How Do You Pick Out Paint?

With all of the different colors, sheens, and types of paints available to you, choosing one for your project can seem like an overwhelming and stressful task. If you don’t choose the right one the first time around, you may be at risk for needing to start your project from scratch down the road. With professional guidance and these helpful tips below, you’ll learn how to pick out paint for your project without needing to redo it later on.

Choosing the Color

Choosing the color or shade of paint that you’d like is often the hardest decision to make, and the best one to start with. Fortunately, at your local paint distributer, you’ll most likely be able to find a digital color-matching system to help you get an idea of what your room would look like with certain selected colors.

It’s a good idea to collect paint swatches as you’re narrowing down your options. Once you begin eliminating potential colors, you can purchase sample paint to test out on a small area of your wall. Many people are surprised to see just how different the actual painted sample can look from the swatch, which is why it’s always a good idea to do this step. Visit your sample throughout the day to see how it looks in different lighting. After all of this, you should be able to easily omit several options.

Selecting Sheen

The higher the sheen of the paint, the shinier and more durable it will be. So, depending on your preferences and the location of the area that you’re painting, you’ll need to decide between flat paint or high-gloss. There are also some in-between options like eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss. Here are some sheen suggestions based on the area of your home that you’re painting:

• Kitchen: A durable and easy-to-clean high or semi-gloss finish.
• Family Room: An easily cleanable option due to high traffic, like a satin finish.
• Dining Room: A clean, smooth look for an area that receives less traffic can be achieved with an eggshell finish.
• Bedroom: For a low-traffic area and high-pigment, a flat or matte finish may be ideal.
• Exterior: To highlight trim, semi-gloss or gloss would be great. Otherwise, depending on the age and wear of the walls, a flat, eggshell, or satin finish for the rest of the house.

Picking the Paint

Even if you choose the perfect shade and sheen, those won’t matter if the quality of the paint isn’t up-to-par. Purchasing paint that easily degrades or needs several coats to look great will only waste your money and time in the long-run. That’s why it’s important to consult with a professional before you get your heart set on a certain brand simply because you like the color. They’ll be able to help you navigate trusted paint manufacturers to choose one that is durable, looks great, and meets federal and regional standards.

About Platinum Painting of Flower Mound

At Platinum Painting of Flower Mound, our professionals take pride in helping homeowners transform the inside and outside of their homes. That’s why we offer a guarantee that the experience of working with our team and the results are completely satisfactory. Since we only do residential painting, we’re able to deliver high-quality, one-on-one service and excellent results for every home we paint. For questions or to schedule a free in-home estimate, visit our website or call 214-304-7133.