Help! I Loved the Paint Sample in the Store but Now It’s on My Walls and I Hate It!

Colour is a tricky thing. On the surface it seems easy enough to understand, and while we know different people will experience colours in different ways, the real confusion comes in when we experience a colour in one setting and then later experience it in a completely different way when it’s in a different light (pardon the pun).  

You see the colour in someone else’s home, in a store, or on a paint sample, and you know it’s just perfect, but when you actually get that paint onto the walls, something seems to have changed. It’s not the colour you remember. Did you accidentally ask for the wrong paint colour at the hardware store? Was it mixed incorrectly? 

While those things can happen, it’s more likely that the new setting is affecting your perception of the colour. Because colour exists in relationships (with its surroundings and with other colours) there are plenty of things that can affect the way a colour looks, even though the colour itself hasn’t changed.  

Consider How Colour Interacts with Light

Firstly, colour is affected by light. This is most obvious when you look at the same colour in bright sunlight versus low light or in the shade. But there are other factors at play. 

If you’re painting the interior of your home, then artificial lighting can greatly alter the way you see a colour. If you loved the paint used in your friend’s kitchen, then you might not have considered that you saw it in natural daylight, while that same colour will transform completely when used in a bedroom that you mostly see in the early morning and at night under artificial lighting. 

The types of lighting in your home create different effects, and it’s not all to do with brightness. Different types of light bulbs will throw very different light. 

Incandescent: warm, yellow, candle glow 

Fluorescent: cold, blue through to neutral 

Halogen: bright, sparkly, neutral 

LED: cool and warm white through to colours 

If you’re considering natural light, then the direction windows face (and let light in) is important. 

Eastern light: Strong morning light, yellow 

Northern light: Strong throughout day, neutral light 

Southern light: Diffuse light throughout day, cool/blue light 

Western light: Strong at end of day, orange light 

The time of year will also affect the look of colours. If you’ve just painted your home’s exterior in a crisp, cool white, then it will probably look gloriously refreshing in summer, but those same cool undertones in low light against a grey winter sky might start to look a little bleak.  

Consider carefully how much light surfaces receive, and what type of light. The same colour painted on a ceiling and a wall will look darker on the ceiling because it receives less direct light. In the same way, a wall colour looks darker on a wall with a window than it does on the wall opposite, as it is not receiving direct light.

Different lights dramatically alter our perceptions of colour. Image by Felicia Varzari on Unsplash.

Consider How Colour Draws Attention to Shapes

You put down the paintbrush; the job’s finally done, but wait… was the home office always such an awkward, narrow space? 

There are plenty of tricks you can use to make a room feel larger and brighter, or smaller and cosier. When these tricks are employed cleverly you won’t even notice them. So it’s easy to fall into the trap of accidentally using these space-enhancing techniques in reverse.  

Remember: 

Bright, warm colours tend to make objects appear closer and larger. 

Darker colours tend to make objects look heavier and smaller. 

Lighter colours seem to expand the boundaries of a space, while darker colours seem to make a space feel closed in. 

Painting a ceiling a dark colour will appear to lower the height, and applying a vibrant colour to a wall preceded by light coloured walls will create the illusion of a wider room.

Colour can either be used to draw attention to (or to minimise) features. Image by Hc Digital on Unsplash.

Consider How Colour Interacts with Surrounding Colours and Materials

Colour is complex. Every green contains a different blend of blue and yellow. Even the colours we call neutral are complex, with undertones that can be warm (yellows, pinks, and oranges) or cool (blues, purples, and greens).  

Sometimes the only way to appreciate the complexity of a colour is to see it in relationship with other colours. And although you may have tried all your paint colours together to ensure they’re harmonious, have you considered the other influences of flooring, furniture, or soft furnishings inside and things like paving, roofing, and even the garden outside?  

The clash often comes when elements can’t be changed, or there was no perceived need to change them. If the roof or flooring is new, then you’re hardly going to replace them to match a new paint. But if you haven’t considered their interaction, then you might be surprised at the results. You might think these elements are neutral (a cream carpet or a grey roof), but you’ll start to see the undertones once they’re in relationship with a new colour.    

Consider not just the colour relationships, but the proportions of different elements. For example, flooring typically makes up around 30% of a room’s colour scheme.  

Aim to create a balance. Designing a scheme with a dominant colour that is supported by one or more auxiliary colours and an accent or two helps to create balance and harmony. 

Flooring and other fixtures make up a significant proportion of your colour scheme. Materials board by ISCD student Lucy Smart.

Putting It All Together

Before you put paint on the walls, try it out in the space. Place samples on the walls and look at them under different lighting conditions throughout the day. 

Think about the distorting effects colour can have on a room. Consider how you can use this to your advantage and highlight features or make less desirable ones recede. 

Consider colours in relationship, and wherever possible, try them out together before you commit. If you’re lucky enough to be renovating from scratch, then put samples of all your materials – flooring, fabrics, benchtops or tiles, and paint samples – together to find materials and colours that complement each other.  

To see the colours you have chosen to scale, try out a free visualiser or mood board tool. With a mood board tool like the one available at Style Sourcebook, you can include flooring and furnishings as well as your selected paint colours.  

The Dulux Colour Visualisation Tool lets you try out colours in different rooms, and will help you to test out the relationships between your main colours and accents. 

Happy painting!