Remodel project in progress? Maybe you’re in the works of pulling your color palette together. Before you make any final decisions, let me share some valuable insight for you and your color palette that could save you from making expensive mistakes. I’ll be rolling out a total of TEN mistakes to avoid in any kitchen remodel that will save you some big bucks… and likely save your sanity too. Did you miss the previous kitchen mistake to avoid, we can catch you up in no time! Check out the last blog post for Expensive Mistake to Avoid #3 here.
Mistake #4: Impulsive Paint Colors
It’s common to fall in love with gorgeous kitchen designs that roll out on Pinterest and Instagram. Sometimes homeowners love them so much that they think these cabinet or wall paint colors can easily be copied into their own kitchens. This is an incredibly wrong approach to choosing the perfect paint colors for your own kitchen! Just because another kitchen’s paint colors look stunning in photos, does not mean that you will achieve the same look.
What IS the right approach?!
Sample, sample, sample! Once you have a few options for your paint colors, whether you’re focusing on professional cabinet painting or simply painting your walls, it is absolutely worth the time to sample these colors with all of your other selections inside of the space where they’ll be seen. This means that you can review these paint colors with finishes including your countertops, backsplash and flooring. Most importantly, this allows for the opportunity to see these colors in your own lighting- throughout the day in natural light and artificial light.
SAMPLING CABINET PAINT COLORS
Oftentimes, the paint colors you see in a paint deck will tend to look slightly different once painted on a paint-grade cabinet door.
When it comes to design projects that I’ve worked on with my clients, I always narrow down the paint color options first, then work with the cabinet shop to create samples for myself and our clients to review in the home.
It’s crucial to review the painted cabinet samples upright as this is how one would see the cabinets installed. Reviewing the samples laid flat on the floor, in a horizontal position, would not do you any good as the light will hit the cabinet samples very differently compared to if the cabinet sample is propped upright in the vertical position.
SAMPLING WALL PAINT COLORS
Just like sampling paint colors on cabinets, sampling wall paint colors on the actual walls of the space in question is an important step that you do not want to skip.
Once you have narrowed down your top five wall paint colors, do yourself a favor and paint these color options on the walls within your space. Be generous with the paint and GO BIG with your samples, with at least a 36” x 36” square coverage.
To take it a step further, if your existing walls have any slight color variation to them, use any white paint (even primer) as the background for your color paint samples. If your paint color options are painted on top of another color, it’s incredibly likely that you will perceive these colors much differently as opposed to seeing them on a white background. Don’t let the surrounding colors of the existing environment alter your color perception.
Again, this gives you the opportunity to see the paint color options throughout the day in both natural and artificial lighting.
Ignoring these steps of sampling your colors could lead to that urge of repainting the walls after you’ve already finalized a color and purchased ALL of the paint. Sounds expensive, right? That’s because it is. Go sample your paint colors, LOL! This will save you a ton of time having to prep for repainting and save you lots of money on the labor and paint itself if you decide the color just does not work.
Need Some Color Inspiration?
If you’re looking for some paint color inspiration (to sample of course!), here are some of my favorite colors from Sherwin Williams!
Sherwin Williams SW7059 Unusual Gray
Design by m studio interior design. View more from Project Glam on Trellis.
Sherwin Williams SW9151 Daphne
Design by m studio interior design. Check out more from Project Hit Me With The Blues.
Sherwin Williams SW7047 Porpoise
Design by m studio interior design. Check out more from Project The Best Bar None.
RESULT OF EXPENSIVE MISTAKE #4:
Making impulsive paint color choices could increase your project cost and delay the schedule.
VALUE SAVINGS
Invest in the time upfront to sample out your wall paint colors before committing to your final choice.
Anxious to dive into all 10 EXPENSIVE KITCHEN MISTAKES TO AVOID? Get your hands on the “10 Expensive Mistakes to Avoid in Kitchen Remodeling” video by subscribing to our email list… and get ready to spare yourself the headaches of remodeling your kitchen. Rock on Remodelers!
Xoxo, Megan
