It starts with planning —
Everyone knows you need to plan before you actually start a project. Benjamin Moore's website offers the online tools to help you through this phase. Its Project Planner will allow you to plan all your painting projects and save the plans in one password-protected place. The Color Viewer lets you explore paint color combinations and save the ones you like to your planner. And if you need inspiration and ideas, have a look at the tips, trends, suggested reading and other offerings geared to get your creative juices flowing (Just click on this section's title or image).
Color: A most important choice — In addition to Benjamin Moore's color hints, trends and families information and the Color Viewer (click on this section's title), there's more you can do to make the right color choices.
Since color preference is such a personal decision, we suggest you bring to the store fabric swatches, accent pieces and other “prompts” to help you in selecting your paint colors. We'll let you take paint color swatches home, too, so you can see the colors in the light where they will be used.
If you're still undecided, purchase a small amount of paint, such as a quart or the new sample-sized jar, apply it to a piece of wallboard and view this larger sample where the color will be used. For more information about sample jars, click on the image.
View each color in isolation, either by folding or cutting the samples apart.
To fully appreciate a color, look at it when the the sun is shining, with the sunlight subdued by a curtain or shade, and at night under artificial lighting. Also place it next to other colors to see how its behavior changes: To see the effect other colors can have on each other, surf through the pages of this website. Can you tell that each page has the same center panel colors, and it's only the background and "Doing it right" banner colors that change? Yet each different background color affects the other colors on the page.
To properly evaluate colors, tape the paint color samples to the surfaces where they will be used. Colors will look different on a horizontal surface like a ceiling, compared to a vertical surface like a wall. The Benjamin Moore website can help you plan your entire decorating scheme with an online color viewer, project planner and printable worksheets. And here's for some additional advice from Benjamin Moore about how lighting affects selecting colors.
And when you're done, bring your color selections, including fabric you want matched, and we'll use our computerized color matching system to mix your colors for you.
Preparation and method: the keys to success — Even the best paint can't overcome inadequate preparation or improper application. The "Homeowner How-To" section at Benjamin Moore's website goes into detail about the entire process of painting and staining, including decorative finish techniques (Just click on the title of this section). We recommend you always follow manufacturer's directions and ask us first about any product or process you're unsure of before using it.
Decorative Finishes — Painting isn't just painting any more. It's ragging and rag-rolling and smooshing, and Benjamin Moore explains how to do them all. Read about these techniques and more at the Benjamin Moore website (just click on the title of this section to go there). Or, if you want to know about dry-brushing, fresco, shadow striping, smooshing, strié or washed stripes, come into the store and pick up a handy brochure that shows you how to do it.
