Tint Your Own Paint for New-Looking Walls
Dabbling in mixology means you can use up leftover paint and give your walls a custom look in one fell swoop
Meg Padgett
October 30, 2012
Houzz Contributor. Meg is a budget-minded DIY lifestyle blogger at Revamp Homegoods (http://www.revamphomegoods.com). Her design philosophy is based on the concept that combining thrifty finds with a little blood, sweat and (sometimes) tears a stylish home can be achieved without breaking the bank
Houzz Contributor. Meg is a budget-minded DIY lifestyle blogger at Revamp Homegoods... More
Fix it, sand it, paint it — it seems like our work around the house is never done. And what do many of us have to show for all our time? A lot of leftover paint. So rather than purchasing new paint and adding to your never-ending supply for your next project, consider putting what you have to good use by customizing the shade.
My family’s home is a sea of off-white and beige — the perfect neutral setting for selling a home, but we like some color here and there. I scored a 5-gallon bucket of high-quality paint at a deep discount but was never really happy with the orangey-beige shade. I knew with a few adjustments it could be the perfect bluish-gray boost of color our home needed.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Several paint colors
- Paint mixer drill attachment
- Color wheel
Tinting your own paint is as simple as pouring colors in and mixing with your paint mixer drill attachment — but getting the perfect shade takes extra work. Knowledge of the color spectrum and how colors are created is helpful. Use a color wheel, like the basic version pictured here, while mixing paint as well as planning the overall design scheme.
If possible, set aside a good portion of your base neutral hue to aid in any troubleshooting. With that in mind, be sure to mix plenty of new paint so that you have enough to complete the job and a little left over for touch-ups later on. You can use paint tints to change the hue, but blending together multiple house paints from a similar base — oil versus latex, flat versus satin — to achieve a new shade is a good way to get a paint color you like and get rid of some of that extra paint you have lying around.
Note: Making lighter paint darker is much easier than making dark paint light, but any color addition will change your paint's color.
Note: Making lighter paint darker is much easier than making dark paint light, but any color addition will change your paint's color.
Working in a well-lit room, add your darker color to your lighter color little by little to avoid altering the paint too drastically. After each addition, mix using the paint mixer drill attachment until fully blended. Paint a swatch using a small foam brush on a piece of letter paper and on the wall in the room you will be painting to test the hue under the room’s lighting conditions. Let the paint fully dry on the test swatches before making any additions. Take the time to see what the color looks like with different natural light conditions.
To create my bluish-gray shade, I added blue and black to the beige. I wasn’t fond of the strong green shades in the beginning, so I kept adjusting until I achieved my desired results — which in this case were two hues. I loved the dark steely blue but also wanted a lighter version. I mixed the dark blue with an off-white and a few touches of brown to create a beautiful light blue-gray shade.
To create my bluish-gray shade, I added blue and black to the beige. I wasn’t fond of the strong green shades in the beginning, so I kept adjusting until I achieved my desired results — which in this case were two hues. I loved the dark steely blue but also wanted a lighter version. I mixed the dark blue with an off-white and a few touches of brown to create a beautiful light blue-gray shade.
The dark smoky blue looks perfect in our hallway. It accents the bright white trim and lets the light neutral nautical charts stand out.
Our living room received a much-needed update with lighter blue-gray walls. This color holds its own in a room that suffers from inadequate natural light. It shifts as the light changes during the day — and is a welcome change from the drab beige and off-white.
While tinting paint may not be for everyone, it’s a budget-friendly way to paint your home or furniture, not to mention a great way to put a dent in a mountain of partially full paint cans.
Find an experienced painter to apply your new tint
Pick the right color palette for your home
While tinting paint may not be for everyone, it’s a budget-friendly way to paint your home or furniture, not to mention a great way to put a dent in a mountain of partially full paint cans.
Find an experienced painter to apply your new tint
Pick the right color palette for your home
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I have a pale blue emulsion that I would like to make a couple of shades paler. So I am working backwards instead of forwards, I think I need to find white paint tint.....
Help please. Looking for a solution 😂😂.
Anyone have ideas on how to tone down a bright green color paint job? I picked a bright color for my son’s room . Anyway to resolve this besides starting all over?
Thanks Much !!
This bottom picture is more accurate. Thanks
This one is more accurate.