I've done both—ordered blind samples first and skipped them altogether—and honestly, samples usually save me from disaster. Sure, some companies drag their feet or charge a few bucks, but it's usually worth it. One time I skipped the samples thinking "how off could charcoal gray be?" and ended up with blinds that looked suspiciously navy blue in daylight. Lesson learned... now I just factor the wait into my timeline and budget.
I feel your pain on the color mismatch. Reminds me of the time I outsourced signage for a new development. Thought I'd save time by skipping the sample proofs—big mistake. The "forest green" signs arrived looking more like neon lime under sunlight. Had to reorder everything, and the delay was brutal. Now I always get samples, even if it means waiting a bit longer... better safe than sorry, right?
Yikes, neon lime instead of forest green sounds intense... sunlight does weird things to colors, right? I've been there with fabric swatches—picked a subtle grey that turned oddly purple under LED lights. Now I always check samples under multiple lighting conditions. Lesson learned the hard way. Glad you managed to sort it out eventually though; these mishaps definitely keep things interesting.
Actually, sunlight isn't always the culprit—sometimes it's more about pigment quality or even the finish of the material itself. I've had projects where a matte paint looked perfect under every lighting condition, but once we switched to a glossy finish, it shifted dramatically. Did you check if the fabric had any special coatings or finishes? Those can really mess with color perception, even more than lighting sometimes...
That's a good point about finishes and coatings. Reminds me of a time I ordered some custom curtains online—thought I was being smart and saving money by outsourcing to a cheaper vendor overseas. The fabric sample they sent looked perfect, matte finish, nice muted color, exactly what I wanted. But when the actual curtains arrived, they had this weird sheen to them that made the color look totally different. It wasn't even glossy exactly, just this subtle shine that threw everything off.
I spent days trying to figure out if it was my lighting or something else in the room causing the issue. Even moved lamps around and swapped out bulbs (which wasn't cheap either), but nothing helped. Finally realized they'd applied some kind of protective coating without mentioning it clearly in the product description. Lesson learned: always double-check for hidden finishes or coatings before ordering.
Makes me wonder though—do you think certain colors are more sensitive to these finish changes than others? Like maybe neutrals versus brighter shades? I've noticed grays and beiges seem especially tricky sometimes...
