The Secret of the Paint Strip
By Aariana Adams
Photo: © Kutay Tanir / iStockphoto
 If choosing interior wall paint is stressful, or if settling for beige—everywhere—is your solution, check out one of man’s cleverest inventions: the paint strip.
The paint strip evolved from the color wheel and the paint fan deck. When these handy little multiple-hued paint samples showed up in paint and home improvement stores—free for the taking—"color" became an understandable dimension for every homeowner.
The paint strip is a piece of paper with up to eight paint color samples on it—beginning with a lighter shade and escalating through darker shades—with all colors on the strip intended to work well with each other. There are two critical color shades on each paint strip; the "focus" color and the "control" color. The "focus" color is a favorite color chosen from among your furnishings, fabrics and woods; the "control" color is the color you will actually paint your walls.
Three Steps to Making Paint Strips Work for You
If you have browsed through large selections of paint strips and still feel overwhelming confusion, here are three steps to success:
Step 1. Begin by looking closely at your fabrics—upholstery, linens, draperies, as well as floor carpets, and the tones of wood in furniture and flooring.
Step 2. Choose a color that you love from these furnishings—whether dark or light, it doesn’t matter. This chosen color becomes the "focus" color, but not the actual color you will paint your walls. The "focus" color is the guide to choosing paint.
Step 3. Visit your local home improvement or paint store and select a multiple-hued (at least three color shades) paint strip with your "focus" color near the top or bottom of the strip. Take the strip home and compare it to your chosen color. If you didn’t make a match the first time, keep looking for a paint strip that incorporates your chosen color. |
If you do not find it at one store, try another; manufacturer’s colors and tones differ and it’s worth the effort to find a match.
The Secret to the Paint Strip
Once you have located your "focus" color on a paint strip, the color in the middle of the paint strip is the perfect color for your wall paint.
Choosing Multiple "Focus" Colors
Perhaps you cannot decide on one "focus" color. Choose several "favorite" colors from among your furnishings, woods and fabrics. Select 50 paint strips if you want—they are intended to be stashed away in a pocket and taken home. There’s no such thing as a paint strip hog.
Tape the paint strips to your walls with painter’s tape (the strips are small, so tape up several of the same strip, side-by-side, for a larger color sample) and position them in both electric and natural light. It may take several days to decide. Focus on the "control" color in the middle of the strip, and notice how the colors change after sunset.
Once the "control" color is pared down to a few selections, consider purchasing small quantities of the colors you like. Paint a nice sized swath on selected walls. Try pairing the colors in differing combinations. Eliminate colors you don’t love, purchase additional colors, if necessary, and do more pairing and contrasting.
Bringing it All Together
If your home’s walls are already a color you like, choosing an accent wall or accessory color is simple. Use paint strips to aid in selecting artwork, accent pillows, throws and silk flowers.
Artwork and accessories needn’t "match," but should be in an agreeable balance. Once you have the confidence of the paint strip, and the control color to give a "perfect" backdrop (...and what’s better than "perfect"?), complimentary color choices are easy. |
