Choosing Paint Colors with Glidden Color Tools

I mentioned the other day that I’ve been dreaming and visualizing of ways to redecorate my house. While I love decorating and would love nothing more than to repaint every single wall, I’m taking my time and taking it slow.

One of the reasons I love to paint is because nothing changes the look of a space as fast, for as little money, as paint. If you want a new look, paint a wall – or even a single piece of furniture – and that color can bring an entirely new energy to the room.

I wanted something fresh and bright for the house. I wanted a lift. I decided to paint this little vanity desk that was my grandmother’s. Mom has had it since Nana died in 1987 but kept it in a spare room. It’s not particularly sentimental, although I’m keeping it since it was my grandmother’s.

Now . . . what color should I paint it? I knew right off the bat I wanted something in the turquoise family, but that doesn’t narrow it down too much. Choosing paint colors can prove challenging, even if you work with colors all the time like I do. Sure, you can start with an ‘inspiration’ piece or pick a favorite shade from your wardrobe.

Or you could just use My Colortopia Color 101, which is what I did. My Colortopia is Glidden Paint’s fabulous site that simplifies choosing colors. Really! Color 101 helps you choose a shade you’ll love and then click on that color family and – surprise! – some of the most popular DIY bloggers tell you how those colors work in decorating. It’s almost like having your own color specialist!

Once you choose your color family there are even more Color Tools to work play with! You can see how a particular shade will look in a Color My Room, or take the My Life, My Colors Quiz to see which colors fit your lifestyle. Planning a nursery? Then try My Baby’s Place, a tool to help you stir up the best palette for your little one.

I’ll definitely be playing with these Color Tools more as I move down this road of my ‘new life’. For now, I simply wanted a pretty shade of turquoise, that blend somewhere between sky and surf.

 

If I close my eyes, I can see that color right now. I saw it nearly every summer day when I was growing up at Echo Lake, where our family resort was located. I uploaded my photo of the lake to My Image Inspiration to see the suggested color palette. Beautiful soft blues were presented, as I spotlighted that gorgeous sky I remember so well.

I was torn between these sweet sky shades and what I had in my mind’s eye so I wanted a comparison and clicked over to Glidden’s Color Palette. You’re not going to believe what happened next, but I promise I’m not making this up.

 

Do you see how there is more green on the left and then the truer blues are on the right? That second column . . . that’s exactly the blue-green I wanted. But dark or lighter? As I’m clicking on the chips to see them larger, I stop short . . .

Do you see it? Under the large chip – ECHO LAKE AQUA!

Even if I didn’t like that color I probably would’ve picked it, just because it was as if Mom and Dad were up in Heaven helping me. But honestly I love this color!

Off I went to The Home Depot to get my Echo Lake paint. Wouldn’t you know, the rack of paint chips had B14 and B16 but no B15. I took the two chips to the counter and told the gal I wanted the color in between. With a puzzled expression she told me she needed the B15 chip to be able to mix the exact color.

Luckily my emotions were in check at the moment – I never know from one minute to the next lately – and I presented her with the numbers from Glidden’s Color Palette – Echo Lake Aqua 87GG-60239.

Ta-da!

(I’ve always wanted to hop behind the paint counter and have my turn with a little squirt of this and dash of that to mix my own paint. Given my fragile temperament of late, the thought did cross my mind to do just that. Luckily I’d written down the ‘formula’ though and saved myself from being banned from Home Depot for life.)

Side note: It was crazy busy that day but another Home Depot paint gal asked if I needed help while my paint was being mixed. I saw her name tag, thought she looked familiar and asked her if she ever took step aerobics from a teacher named “Jeannie”. She then recognized me as my mother’s daughter. Unfortunately I had to tell her that Mom had just passed, but I took it as one more “sign” that I was on the right path. It also made me realize just how many people’s lives my mother touched in her 30-plus years teaching fitness.

I frequently second-guess my decorating color choices, but not this time. Thank goodness for Glidden’s Color Tools! Now, I can’t promise that you’ll get a ‘message’ from the ‘other side’ with your paint choice, but I will say that choosing colors with these tools is not only fun, but easy too, with so much valuable color information! Color Tools will be so helpful as I continue decorating my home.

I can’t wait to show you my painted vanity! It turned out exactly the way I’d hoped and was just the right project to start my decorating journey with. Come back tomorrow to see the finished project!

Colleen

about Colleen

This post was sponsored by Glidden brand paint for PPG but all thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.