It happened again—I bought 3 paint samples and ended up choosing…the one I wanted in the first place. In this case, I’m talking about the color for the pink ceiling in my home office.
Samples: Benjamin Moore First Light | Behr Flamingo Feather | Behr Noble Blush | Benjamin Moore Frostine | Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
But it’s happened a lot. When I ordered tile samples for our master bathroom, wallpaper for our powder room, and of course with paint samples, too.
In fact, I was getting so sick of it that I only bought one paint sample for our master bedroom, slapped it on the wall, and let it confirm my suspicions…yep, I know what I want.
Do you sample?
I can’t decide how I feel about paint, wallpaper, or tile samples. On the one hand, if you’re trying to see if things go together (paint + wallpaper, for example), they’re pretty crucial.
But if you’re just trying to see what you like? I’m not sure anymore.
When it came to my home office, I picked a paint color for the ceiling, but then started questioning it…would it be too subtle? What if it just ended up looking white?
The funny thing is that those qualities that left me questioning it were the ones that drew me to it in the first place—I really wanted a subtle accent of pink, so it didn’t read like a baby girl’s nursery.
It’s also possible that I’m using samples all wrong. I probably should get samples of paint colors that are closer in color, like getting just a shade darker and a shade lighter than the one I think I want. But my guess is that I would just end up picking the middle one anyway, since it’s the natural compromise.
Using Samples to Decide
What do you think of getting samples before committing?
Certainly, if you really can’t decide between two options, samples are the best way to get through to a final choice.
Usually, when you see it in person, and especially in context, it’s pretty obvious which one you actually want.
Wallpaper samples: York Olive Branch | Hygge & West Piedmont Pine | Hygge & West Quilt Celadon
I don’t think it’s a bad thing if samples just help you confirm your initial choice, though. Sometimes you need to question your ideas in order to give yourself a chance to defend them—and in defending them, even to yourself, you realize what you really want.
Do you use samples? Tell me your thoughts over on Instagram.
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