What the color consult covers
Every estimate comes with a free color consult. We’ll help with one room or the whole house, inside or out:
- Wall, trim and ceiling colors that work together
- Cabinet colors that suit your counters, backsplash and floors
- Exterior color schemes for siding, trim, shutters and doors, including working within HOA rules
- Sheen: how shiny each surface should be, room by room
- Samples on your walls so you can see the color before you commit
Who it’s for
People who’ve been staring at paint chips for weeks. People who painted a room once, hated it, and don’t want to do that again. Couples who can’t agree. Anyone changing the outside of a house in a neighborhood with an HOA. And people getting ready to sell who want colors that appeal to the most buyers.
If you want to play with ideas first, try a palette in our staged rooms on the home page. Click a theme and watch the walls and cabinets repaint. Those are example palettes to get you thinking. The real decision happens on your walls.
How we do it
- Look at what’s staying. Floors, countertops, tile, brick, roof color and big furniture don’t change with the paint, so the new colors have to work with them.
- Narrow it down. Most people come in with too many options or none. We get it to two or three good choices for each space.
- Put samples on your walls. Big enough to judge, and in more than one spot in the room: near a window and on the wall that gets the least light.
- Look in the morning and the evening. A color can look perfect at noon and wrong under lamps at night. Live with the samples for a day or two and check them at different times.
- Check undertones. We hold samples next to your trim, floors and counters to catch a gray that turns purple or a white that turns yellow.
- Plan the whole house. Colors in rooms you can see from each other should get along, so we look at sight lines, not just one room at a time.
- Write it down. You get the color, the sheen and the paint level for each room or surface, so there’s no guessing on paint day.
How light changes color in Upstate homes
The same can of paint can look like two different colors in two rooms of your house. Light is the reason.
- North-facing rooms get cool, even light all day. Colors look grayer and bluer, and cool colors can feel cold.
- South-facing rooms get strong, warm light for much of the day. Colors look brighter and warmer, and some can wash out at midday.
- East-facing rooms are warm and bright in the morning and cooler in the afternoon.
- West-facing rooms are softer in the morning and get hot, orange afternoon sun, especially in summer.
A lot of Upstate homes sit among big hardwoods and pines, and that matters too. Heavy shade can make a room read darker than you’d expect, and light coming through green leaves can tint a pale color. Deep porches do the same thing to front rooms. Bulbs count as well: warm and cool light bulbs make the same wall look different at night. That’s why we always test in the room.
Whole-house flow
In an open floor plan, you see three or four rooms at once. Colors don’t have to match, but they should feel like they belong in the same house. A common approach is one trim and ceiling color through the whole house, with wall colors that share the same warmth or coolness. We’ll walk the house with you and look at what you can see from where.
HOA exterior color approvals
Many subdivisions require approval before you change exterior colors, and that’s common in neighborhoods around places like Five Forks, Simpsonville and Boiling Springs. If your HOA has an approved palette, we help you choose within it. If it reviews each request, we give you the color names and where each one goes on the house so your request is clear. Our guide to HOA color approval walks through the whole process. See exterior painting for the rest of the job.
Which paint level fits
Color and paint level go together. Deep colors and rich tones look their best in better paint.
- Essential (SuperPaint) is solid, good-looking paint for guest rooms, ceilings and rentals.
- Performance (Duration Home) is our most common pick, for hallways, kids’ rooms and living areas that need to be wiped down.
- Showcase (Emerald) gives the best coverage and color depth. If you’ve chosen a deep or saturated color for a room you love, this is where it shows.
What affects the price
The consult itself is free with every estimate. The colors you choose can affect the painting price, though:
- Big color changes, light to dark or dark to light, take an extra coat.
- Accent walls are priced on their own.
- More colors in one room mean more cutting in where they meet, and that takes time.
The paint level you pick matters too. Read how we price, our interior painting and cabinet painting pages for the work itself, and our guide to choosing paint sheen room by room.
