Totally agree—lighting changes everything.
- Wondering though, does anyone else find paint colors even trickier than tiles?
- Chose a gray that looked perfect on the card, but sunlight turned it lavender-ish...lesson learned, sample boards all the way.
- Any other hidden traps I should watch out for?
Good point about the sample boards, they're definitely the way to go. But honestly, I've found paint colors easier to fix than tile choices. Tiles are pretty permanent—once they're down, you're kinda stuck. Paint, on the other hand, isn't too bad to redo if you mess up (though I get it's still a hassle).
One sneaky thing I've run into is flooring undertones. Wood floors especially can have warm or cool undertones that totally shift how your wall colors look. I chose a soft beige once that ended up looking weirdly peachy next to my oak floors...not great. Learned to always check paint samples alongside flooring and furniture swatches, not just by themselves.
Also, watch out for finishes. Glossy paints can amplify imperfections in your walls, so unless your drywall is perfect, matte or eggshell is usually safer.
Totally relate to the flooring undertones issue.
"I chose a soft beige once that ended up looking weirdly peachy next to my oak floors...not great."
Been there myself—picked what I thought was a neutral gray for a project, and it turned out bluish-purple next to the cherry wood floors. Talk about unexpected surprises. Learned my lesson quick about checking samples in different lighting conditions too. Natural daylight vs artificial lighting can be a total game changer.
Also, good call on finishes. I once tried saving a bit by going glossy in a rental unit, thinking it'd be easier to clean...but man, every little drywall imperfection stood out like crazy. Ended up repainting with eggshell anyway, so that "cost-saving" move actually cost me more in the end, haha. Live and learn, I guess.
Totally agree about lighting conditions affecting the paint colors. Something else I learned the hard way—paint swatches on white poster boards first, then move them around the room at different times of day. It seems tedious, but it saved me from another "neutral beige" disaster that looked straight-up pink by evening.
"Ended up repainting with eggshell anyway, so that 'cost-saving' move actually cost me more in the end, haha."
Yep, sometimes cheaper isn't actually cheaper in the long run...lesson learned here too.
Yep, seen this happen plenty of times. Clients think they're saving money by skipping quality primer or going for cheaper paint, and guess what? Ends up costing double in labor and materials.
—couldn't have said it better myself."cheaper isn't actually cheaper in the long run"
