How to Use Paint Swatches the Right Way (and Pick the Color You Really Want)

Everyone who has ever painted a room based on paint swatches or chips—and without the help of a professional designer—has a horror story about a choice that went wrong: Maybe it was a navy too dark for the dining room or a grassy green that looked almost neon on the wall.

While these mini shaded strips and squares have their uses, experts say they are not always the best way to find the right color for your room. "Paint swatches can be a useful tool, but they shouldn't be the only factor in your decision-making process," says interior designer Kati Curtis. But by understanding the drawbacks of paint swatches—and the benefits they can provide when used the right way—you can pick the perfect color every time. 

3 Reasons Why Paint Swatches Aren't Always Accurate

If you've ever been led astray by a paint swatch, you aren't alone. Here's why these strips don't always produce the desired result: a one-to-one color match that translates from cardstock to wall.

They Are Too Small

Curtis and Nicole Gibbons, founder of Clare Paint, both point to paint swatches and chips' small size as one obstacle to getting a true feel for the color. "Traditional paint chips are teeny-tiny, so we're relying on a 1-inch square to get a sense of what a color might look like in an entire room," says Gibbons. "You're talking about a tiny little representation of the color—it's too small to allow someone to be able to envision what it would look like at a larger scale."

A shade you're drawn to on a paint swatch may be too vivid or too dull for your taste when expanded from floor to ceiling, but the opposite is true, too: A color you find too bold or too boring on a chip can complement your space in unexpected ways. When it comes to visualizing the finished product, size matters.

Background Colors Trick the Eye

If you laid out all your swatches on a mahogany table, taped them up against a coat of white primer, or considered them next to an already-painted wall, you likely didn't get an accurate read on the color. Holding rich colors next to light, bold next to subtle, or one shade against another can all trick your eye into seeing the chip slightly differently. "It can be particularly nuanced with neutrals," says Gibbons. "If you're trying to understand what a neutral looks like and your wall is blue, it is really not going to read as true. Since darker colors absorb light, it can be a bit less tricky—but they can also be impacted by the colors surrounding them."

Comparing all your chips on white isn't a sure solution either, says Curtis: "The eye tends to perceive colors as darker when placed against a white background, which can result in choosing a color that ends up being too light once the entire wall is painted."

The Rest of the Room Impacts the Color Swatch

While professional designers have honed their ability to look at a space holistically while sketching out an aesthetic, amateurs don't always realize how a room's other elements might affect a paint color. A dramatic rug, dark flooring, lots of natural light, or the color of your trim all play a role in how your room looks once finished, as your chosen paint color reflects or absorbs the colors around it. Even the landscaping outside your windows can cast a colored tinge on your wall, adding a pink glow when leaves turn red in the fall or a greenish tone when they unfurl in spring, says Gibbons. 

Use Paint Samples for a Better Color Match

Whether you hire a painter or DIY the job, you're investing both time and money in the project—so you want to get it right the first time. That's why opting for paint samples is the better choice, say both Curtis and Gibbons. "Perhaps you could get away with paint chips if you were going really simple—if you wanted a white and you weren't too picky about the undertones," says Gibbons. "But, in particular with a more saturated color, it is so important to test the color in your space—it's so valuable to prevent you from making a costly mistake."

Sample-sized jars of the custom colors you are considering allow you to paint larger sections of your wall, test paint in different parts of the room to see how the color changes with varying amounts of light, and compare several colors at once.

Try an Online Visualizer

Curtis also recommends using an online visualizer (she likes Benjamin Moore's "Color My Room" option) that allows you to upload a photo of your room and "try on" different shades. "These tools can provide a surprisingly accurate representation of how a color will look in your space," says Curtis. "This can be a useful way to preview different colors and narrow down your options before making a final decision."

However, if you're previewing colors with online tools, on designer websites, or in images from your favorite design blogs, remember that everything from the photo filter to your screen settings can affect the shade. "The color will look different in the actual room; it's crucial to get actual samples of paint color before committing to a purchase," says Curtis. "Although the technology and color rendition have improved significantly in recent years, colors can still look different online than they do in person. By getting physical samples, you can see the color in the context of your space and under different lighting conditions."

How to Use Paint Swatches Effectively During the Design Process

Though larger, on-the-wall paint samples offer the best success rate for choosing a color, smaller paint swatches do have their place in the design process.

Use Them to Narrow Down Your Shade Choices

When you start planning your room, paint swatches are an ideal way to narrow the field of shades you're interested in: Are you leaning toward white or green for your neutral nursery, gray or terra cotta for your kitchen, hunter or cream for your office? "Most people test three to five colors per room," Gibbons says—and that is after they've landed on a color family. "Sampling in and of itself is an investment, so a chip can help you narrow down which options you want to invest in sampling." 

Use Them as Reference Points for Other Design Decisions

Paint swatches can also be helpful as reference points, allowing you to compare shades to rugs, art, or textiles that you plan to keep or add to your space. "One way to use paint chips effectively is to match them with certain fabrics or other elements that you already have in the room," says Curtis. "This can help you coordinate colors and create a cohesive look."