Techno-color
What shade should the dining room be? An app can help decide
Paint chips are so 20th century. Not sure what color to paint the living room? There’s an app for that — in fact, several. Over the past decade, major paint manufacturers have introduced free, online design tools to help homeowners choose interior and exterior paint color, and they just keep getting better.
Although functionality and user interface vary, multiplatform apps with broad offerings are increasingly available not only via tablet and web but also on smartphones. ColorSmart by Behr, ColorSnap Visualizer by Sherwin-Williams and Color Capture by Benjamin Moore are three leading platforms that include color matching, complementary color suggestions and the option of uploading photos to “virtually paint” your rooms. It’s a process that’s easy, intuitive and fun. And full disclosure, it’s habit forming.
Matchmaker, matchmaker
Color matching tools allow users to match colors within a photograph to corresponding paint. Want an orchid-colored bathroom? Snap a photo of your favorite flower, and the app reveals the name and style number of corresponding paint. ColorSnap will even tell you where to find the paint chip in the store display.
Tanuja Singeetham, vice president of digital marketing at Behr, said Color Match is one of the most popular features on ColorSmart because inspiration can spring from anywhere.
“It might be inspiration from home, like matching a rug ... or something in nature,” she said. Think sunset pink, summer sky, mocha gelato. In a more practical vein, finding a matching color for a wallpaper pattern, bedspread or window covering is equally cool.
Color story
Once the main paint color has been identified, apps assist with selection of complementary palettes. “A lot of people want to have complementary colors to do an accent wall or trim,” Singeetham said. “We know there are multiple things in a home, whether it’s a couch or a pillow. You can bring a whole solution together versus just a wall color.”
The Color Smart app offers palette ranges for subtle blends, warm tones, cool tones and complementary colors. Similarly, Color Capture offers categories such as “goes great with,” “similar colors” and “more shades,” while ColorSnap shows a pop-up palette of coordinating colors with each digital paint chip.
Meghan Vickers, vice president of e-business marketing Sherwin-Williams, says the biggest benefit of online programs is the ability to make decisions on your own time rather than in a store aisle while grabbing as many paint chips as you can.
Easiest ever paint job
The virtual process helps narrow the color field before approaching the paint chip wall at the store, Vickers said. “You can look at all the greens (online) and try them out virtually in room scenes,” she said.
Thanks to the magic of algorithms, wall and trim color can be changed simply with a tap or a click. Apps offer preloaded model rooms for trying on color, while some web and tablet applications allow users to upload photos of their homes to preview potential paint jobs.
“I think it allows people to have more confidence in color selection,” Vickers said, “because they have explored … and are able to validate (their decision).”
Chip, chip, hooray!
In spite of technological progress, experts insist paint chips aren’t endangered, although they may not be needed as early in the process.
“Technology doesn’t eliminate the need for paint chips,” Vickers said. “You should always see a color chip of the color and try it out in your own space to make sure it is what you’re looking for. Every (digital) screen is calibrated differently.”
Singeetham encourages both chips and paint samples. After online research, “Take the chips home and put them on the wall to see how lighting changes,” she said, noting how everything from natural light to different bulbs changes the way color appears.
Social style
More good news: Most apps allow progress to be saved and some, like ColorSmart, offer Workbooks for making notes and keeping records. In addition, many platforms allow users to share their projects on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Bonnie McCarthy is a freelance writer.