Don’t suffer from Painter’s Remorse! These helpful apps take the guesswork out of color selections with the swipe of your finger.

Do you suffer from painter’s remorse? After holding swatches up against the wall, maybe painting a few tester splotches for comparison, you pick out what you thought would be a great paint color for your space. You spend your weekend painting away only to feel “Eh” about your color choice in the end. Sound familiar? You are not alone! As an interior designer, I’ve met my fair share of clients over the past 35 years who have suffered from Painter’s Remorse. Out of thousands of options to choose from, how can you possibly find the perfect paint color?

Chances are you are holding the answer in the palm of your hand. We found quite a few helpful apps that will turn your iPhone, tablet or PC into your personal color assistant. After testing out the many paint selection, color matching and color pairing apps, we’re sharing our favorite finds with you today.

Sherwin-Williams really has the best desktop tools and free paint selection apps available today. Because I am sitting in front of a computer instead of my phone or iPad, let’s start with their desktop tool, Chip-It. Upload a photo of your own or use any photo online and the Chip-It tool will perfectly match the colors in your photo to their corresponding Sherwin-Williams paints.Chip-it also gives you a few more complimenting color choices which you can move around to make your picture palette perfect. You can easily share it to your social media, too!

Every project needs a starting point. What is the starting point for the room that you want to paint? Is it a painting or artwork that you own or a rug or draperies that you love? Take a picture of it and Chip-It! Here are a few that I put together while playing with this tool, using area rugs as inspiration.See even more of our Chip-It inspired ideas here on our Pinterest Page.  For mobile users, the Color Snap App has the Chip-It features available on-the-go.

For desktop users, the Color Visualizer could not be any easier to use. Simply upload a photo of the room that you’d like to paint and start “painting”. Utilizing this tool is a great way to envision how each room in your home will look with endless paint possibilities. When it comes to paint, this is the best way to try it before you buy it. I must admit, I probably spent more time honing my virtual painting skills with the mouse than I did exploring color options, but once you have your walls “painted” it is easier than ever to play with different color combinations and scenes.

If you are an iPad user, then you are in luck with Sherwin-Williams’ Color Snap Studio App, which combines the best features of the Color Snap App and the Color Visualizer App into an all-in-in-one easy-to-use mobile tool. If you enter your room measurements, the Color Snap Studio App will calculate how many gallons you need. This is great for establishing a budget that you know you can stick to.  Pull colors from your inspiration photo, “paint” them on your walls, and voila!

Now that you are armed with the tools and the confidence needed to make a paint color commitment, please keep in mind that depending on your device and its settings, colors may vary. I suggest consulting with a color expert, be it an interior designer or a paint specialist, who can ensure you are purchasing the colors that you are seeing on your screen. If you are like me and prefer a specific brand of paint (I love, love, LOVE Benjamin Moore), simply take your tablet or phone to your paint store and they will mix it and match it to your digital swatch.

Do you long to update your home, but you’re not sure where to start? Talk to us!!! Take advantage of our complimentary in-studio interior design consultations. Our knowledgeable Design Team can help update your space and tackle your home décor dilemmas, from selecting the perfect paint color to creating custom furniture to masterminding an entirely new floor plan, the seasoned professionals at Design Connection, Inc. can help.

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