samples – lighting and context can do so much to how colors look!

Here is the Dining Room BEFORE:

Here is the Dining Room AFTER:

I wanted to love my neutral like I’ve loved our past neutrals. I’ve had good luck with the past few houses.

The neutral at our last Texas home was Repose Gray.

Our last home in Arkansas had the neutral color Balanced Beige.

Thankfully, I am happy with the Modern Gray we have now. Once the painters started doing their thing, there was no going back because there was a set of events all hinging on it being done, like movers coming.

Even if I am not in a hurry the next time I pick paint colors, I will use the poster board method again because it was so painless and easy.

Maybe this little trick will save you some hassle next time you’re picking paint colors!

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