Painting by numbers, 1-2-3…Those are the layers of paint required to achieve most paint colours—that is, after the surface has been properly prepped with a base coat of primer white.  For the new darker paint colours, a special dark base coat may be required before applying the requisite three layers or more of the actual colour.  Cheat on the process and the colour will not be true.  It won’t match your paint chip.  And then the blame game begins—the paint, the painter, the store…even the decorator!  Hmmmm….is that fair?

Recently, I have been working on a pair of children’s rooms for a client who faithfully leans toward the ochre range of historical colours by Benjamin Moore.  However, the children diverge, distinguishing themselves as little boy “green” and little boy “blue”—and ne’er the twain shall meet.  Mum’s previously renovated hallway is decidedly yellow, and divides the space between the boys’ rooms with a mottled beige tile.  To blend the 3 spaces, I found a yellow-brown green by Behr aptly named “Hundred Acre Wood” (a la Pooh) and a brown blue by Moore, “Polar Sky”.  Upon application of the first paint layer, Mum bemoaned my colour choices—too green, and too blue.  I said, “Wait, be patient”.  Upon the second coat, the green was better but the blue was still, too blue.  I said, “Wait, be patient”, but Mum wanted to try a browner blue.  By the time I had the different colour the final layer was already applied.  Mum immediately noticed that the both the green and the blue were now richer, deeper, and with a hint of brown evident in the shadows.  The colour was true, but now Mum felt there was too much of it.  I said, “Wait, be patient.  The room is empty and paint colour is just background”.  With the new flooring, the new rug, the furniture and the pictures in place, the rooms were a success—especially for the boys.               

Concurrently, while awaiting the “shake” of the boys’ blue and green paints at the Hardware Store/Building Supply, I encountered another confounded soul.  Her choice of colour (Hawthorne Yellow by Moore), which she loved at the store, was not working when she tried it at home.  Hmmm, maybe the colour had been cheated in the application process.  I queried her:  1.  Was the painted sample area approximately 4’x 4’?  2.  Was a primer coat applied first to ensure a true colour?  3.  Were three coats of the sample colour applied to ensure the true colour?  4.  Was the sample colour viewed in juxtaposition to any other room elements such as trim colour, a flooring sample, or a fabric swatch?  Well, as you might guess, the answers were first yes, then no, no, no—a typical response.  Unfortunately, the typical paint sample is unfairly judged by a single coat of paint, on an unprepared wall, without the benefit of the peripherals that affect colour’s tonal qualities.  So here were my instructions:  Try again.  Prepare a large sample area.  Apply a primer coat.  Paint THREE coats of the new colour (waiting for proper drying time).  Now, judge the colour by stepping within the sphere of the colour—stand close enough to the large sample to block out the view of any surrounding colours or objects that are going to be removed (like the grey carpet, which can cast an unhealthy tone on any sunny colour).  If you have samples of other new additions like wood flooring, hold them up to the colour.  Guess what?  She called me a few days later to say she loved the colour again, and asked about a trim colour—maybe Greenmount Silk by Moore?  Brilliant! 

Remember the rule:  paint by numbers—apply coats 1-2-3.  Skipping steps is cheating—colour murder by numbers 1-2-3…apologies to Sting.