Hallway Makeover - Part 2

I was painting today, which, of course, I don't do the way normal people do. Most people pick a colour and have the paint store mix it for them.

If it's not quite what they expected, it goes in the mistint section at a really reduced price. And if only part of the can gets used, it may end up at the Habitat ReStore at an even better price. These are the paints I buy.

I only use latex paint and I try to get the lightest colours I can find. Then I take them home, clean out one of my collection of really big paint buckets (we buy white paint by the five-gallon pail) and start mixing.

A bit of colour theory helps here. Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel will tone each other down. So if you look at a paint and think, it's OK, but it's a little too red, try adding green, a bit at a time, until you end up with something you like. Likewise, purple and yellow are opposites and blue and orange are opposites.

If a paint is just too dark, add the palest paint you can find to lighten it up.

Once you think you have a colour you like, paint it onto your wall in a fairly big patch. Then make yourself a cup of tea and put your feet up awhile, letting the paint dry. Make any adjustments you need to make (this always involves adding more paint to the bucket - which is why I use the big ones!), and start painting.

So, why do I mix my own paint, besides being cheap?

I find that the end result is much nicer than anything I could get from the paint store. Because I mix all kinds of different colours to get the one I'm after, the end result has much more life than something made from just a few shots of pigment.

It also blends with whatever fabrics I may use in a room - chances are, there's at least some of the fabric colour in the paint, even if it doesn't appear so to the naked eye.

And, when I move from room to room in a big redecorating project, I save a bit of touch-up paint from that room, pour in some more leftovers and mix the paint for the next room. Nothing ever clashes this way.

We're in the middle of a heat-wave here, but I should have some decent pictures of the finished (enough) product for you tomorrow. It's coming along nicely!

Let me know if you have any questions about mixing your own paint, or anything else you see here. I'm always happy to help!