Thank you to SureSwatch for sponsoring this post. All ideas and opinions, as always, are our own.
I have a theory that will probably fly in the face of every other woman who reads NewlyWoodwards.
I believe that hair cuts and paint colors are pretty much the same.
Stay with me …
Neither are permanent. Both are easy to fix. So why do women agonize over a bad haircut or a bad wall color?
I never agonize over paint swatches. Maybe it’s just my personality. (I will continue to promise you that I’m not a perfectionist.) But I typically pick a color in about 48 seconds from a swatch book and trust my gut. I bring home the paint with me the same day. I rarely bring home an abundance of color swatches to choose from.
Now that I think about it, I think that should be something to put on my resume. “Killer paint picker.”
I think this makes me an oddity. I’ve painted so many rooms and I can only think of two times that my paint original choice was off the mark – our kitchen in the first house and Henry’s bedroom. While I normally consider myself an expert paint picker, I also get stumped sometimes.
The barn doors were stumping me. Because I hate painting doors and want to avoid repainting them.
To keep myself from making the wrong color choice on the doors at the barn, I decided to test out SureSwatch. At less than a dollar, the clear film allows you to create a larger paint sample for your walls without having to actually paint on your walls (and then promptly prime and paint over the wrong colors). They are about 9×13 inches, so it’s plenty large to easily see if you love or hate the color.
I tried out a few colors that I already had – elephant skin, starless night and antique red. (Note: I received the paint from Behr as a part of being a Behr DIY Expert.) I simply painted the SureSwatch sheet with a small roller and let it dry. Then, the backing peels off and it sticks easily to surfaces. (It didn’t damage our doors at all and was simple to remove.)
The plan is to eventually finish the barn walls downstairs with the original metal roof. So with that in mind, I tested out a few options.
I know it’s not easy to visualize with the gorgeous yellow insulation. But, when I was thinking of the door being surrounded by silver roofing metal, the choice was simple. The grey would blend in. The navy would be too dark. But the red was the best choice because it would really pop.
Do you agree?
While I don’t normally agonize over paint colors, SureSwatch did help me make the dreaded door decision. And Ryan even swooped in and painted the door while he was waiting for drywall mud and tape to dry. My hero.
(I’m sort of itching to just seal that wood. I think the color will play nicely with the red and the eventual silver metal walls.)
I was also able to narrow down the exterior door choices to elephant skin and starless night. (After asking your opinion in this post, I decided not to listen to 90 percent of you who told me to stick with white. White on a farm is a recipe for a muddy mess. Do you SEE all that mud?)
My favorite part about SureSwatch was that I could take them off the laundry door and try them out on the exterior door.
About SureSwatch
SureSwatch provides a larger color sample than manufacturer-provided paint chips/swatches and shows and accurate depiction of wall color in the desired room. It also helps you visualize a color in the natural and artificial light of your room. SureSwatch eliminates the need to prime over multiple colors painted directly on the wall. It’s available nationwide at the Home Depot paint counter.
Follow SureSwatch on Facebook.
Paint colors and a haircut may both be easy to fix and (potentially) temporary, but I’m seeing the beauty of really thinking through a color decision.
What do you think of my color choices?
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Nicole Mantooth says
Love that red you chose. Looks great.
Amber @ Wills Casa says
Love your color choices! I used to think paint choices were no big deal until I had a living room and an exterior that I absolutely cannot paint myself. Blah. Good news is I love the living room color…bad news it’s expensive to repaint the outside.
Rebecca says
I agonize over paint colors for two reasons: First, because painting isn’t our favorite activity and we want to get it right the first time. Secondly, because I have the sort of innate color and fashion sense (or lack thereof) that thinks stripes look fine with plaid.
daisy says
I think it’ll look fantastic! Another wonderful asset to your personality resume!
Kenz @ Interiors By Kenz says
Those are super cool! I too agonize over paint. I always end up painting about 20 different samples and swatches before I come to a decision. This would be a lot simpler, without the mess and hassle of priming over it.
Katja @ Shift Ctrl Art says
I love that about the hair cut/paint color analogy. I think that is right on. Regarding door colors for a door that leads to the outside, I always try and go the Feng Shui route and see what works best for the direction it is in. But that’s just me 🙂 I think you picked a fantastic red. I also liked the blue a lot.
Gretchen@BoxyColonial says
I’m voting blue for the outside of the door! And good choice on the red 🙂
Jessica @ Run Your Mutt Off says
I like the grey on the outside, but the blue will mask that mud issue better. PS. you should definitely put ‘expert paint picker’ on your resume. Every color I’ve ever pick has sucked and needed repainting. My husband is the official paint picker in our household.
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
Never heard of it but it’s pretty cool! Love the door color
Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says
I love the red you chose for the inside. I’m sort of digging starless night for the exterior!
Joe and I don’t really agonize on colors (though to be fair, we haven’t done a whole lot of painting). I know ahead of time what I want and then I grab maybe two or so swatches to see which one will be a better match.
Shannon says
I’ve always wondered why people have such a hard time picking paint. Doing their 6 different samples on the wall and everything…we pick and go too. But we paint something every 12 years so maybe we’re not the ones to ask. Not that it stops me from giving my opinion. Ever.
michelle@decorandthedog says
This is a pretty cool product. I’m also with you on the just pick a paint color already and move on. The color I don’t like (you know, the one through most of my house) wasn’t actually picked by me. I will never trust others again.
Good choice with the red. I like. Also, I will never go back to a white mudroom door. The dark is so good at hiding dirt.
Josie McHale says
I love it! Great choices in the color selection. I am very much like you in that I don’t want to agonize over a decision on choosing. I go with what resonates with me. But every now and again, we just want to take our time in deciding. I love that about us women!
cassie says
oooh i love starless night- very americana!