I can confess I do not do this at all. My tactic is much more forward. I envision the color I want, pick out my color choices, narrow it down to the 1 or 2 I want, and then take a leap of faith and paint. If I don't like it, I repaint again. It's not because I don't know what I want, it's because I do, to a fault. My husband should be flattered by this "quirk" as we are approaching 7 years of marriage but in reality he's getting a little tired of this method not just due to costs but because I'm constantly ruminating on it until it's fixed....and he's ultimately the one to fix it.
In the 8 months we've lived here the master bath was actually the 3rd room we redid (it's the most complete which is why I'm sharing it with you first).
Here is the starting point:
Problem: White White walls, no personality, and too boring. I want a master bath that evokes a spa feel where this is too cold to make me feel relaxed.
Solution: Create an Asian Nature Spa feel by pulling out the green in the glass accent tile.
Which resulted in:
Problem: Sherwin William's 6422 Shagreen. This color had been described as lime, avocado, 1970's appliance green, baby nursery green, and just too cool for the space.
Where we went wrong: We actually chose a lighter color green than the tile in the glass accent piece. We felt that the green was too olive and dark and wouldn't feel refreshing. Our little accent swatch we did when determining the color looked fine in a small scale but was not right when the whole room was painted the color.
How we fixed it:
I went back to the beginning and began looking at my Pinterest boards to get insight. What I found was I repeated the same coloring in multiple different bathroom designs: tan tile, cream walls, with subtle accent colors.
How we fixed it:
I used Sherwin Williams Color Snap on my IPhone and snapped the color of the tan tile as my starting point. Was able to choose colors from there to determine the right shade. I then picked one of the lighter shades to contrast with the dark tile. Presenting Sherwin Williams 7567 Natural Tan.
To add a nice pop of color, we pulled the purple in the glass tile, SW 7630 Raisin to paint the window casings.
To complete the Asian Nature Spa Feel, we went simple with a purple orchid, grass green bath essentials, amber colored candle holders, and rolled white towels. Two off set dark floating wall shelves displays the products nicely without cluttering the space.
Just to recap ways to find the perfect color:
1. Collect images from HGTV, Houzz, Pinterest, or your favorite decorating magazine. You will begin to see a trend that shows your likes. Use that as your guide
2. Do not force a color. I should have known the green was not going to work when it didn't match the tile. I should have gone with a darker olive that matched, or chosen a completely different color all together. You will see this trend on my next few redos.
3. As a person who loves color, there is no reason why you can't focus on accents being the color in the room. Yes, this is a cheating approach but if you are not 100% sure, use a neutral that coordinates with your tile or cabinets and sets the temperature for the room, buy some fancy towels, a nice plant, or some fun brightly colored pieces.
In the end don't worry about painting and then having to repaint. Seriously, paint is cheap. Even with labor, it is still cheaper than redoing your tile, replacing cabinetry or buying furniture. Plus, it is so much more enjoyable walking into a room that you love 100% instead of hoping the color grows on you.
