Tips For Matching Your Current Interior Paint Perfectly
Last Updated: November 13, 2017
The dilemma occurs in all kinds of homes. Maybe yours is an old home, with a classic color scheme that you prefer to extend into other areas of the house. Maybe you’ve owned your home for a while, and you’re thinking of building an addition or a sunroom. Either way, the issue arises: Your current walls are one color, and you want to match that color in your new construction.
Matching Your Interior Paint in New Construction
If you had the original walls painted yourself, it always pays to hold onto the swatches and write down the brand of paint and the color code. If it’s too late for that, don’t sweat it. There are a variety of ways to ensure you get the closest possible color match.
One old-fashioned trick is to scrape off a small square of your existing paint using a razor. Keep it in a plastic bag when you go paint shopping. When you’ve found a close match, take it out and lay it directly on the different swatches. This alone can get you much closer to finding the right color family.
Once you’ve found the right family and you’ve narrowed your selection down to a few subtle shade differences, the next step is bringing the color inside. Keep in mind that professional color consultation is often one of your best options for selecting and matching paint.
Professional Tips for Matching Paint Colors
- Lighting covers a multitude of sins. Even if you can’t find the exact shade of color in another part of your home, it’s important to remember that lighting will affect the appearance of the paint. If you’re painting a well-lit room and have to choose between colors that aren’t quite perfect, opt for the darker of the two. The natural lighting in the room will brighten it up, and nobody will notice the difference.
- Apply test coats. One tried and true technique is to apply each color option to a separate piece of wood. This can help you visualize the color on a larger surface area, and it can help you compare multiple shades at once, directly in your living space.
- Paint with consistency. This means using the same process on each wall that you have painted. It includes steps such as sanding, priming, and painting, as well as applying the same number of coats to each wall. Taking the time to paint with consistency will result in a reliable color scheme from wall to wall.
- Paint darkens as it cures. As paint dries and hardens, particularly after multiple coats, it will darken noticeably. It can take months for some paints to fully cure, and in that time they may continue to darken. For a handy breakdown of paint dry times and cure times, check out this article.
Interior Painting Experts in the San Diego Area
Looking for a team of professional painters for your interior project? We’ll match your current colors and give you a clean and consistent painting experience, every time. Contact Chism Brothers Painting to experience high-end craftsmanship at an affordable rate.
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Tell Us About Your Project
Contact us today to schedule a visit from one of our estimators! We’ll come to your home and provide a detailed estimate.
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