Color Matching

Today I was in a local Sherwin Williams talking with the manager after a customer came in with little to no information on a color that happened to be in their head. The problem here is that if the color is in your head how is your local paint store suppose to mix the color? When you go into your local paint store and you are looking for a color or you want a color mixed please do us all a favor and have the color name, number and manufacturer or at minimum have something that can be used to match the color. A good example of this is a 2 inche by 2 inche example piece of the color you want, at minimum. No a magazine picture does not work. Examples of what works are, a piece of fabric, a leaf, a cut out from the drywall surface, a piece of wood, a piece of metal, etc. do you get the picture? I once quit a job because the customer could not make up her mind on the colors for her house. I want to make a special note here, the job was in excess of $100k. We spent three months working with her and finally the local paint store told her no more and I finally told her she had to find another painter. If colors are that difficult for you then you need to hire a professional. Where do you find professionals? Contact your local American Society of Interior Design office (ASID) and have them refer you to a couple designers. There will be a cost involved but the time savings and cost of samples along wtih the labor for a painter to put them up will more than likely come out a wash or even a saving to you. I finally enacted a policy at The Paint Doctor, we don’t do samples unless they are included within our proposal. Even then we do a very limited amount and any samples over that carry a cost of $35.00 – $50.00 per standard sample. If it is a custom sample, meaning we have to match it we charge $75.00 per sample.

So please do your homework before you are ready and if the homework is to difficult hire a professional, usually a designer!! You say I can’t afford that but you also say you are no good at paint colors, well I say wait until you can afford it or don’t change colors.

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Archie Deese

Archie has made service, quality, and knowledge the hallmarks of The Paint Doctor since he started the company in Atlanta over 15 years ago. The company has grown every year, in up and down markets. No matter the scope of project, The Paint Doctor has become the painting contractor interior designers and decorators, commercial contractors, major construction firms, government agencies, and residential clients who value the excellent craftsmanship and service The Paint Doctor provides.