Tips for picking out paint colors

August 06, 2014

SO. Paint is one of the EASIEST and most dramatic changes you can make to a space – I think we all know that. If you don’t…just trust me. The thing is, it’s easy for DIYers like myself to be all, “It’s just paint.” I know many of you worry about picking out paint colors and I get it. Painting is not usually a quick job and depending on the size of the room can definitely be an investment.
And there’s nothing worse than finally getting up the courage to take on a paint project and then hating it when it’s all done. Been there.

I’ve teamed up with Sherwin-Williams to share tips on picking out paint colors – this comes at a perfect time for me because as the family room reno finished up I had to make decisions on the new wall and ceiling colors. The walls have been painted the same color in there for ten years – I painted them the day we closed on the house!

I have a few tips when it comes to picking out paint colors – they’ve worked pretty well for me over the years and I hope they will prevent any of you from wasting time and money.

First up, start with inspiration. It’s SO hard to decorate a room when you pick out the paint color first. Unless it’s a neutral that goes with anything – it’s always best to start with something you love that will be in the room. It can be artwork, a rug, pillows…whatever.

I’ve gone with more neutral tones in our family room over the years so I know I want something that will work with the pillows and rug, but not match it perfectly:
arhaus neutral sofa

Also, our current color matches the sectional exactly (we didn’t have it back then) – so it’s just too much tan for me. Make sure to think about the larger pieces like rugs and furniture when considering a new color.

Next up…and this is earth-shattering here folks. Go to the paint store.

First of all, because it’s fun. :) Make sure you have some time too:
how to pick out paint colors

To some that is an overwhelming sight. To me, it’s glorious. I visited my local Sherwin-Williams store to walk you around.

The paint chips pictured above will give you varying shades of a similar tone – but they are not the same color lightened or darkened so keep that in mind. They are just in the same family, from light to dark. Usually I’ll fall in love with a darker tone on the chip and realize it’s too dramatic for what I need and will move up to a lighter tone.

They also have single color chips as well:
tips for picking out paint colors

I prefer these for some reason – the chips are huge, love that. This the section is where I found my beloved Peppercorn for the master bedroom wall (sometimes that dark color can be an accent!):
sherwin williams grays

I’m looking into a gray for the family room, but I want it to be a warm gray, not cold. That’s where it gets harder. I have to pull the colors out and compare them to each other. That’s when you see the true undertones:
sherwin williams grays

You have to be careful with grays in particular. Some go pinkish. Some purple. See the one on top? It looks like it has that purple undertone for sure. That may be what you want, but just keep it in mind. I find it’s easier to see all those tones when the chips are laid out next to each other.

So you may have found THE perfect color online, maybe on a blog? ;) But so many things affect how the color will look in your own home. Remember first and foremost that the color you see on the computer will look different in your own home. Screen colors differ and the light will be different in your home as well.

Sherwin-Williams has a handy dandy light box that shows you how different your colors will look in different artificial lights. Look at the difference between the two!:
 picking the right paint colorpicking out paint colors

I really wish I had known this when I painted our laundry room a brilliant, bright yellow years ago. ;) The fluorescent lights we have in there made the walls positively glow.

Finally, take your colors home! The light box is wonderful, but you need to see that paint chip up on your wall. Even better – get a sample pot and try it out before you buy. When I was in the decorating biz we would strongly encourage clients to get a couple poster boards, paint them, then hang them on the walls and live with them for a few days in the different lights. It definitely helps and will go a long way to preventing wasted time and money.

I’m a self-professed Sherwin-Williams nut so it’s the only place I buy my paint now. I love the paint and their service. And if you sign up with their Paint Perks program (say that three times fast), you’ll save every day on paints, stains and supplies and get notices for all their sales and promotions:
paint perks sherwin williams

I stock up for future projects whenever they have a 40 percent off sale – you won’t want to miss one! This program also creates a log of all of your paint colors for up to ten years – and if you don’t have a blog to document every paint color you definitely need that. :) You can go here to sign up (it’s free!) and get a $10 off coupon.

Next week I’ll share more about the paint colors I’ve picked out for our NEW family room! I’m so very excited! **Go here to see the new family room color.

Have you ever had a paint color go wrong? My biggie was my office years back…I was going for a brick red and it was full out orange. Awful.

I partnered with Sherwin-Williams for this project but all thoughts are my own.

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Comments

  1. I would love to repaint, or finish painting, our living room! Julzshiloh6@gmail.com

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  2. I would love to paint our kitchen/living room combo!!

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  3. the kitchen/ dinning room and living room. merk(underscore)doug (at)alliancecom(dot)net

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  4. We just moved so there's plenty to paint, but I would like to start with the living room 1st. The walls are wood so this will be the most time consuming.
    zanta.jones@gmail.com

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  5. My kitchen is badly in need... and picking a color is my worst fear. Thanks so much for these tips and for the chance to win some paint!!

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  6. I would love to go to the new Sherwin Williams store and pick out paint for my Master bedroom.

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  7. I would be thrilled to repaint my master bathroom. I was going for a pale blue and it ended up more pale than blue.

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  8. After painting a few sample boards up, I recently bought (on their 40% off sale!) SW Accessible Beige at 150% to repaint my great room/kitchen/living/entry...currently is SW Trusty Tan and I want to lighten and brighten while going a tad gray. $200 to SW would allow to work on additional projects in my house that I would love to do soon - accent wall in the basement, the garage door, the ceiling in my daughter's room, and perhaps my other daughter's room! I love to paint! I am also looking at crown molding and I might need some Cashmere for that too. :) dilligaph@yahoo.com

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  9. It would be a toss up between the living room (but we would have to get of of the wallpaper first), or the kitchen (the first room we painted in our house, with a color I now hate)! rparkerjohnson@yahoo.com

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  10. I need to paint a few rooms in our house, yet! We moved in a year ago and are gradually making it our own. I made one mistake with colors so far- painted our master bath navy and I hate it. It is a beautiful color, I just didn't realize I like light and bright bathrooms until I made ours into a cave :) Also, I think we need the special bathroom paint from Sherwin Williams, because our paint looks like it's sweating after we've been showering in there a few months. Such a bummer to repaint when you have other rooms you haven't gotten to yet!

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  11. I have to repaint the kitchen BAD! Next would be the kids' rooms...

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  12. I would love to paint my living room :)...sunwarsarita@gmail.com

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  13. Definitely my bedroom. It could really use a splash of color.

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  14. I've been wanting to paint my living room an atmospheric gray-blue for a while. I also have some furniture that needs to be re-stained. Prsarah@ gmail

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  15. $200 to Sherwin-Williams. That would be an awesome prize. I have two kids bedroom that definitely need to be repainted. It's already on my list! Picking colors -- that's another story. For my son's room, I definitely want to go with a gray, but I have to be sure to avoid those purple undertones. He would not be happy about that. :-)

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  16. We are working on a master bedroom revamp - so that's where (most) of the paint would go! This would be PERFECT!!

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  17. I would paint our master bedroom!! We just recently made an upholstered bed and frame in the fabric you used for your headboard, now all I need is to decide on what paint color! kristie.ertel@yahoo.com

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  18. I badly need to repaint my kitchen & family room area. I love the bright gold color and want something similar, but the paint job is really beginning to show its age. Beyond that, I want to find a fun color for my tiny powder room. s.salmon at comcast dot net

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  19. I need to paint our living room. Actually, I need to paint our whole house!

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  20. My husband and I just purchased our first home and the entire house is white! We have a lot of painting to do, but my biggest priority is the dining room. It is the focal point as soon as you walk in and I plan to have many family dinners in there. alyssaoates@hotmail.com

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  21. The master bedroom is definitely next on my list of projects to complete in our new house. I'm thinking a deep, moody teal. Would love some SW cash!! :)

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  22. Our upstairs TV room is in desperate need of a paint job! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  23. I would definitely repaint either our family room OR our guest room. Both TOO BROWN. Thanks for this awesome chance. I was a Benjamin Moore junkie, but am not into SW paint. Love it! ajdifusco@comcast.net

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  24. Hi! Can you tell me where you got the pillows on your couch? I need to have them, they'd match my couch perfectly! :)
    Thanks, Susan.

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    1. Susan I got the velvety blue color from West Elm and the other one from HomeGoods. :)

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  25. I just purchased my first home on my very own and want to repaint it all !!! tamibledsoe@gmail.com

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  27. The first coat on the baby's nursery just was way too bright. Luckily, stopped at one coat and tried again with a calmer color. Now planning to paint master bedroom and bathroom. I'm not decided on color though.

    I have had great luck with Sherwin Williams paint. Walked in this week to get touch up paint, found it immediately and it matched perfectly 5 years later. Very nice staff too!

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  28. I would love to repaint my kitchen.
    loriephouston@yahoo.com

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  29. I am needing to repaint my main floor powder room. I cannot decide on neutral or bold!
    hmwalsh78@gmail.com

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  30. I would paint my ENTIRE downstairs. I currently have 4 different samples from SW on the walls (including that Pavestone!)...and I just can't commit. Don't ask how long they've been up there. :-)

    Angela
    ambrosia_0704 at hotmail dot com

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  31. Just like you I need to paint my living room. It has been the same beige since we moved in 9 years ago! But I can't decide on a color... so looking forward to seeing what you pick :)
    sfettig1@bis.midco.net

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  32. I would LOVE to paint my master bedroom. We bought our house 4 months ago and it's the grossest brownish green color. I want to it feel light and airy!

    dcashby at gmail dot com

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  34. I am a SW die-hard too and use them for all our paint now. You can definitely tell a difference in their quality! We just did three rooms in SW colors and I was just browsing yesterday for new colors for our master bedroom and our guest room. I'm trying to find a similar color to one we had in the gorgeous B&B we stayed at for our first anniversary. #sherwinallthewalls
    tableandhearthblog@gmail.com :)

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  35. I would love to repaint my kitchen/living area.
    mpreston at ira dot esc14 dot net

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  36. I would paint my family room first. I would really like to paint several rooms. We just bought a house and many rooms need attention.
    brittanym112@ yahoo dot com

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  37. We are closing on our new home a week from today and are planning on painting the laundry room and master bedroom before we move in! I can't wait to see what color you pick since we are looking for the perfect warm gray as well!!

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  38. It's amazing how the color changes in different light!

    We would paint our entire place, because we need to, haha. We are renters and will have to paint before we move out, which is very soon. :)

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  39. My husband and I are about to close on our first home... I would love to repaint a few of the rooms! BIG project but one that would be very rewarding. It needs done :) I am glad to hear great things about SW - our local store is awesome! I have been there a few times and they are always so help... I have paint chips everywhere right now! HA! Thanks for the opportunity! Angela agsquared7@gmail.com

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  40. I would repaint my master bathroom. Since we have lived in the house I have never been able to find a good color for it. It's been purple and a few different shades of blue. I can be reached at danky41@aol.com. Can't wait to see your final choice.

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  41. The whole house! I just moved in and every wall is WHITE! I need some color fast!
    aircoleclaudine@yahoo.com

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  42. Would love to paint our back living room that overlooks our Florida room...it is a hideous mauve.

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  43. I would love to repaint my office. This room was previously a little girl's room, evident from the bright pink walls. I would prefer something a little more adult and conducive to a working environment. Gloria at gloria.jakab@gmail.com

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  44. I need to paint my whole house ceiling
    lauracinindy@icloud.com

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  45. I just purchased a house so I am painting everything. Also going with a gray for family room.

    rhokeutk@ hotmaildotcom

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  46. Can't wait to see what color you picked out for your new room! We are currently repainting our house (slowly) from builder beige to other colors. The master bedroom color still needs to be decided - we've lived with paint samples in there for about a year already. Thanks chert0172 @ yahoo . com

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  47. Our entire house needs to be repainted! The previous homeowners chose a nice
    neutral color, but flat finish, which is a nightmare with three kids and a dog!

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  48. I would love to repaint our basement!

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  49. We are buying our first home right now and would love to repaint the living room! rebeccakatona@gmail dot com

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  50. My orange living room is in desperate need of some new paint, followed closely by the rest of the house. Builder's grade flat paint is just so unforgiving to dirt and stains!

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  51. Or whole house needs to be repainted, except a bath and nursery, but first on the list is our basement bath. It's dark and so hard to see, time to lighten things up!

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  52. I would paint our master bath. The previous owners loved dark colors, so they painted it a shade of dark turquoise. Definitely not my style! I prefer lighter, more neutral colors!

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  53. We are getting ready to paint a lot. We are adding board & Batten and also want to update our front room, and possibly family room. melaniewchambers@gmail.com

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  54. I would love to paint my newly formed office. I am currently going back to school for my MBA and have slowly started putting together an office for me to do work and study. The only issue left is the walls! I seem to get lost in space staring at the boring white walls. They are not even a pretty white, but a flat builder grade white. I need a color on the walls more then ever to keep me motivated during this long journey of balancing full time work and school. Tabithaannwilliams@gmail.com

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  55. We relocated and had to choose paint colors during a quick trip to our new city - the house hadn't been painted for 20 years and every room needed to be done. We hired painters and they did a great job, but after the carpet was installed, we realized that our family room is overwhelmingly brown - carpet, walls and sofas are all shades of tan/brown. I've livened things up a bit with pillows and quilts, but I need to paint the walls before our grey winter weather hits here in the Northwest and I spend the winter in a cave of my own doing!

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  56. I have hated the color of our walls (yes they are painted the same color throughout) since we moved in 7 years ago. I've done smaller rooms but the largest area . . . living room/kitchen/hallway/stairs to basement . . . is what I would repaint. Right now they are a tan-ish color - that has a pinkish hue in the right (or wrong!) light and in photos. I would definitely change it out to a grey color . . . I have several in mind! $200 would certainly pay for a BIG chunk of it! Frances Jackson - beingcrafty72@gmail dot com

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  57. my bedroom!
    alnardi9200@yahoo.com

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  58. My master bathroom is being remodeled right now and I am dreading choosing the new paint colors! I'll have to try these tips!

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  59. Thanks for all the wonderful tips! l need to start in the bath and continue to the bedroom ... and maybe even more .. :) ~Trisha

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  60. oh wow! $200?!?! amazing. my guest room and hall bath REALLY need refreshes. i painted them both before i moved in two years ago and i hate the color in both rooms. good thing they're both small rooms!

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  61. We are currently in the process of finally finishing my almost teenage (going to be 13 in October, eek!) daughter's room, after living in our house for 2 years now. And I would love to paint my kitchen while I'm at it! niehausal at yahoo dot com

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  62. I would have to say our bedroom. It needs a new paint job bad - it has been 10 years. The major issue issue with the repaint job will be the crown molding. When it comes to picking paint I'm a nervous wreck. I once had to repaint the bathroom 3 times. Your tips are very helpful and thank you for sharing them with your readers.

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  63. Great post...and thanks for highlighting the paint and service at Sherwin Williams! My husband has worked for SW for 32+ yrs so I am obviously a huge fan! It is a great idea to stock up on a few gallons of paint when they have their sale...you can always bring it back to tint when you start your project. I am currently remodeling our kitchen...and used Repose Gray for the walls...love it!

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  64. We need to paint EVERYWHERE! We moved in last year and the walls were white, still are white. We need color and warmth and fresh paint so we can finally decorate, the best part! jsullivan5209@yahoo.com

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  65. We have a new baby on the way and we need to refinish the hardwood floor and repaint his/her new room! 😊

    P.S. - Can I give you my email if I win? Don't want to put it out there for public consumption! 😇

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  68. Great tips, I too am a Sherwin Williams fan. Love their paint and their fabulous service. I would repaint my living/dining room. I think I am over the beige and would go for something in an off white to cream color. I can't wait to see your new colors.

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  69. I need to repaint my kitchen. 4 years ago, I chose a green color that came out more of a pastel green. I've been terrified to repaint again so I've just lived with but I'm slowly building up the courage to repaint it.

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  70. I would help my mom paint all the rooms she is wanting to paint at her home. Our house is on the market so I can't do what I'd like! But she's got the kitchen on her list next I think - lots of cabinets to repaint and lots of wall space.

    Thanks,

    Jessica
    jessixleighATgmailDOTcom

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  71. I would paint my bedroom...it was one of those 'I just neeeed a different color on these walls' situation and now I am not a fan of the color I chose.

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  72. Our guest bedroom is the only room that I haven't painted, and it could use some help!

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  73. I would paint my bed room. When we moved in they had the house professionally painted inside. Wonderful, however the master bedroom and bathroom is WHITE!! Really with all the colors in the world. Anyways, the plan is to finally get that painted this fall. I am thinking a blue grey and I can't wait!

    Katie
    Katherine.sagar@gmail.com

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  74. I want to use Sherwin-Williams to paint my kitchen cabinets white!!
    the_shaw_shack@hotmail.com
    Jessica

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  75. We just purchased a new home (in Fishers) and the whole house needs paint love! The foyer and living room are first on my list! karlyn.lynch@gmail.com

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  76. We are planning on repainting our kitchen. My husband originally painted the room Fiesta Orange - it was blinding. Then the dramatically changed to mint green. There are remnants of the orange still hanging around. Now that I've lived in the house for the last 4 years, it's time to say good bye to the ice cream shop and make the room adult.

    Thanks,
    Sara
    saramanzotti@hotmail.com

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  77. I want to repaint my front room/office! cleveland_k@hotmail.com

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  78. I was just in Sherwin Wms yesterday! I picked up some Tricorn Black to paint the interior of two doors. And I loved it when it was done. I am a Sherwin Williams girl only as well. Great help, great service and they keep all my formulas on file. Who could ask for more?

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  79. I really want to paint my kitchen, but I'm torn between a super dark brown (almost black) and a warm orange. I suppose I'll just have to try one and see how it goes.

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  80. My bedroom! I've had paint swatches on the wall for almost 2 years now! bronwynm23@gmail.com

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  81. Debbie. Dhainen@tampabay.rr.com
    This couldn't have come at a better time I have paint splotches behind pictures in my kitchen/family room right now. Got to make a decision soon. Leaning toward analytical gray

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  82. I would paint my dining room/kitchen/family room which all merge into one big room. My dad has been after me for years to get the more expensive SW paint saying it is well worth the money and this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to try it. Thanks for the give away.
    Kathy
    parrajunior at hotmail dot com

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  83. Can't wait to see your finished room. We are redoing our kitchen and living room as I type so I would love Sherwin Williams paint for our kitchen cabinets and walls.
    luvpeach01 at hotmail dot com

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  84. Oooohhh...Master bedroom for sure. Just finished the en-suite bathroom and it's thrown everything in the bedroom (that I did less than a year ago) out the window. I also need THE PERFECT GRAY. I didn't know others went to paint store just to look....love it!

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  85. I really need to strip the wallpaper and paint my daughter's bedroom. Dreading the whole wallpaper removal though :( sarabasla at hotmail dot com

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  86. I'd paint our newly organized No Man's Land with something light, bright, and soothing (though, I guess it could be officially dubbed 'our spare room' now that it's finally clean)! :) operationhomeblog@gmail.com

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  87. my guest bath.
    jelliebean 1304 at aol dot com

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  88. I would paint our rather large master bath which is the only room in our house that I have not repainted since we moved in nine years ago.

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  89. I would paint our master bedroom... it's BRIGHT peacock blue right now, and I want a much more neutral look. jpotchen @ hotmail dot com

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  90. 2014 is the year of painting at our house. The back entryway and dining room are next on the to-do list. The worst paint color we've picked is a bandaid tan. We had wanted to paint an accent wall in the master bedroom orange. Instead of grabbing a true orange for fear it might be too bright, we picked a more subdued orange, which ends up being bandaid color. So gross. It didn't last 24 hours.

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  91. We really need to finish the painting job the previous owners left us with in the living room. We just bought a home and moved in this weekend only to find out the one corner that was being blocked by a large piece of furniture isn't all the way painted :( Our computer desk covers part of it but it but the living room needs attention asap!

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  92. About six months ago I painted my den what I thought was a soft blue, like a bird's egg. It is anything but. Everyone who sees it says it looks like it belongs in a house in Miami. I live in Connecticut, so that's not good! I would love to paint that over. Alternatively, my bedroom is off white and has been so since the beginning of time. It could definitely use a little color in there, but the den would have to be first.

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  93. I'm moving soon so my whole house!! Starting with living room though. whitney.e.mayer@gmail.com

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  94. Wow, have I made color mistakes before!! I have a SW paint store near me, I'm going to visit to see the light box. I need to paint the kitchen and two bathroom so would love the store credit!

    Gloria
    gyates625@bellsouth.net

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  95. I'd like to paint my dining room. It's currently builder beige and needs some punch. Thanks for the opportunity to make that happen.

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  96. It would be tough, but I'd paint my bedroom. Right now its the faded out gross shade of off white-ish beige. My husband said he likes it cause it looks "light and sunny" but with the light we have in our room everything looks really dingy yellow. As a blogger myself I just can't stand it! And I just found out there's a Sherwin Williams store in my neighborhood.

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  97. Love SW paint! Ten years in our house and I have never painted our two story foyer because it seems like a scary job!

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  98. I would paint my kitchen (and NEED to paint my kitchen). It's a lovely refried bean color....yep, I said lovely ;)

    mandy-madison@hotmail.com

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  99. Yes! I love Sherwin Williams too - I feel so lucky that there's a store only one mile from my house! I am in the process of getting our Master bedroom ready to paint, so your tips are very helpful.. I'm kinda skerd O.O ktfox425@gmail.com :)

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  101. I am gearing up to paint my kids' bath, master bath, and master bedroom in the next several weeks!

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  102. I would love to paint our TV room! We just finished painting our kitchen Agreeable Gray from Sherwin Williams. I can't wait to tackle the wallpaper removal in our TV room and paint in there as well!

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  103. I painted my son's room a few years ago. I wish I would of done the foam core board like you speak of as it is too dark, 3 walls brown. One wall is red. It took forever to get the red to cover. I like the combo. I just wish I would of gone a little lighter. I recently read somewhere you can have your paint mixed at 50% so it isn't so dark/intense? Not sure if that is true or if it works. Would like to know. I would love to lighten his room and also paint my scrap room. It is in the basement and not a ton of natural light. I would love to lighten it up a bit. theunruhsATsbcglobalDOTnet.

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  104. I want to lighten up our kitchen. We currently have it painted with SW Roy Croft Adoby and after 12 years it's time for a change! chlorens@yahoo.com

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  105. I can't wait to see what paint colors you chose. Your place is totally gorgeous and I love your "new" living room.

    I would love to repaint my living & dining room and would LOVE to try Sherwin Williams paint. For a lot of years we didn't have any stores near us that carried SW paints. Now we have one about 30 miles away and I have been dying to try some. It would be nice to get some for free! Anyway, like a dummy I chose my paint color, beige buckhorn, from Wal-mart no less, (bought a whole 5 gallon bucket of it), and painted the entire main living area of my house with it. I have regretted it ever since. The color looked great in my friends house but not so great in mine. Though it didn't look like it in her house it definitely has a pig pink undertone which doesn't go with anything! I have been trying to save my pennies for a while so I can switch over to a nice light warm gray.

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  106. I'm actually planning on painting my family room in the near future, so this would be perfect. I want to do a warm gray

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  107. I would repaint my living room! erendmeister@gmail.com

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  108. I would love this! We just moved into a new house and I need to paint EVERYTHING. I would probably start with my son's room. I hope I win! haleybethhill {at} gmail {dot} com.

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  109. Next up needing new paint is my master bedroom and bathroom. I've never used Sherwin Williams paint and would like to try it. kcpotters@hughes.net

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  110. We are buying a new house and I want to paint every room. Yikes!!!

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  111. Kitchen/dining room. Both are in desperate need of help. I also need to paint my garage, (but that's not really a room)

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  112. I have a whole house to paint. Will be starting with the living room. Would love some SW cash! shartsock@blm.gov

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  113. I would definitely paint my son's room. We just moved into a house that has a lot of painting projects, but luckily that's about it. My son's room is somewhere in between a dark sea foam green and aqua. It needs to change and I know he'll appreciate it. :-) reneehargraves@yahoo.com

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  114. So many rooms that need painting. If I had to pick my next painting project it would either be the kitchen or main floor half bathroom. AandSWB@aol.com

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  115. My downstairs has not been painted in many years and it is looking so dingy. I would love a fresh new look. And I love Sherwin Williams paint. What an awesome giveaway!

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  116. We are painting our WHOLE HOUSE. I would love this! The first room we'd paint is my son's bedroom. :)
    treehugginglawyer@gmail.com

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  117. Baseboards for sure, but also my fireplace wall needs re-painting. I painted it a deep mulberry/purple color to match a splotch on the area rug, but a few months later, i saw a blog with the fireplace wall painted navy blue and fell in love. Now I'm itching to have that wall blue, but not itching to start painting. andreaalternative (at) gmail (dot) com

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  118. SW is my favorite paint. My dad used to manage the local store when I was little, so it has a soft spot in my heart! I've got so many rooms that need to be repainted but the Master Bedroom and Bath would be my first choice. thepaintdoll {at} gmail {dot} com

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  119. I need to paint my entire upstairs! amanda (dot) fenyves (at) gmail (dot) com.

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  120. I would paint my bedroom. I've been so wishy-washy on a color choice that it has stayed flat white with peeks of the peach underneath for the 10 years since we bought this house! I finally decided on Gray, so when I read your post today, it was a confirmation! My email addy is hadabuck at msn dot com

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  121. (this may be a repeat - if so sorry) I would paint my 20 yr old son's room. I haven't done it since he was a tween (eek) he needs something more sophisticated now. BTW, love, love, what you are doing to your family/great room. Can't wait to see it finished! spiphieob@gmail.com

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  122. We are currently redoing my daughter's bedroom and bath. There is painting in our near future!

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  123. I would love to win!!! We are moving to a bigger home for our family and I plan on painting most of our home. If I had to pick one room though, it would be the family room since I can see us spending lots of time there! Thanks for the giveaway!
    Stephanie

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  124. We just moved into a new hoem and I would love to paint my daugher's room or the future nursery :)

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  125. My hallway for sure!!!!! I hate the drab color I picked, however, Sherwin Williams is my favorite favorite paint and I pick it over BM every time! mallaire86ATyahooDOTcom

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  126. Hubby and I are in planning phase of sprucing up our kitchen, breakfast room and adjoining sunroom! We'll need lots of paint! $200 from SW sure would make me SMILE!! (Can't wait to see how your living room turns out!!)

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  127. I'd love to repaint the master bedroom and bathroom. The whole house could use a fresh coat of paint, though.

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  128. The Master Bedroom...it really needs a makeover!

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  129. We moved to a new house 2 years ago. We are retiring next year, so painting is on the list. We need to do the entire interior, but I would really like to start in our bedroom.
    Sandy
    agulso@comcast.net

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  130. I would paint my master bedroom. Though we only painted it a few years ago, the flesh-tone my beige ended up being is not doing anything for anyone!! vlrupert at gmail dot com.

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  131. We just moved into a new home so the room we would paint is...all of them! But I think I would start with the bedroom because I'm dying to paint it a grayish blue. Lauren H Steadman AT gmail DOT com.

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  132. I would love to paint our master bedroom and bath. I love Sherwin Williams paint, and it's the only kind of paint I use. I envision a light teal color in the bathroom with a gray color in the bedroom.

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  133. I would love to repaint our bedroom in Naval by Sherwin Williams. We just bought our first house and the entire house, every room was painted in this basic ivory beige before we purchased. Yuck! Would love the chance to change it up, room by room.
    Thank you!
    kathleen.schn[@]gmail[dot]com

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  134. Repaint our homeschool room converting it to the craft/office room

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  135. I really want to paint the outside of our house - such a challenge!

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  136. I'm in the process of stripping wallpaper in my kitchen, and I'll need paint in there, for sure!
    valleywalker2 at yahoo dot com

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  137. Next week, we are moving into a home that was built in the '90's so I want to paint everything of course! All of the trim is oak and I think I'll start with that. Bring on the white!! shanakingma@hotmail.com

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  138. I would love to paint the family room in my house. It needs a reboot, for sure :)

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  139. I would paint my kitchen, as it hasn't been painted since we built the house 13 years ago. Let's just way, we are way over do to paint!

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  140. I would love to paint my daughters room in "passive". It's such a pretty gray I think she would love it. Email is jonesallisonc@gmailDOTcom

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  141. Time to repaint the living room! nwilcox95@comcast.net

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  142. We just moved and need to paint the whole house. We are starting on our son's bedroom. This would be an awesome start to our whole house project. h_long05@hotmail. com

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  143. Our living room and baseboards need to be painted. Ugh. I'm dreading it because it's so much work with vaulted ceilings. Some free paint from Sherwin Williams would make it a little more pleasant. :)
    Gretchen
    gretlane16@comcast.net

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  144. The master bedroom for sure!

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  145. I would paint my master bedroom.
    kmg (underscore) 14 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  146. I swear by Sherwin Williams paint. The quality is so much better, and with the frequent sales and the HGTV line, the price is the same as lower quality brands.

    I can't wait to see what gray you decided on. My husband and I spent months finding the perfect gray with beige undertones (not to be confused with beige with gray undertones), and finally settled on SW Dovetail. Three years later and I still LOVE the color. Since then, we've decided to use different colors on the same chip for all the other rooms in our house - Mindful Gray for the bathrooms and, within the next month, Dorian Gray for our master bedroom.

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  147. I have been wanting to paint my powder room bath :) It is blah right now and I want to make it bang! bhawkins_87@yahoo.com

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  148. I would paint one of my daughter's new rooms -- they are both getting new rooms this summer! momhomeguide@gmail.com

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  149. I would paint my living room/stairwell/upstairs landing and hall!!!

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  150. We will be moving soon and will have an entire house to paint! This sure would help cut the costs a bit! mollytatro at gmail
    Thanks!

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  151. Want to paint my office to a more dramatic look.. Currently its grey.

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  152. I have been dreaming of painting our living room and this would mae that dream come true! lol!
    grammanisiof3@aol.com

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  153. I would love to repaint my living room. My husband and I recently purchased our first home and I would love to repaint the walls to inject a calming color in the room. shundra_coad@yahoo.com

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  154. Our dining room is dark brown, and it needs to GO! This would be the motivation I need!

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  155. We recently bought our home and my son's room is in desperate need of some paint. Thanks!

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  156. My bathrooms! They all need it! anmoshell@hotmail.com

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  157. I REALLY want to repaint our living room. We moved in and left the color the previous owners had. It looked good. Really great neutral. Our couch looks terrible against it... I need to repaint. anna_creecy@yahoo.com

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  158. I would definitely re-paint our kitchen! hicksmb(at)sc.rr.com

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  159. I so totally need this! I am in the process of choosing a color for our play room/home office. gigagiggle at hotmail dot com

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  160. I'm working on making an extra bedroom into a playroom-this would be perfect!

    cathy_acker at yahoo dot com

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  161. Ooh perfect timing! I was just there to choose a color for our two story living room. I loved the tones of Shoji White, but after sampling it was too dark for our space. They recommended we try to lighten it by 50% and see how it looked. It was perfect! Now waiting for a 40% off sale to grab my paint!

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  162. bedroom!!! lmprxusc(at)gmail(dot)com

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  163. I would to paint my bedroom, it's white, like every other room in my house. meg_elisabeth@hotmail.com

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  164. Your current paint color is one of my last favorites online! I know everyone wants to paint their walls gray, and it is obviously your choice + you're sick of looking at the same color for ten years, but I will certainly miss your old color! Good luck : )

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  165. I really need my whole interior painted, but would choose our daughters room as the first one.

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  166. I'd paint the family room, it REALLY needs it.

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  167. I would like to paint my dining room, bedroom, and kitchen. I'm in love with "beachy" colors! p774vanessa@yahoo.com

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  168. I'd love to give our guest room and guest bathroom a fresh makeover-- you're right, sometimes all you need is new paint to change the whole look and feel of a space! Thanks for such a great giveaway :)

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  169. I would love to win the $200 credit! I am about to move into a new house & plan to repaint the entire thing the weekend after I close...I can't live with boring beige for long! =)
    cfinke97@hotmail.com

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  170. I would love to paint my daughter's room!

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  171. I would love to paint my detached garage. The previous owners left terrible large stains on the siding. I have never purchased Sherman Williams paint, because of we can't afford it. I have definitely heard wonderful things about their product. I would be so grateful if I had an opportunity to use their product to repair the damage. Thank you for the wonderful give away, what a kind thing to do!
    -India
    Email: caliskiddiecorner(at)Gmail(dot)com

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  172. I have always been timid about picking paint color (with good reason-made so many mistakes!) I don't have a problem deciding on what color I want BUT, when it comes to picking the shade of that color I am totally in the dark! And reading "has purple tones, yellow tones etc just blows my mind! I don't see it!
    Loved your Blog and think that the most important statement in it is "Next up…and this is earth-shattering here folks. Go to the paint store." Now that's a novel thought! I will do it next time!
    Good job.

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  173. We need to paint our finished basement, so it would definitely be that room! lesley.greiner@gmail.com

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  174. Oooooo I was just @ SW getting paint chips. I'm planning on painting my whole kitchen. Everything in there is a shade of brown and I don't think I can take it for another winter!

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  175. I don't think my comment went through :( BUT I said that we're buying our rented condo in the next few months, so a few coats of paint will go a LONG way in making the place seem new again! We've been renting there for three years and its been begging for a new coat of paint :) We'd probably start with the living room, though, since we spend so much time in there! britmcinerney @ gmail . com

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  176. I would love to paint my living room and kitchen! jenniferadams215@gmail.com

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  177. It would have to be out master bedroom and upstairs hallway!

    ~Melissa C.
    sergme@aol(dot)com

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  178. My bathroom and the kid's room both have to be painted, but I love painting so it might end up being the whole house!! :) queserasera2 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  179. First on my painting list is finding a warm grey for the dining room, followed up by color-matching our current fence rust color because we had to replace a few boards and then painting some nice, thick, subtle cream stripes on the bathroom wall and making the ceiling light blue.

    Tricia
    adams.3503@yahoo.com

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  180. My living room needs to be painted. I'm still looking for the right gray. I can wait to see which one you choose! Wallace.lynda(at)gmail(dot)com

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  181. Just a few rooms :) master bedroom, kitchen, living room, office, laundry room & bathrooms

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  182. What I really reeeaallly want to paint is my kitchen island and cabinets! They are 23yr. old Oak-turned-that-nasty-orangey color. Sherwin Williams could sure save me if I win! Perhaps a clean crisp white and a nice warm charcoal gray. :)

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  183. I painted my spare bedroom/office/shrine-to-my-travels a few years ago and have hated the color since that very day, so that's what I would paint first. It was supposed to be grey, but it's more like a baby boy's nursery. So different than the paint chip! I definitely needed your advice back then! lindsaymortensen(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  184. I would paint my brick red kitchen a neutral blue color, something that goes with builder grade oak cabinets since we're too chicken to paint the cabinets. Thanks for all the tips, these are really helpful!

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  185. We just bought a new home and I am having the entire house painted to freshen it up! I like most of the colors, but do need to change up a few rooms and selecting paint colors causes me tremendous stress. I have a painter and he uses only Sherwin Williams paint! Also, not sure if all SW stores offer this, but mine has a part time interior decorator that will come into your home for a free consult. I am going to schedule her before any brushes touch any walls.

    Paint project gone wrong - YES - hired a painter paint my bedroom a warm, earthy, yellow that my friend had in her family room and it looked amazing (Thatched Straw)! However, I didn't consider the lighting in her bright open airy family room vs. the light in my dim bedroom. SOOOO different. The paint actually ended up looking like Notre Dame gold in my bedroom and I thought I would throw up. I couldn't have slept one night in that room! My painter was so nice about it and he did let me change it and didn't charge me additional labor only paint!!!
    Amanda
    jacbrumfield (at) gmail (dot) com

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  186. I live in a house with an open floorplan which I love but also is extremely hard for me to decide on paint colors since the family room opens to the kitchen which opens up to the stairs which opens up to the upstairs hallway! Ahh so much to paint! I'm also looking at a gray that will look good in all the different rooms. Can't wait to see what you end up with!
    Stephanie.Seibert08@gmail.com

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  187. I'd paint the bathroom...and the dining room...and probably the living room...

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  188. Definitely my bedroom :) want to paint it a nice dark gray. Akeith017@aol.com

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  189. Um, every room in the new house :/ Sore arms are in my future.

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  190. My husband and I just bought our first home about 6 months ago. The project list is long, but next up for new paint is the living room!
    jocelynmariek (at) gmail (dot) com

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  191. Our family room is next...and the connecting stairway, foyer, hallway...lots to paint!

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  192. I need to repaint our bedroom and would love to win. I am now painting our kitchen Depending on how the light is it looks yellow or white and it was suppose to be ivory.

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  193. What I need is a complete kitchen renovation....that is not going to happen with the current budget so I would settle for painting my cabinets :)
    Nikki
    nikkidalzell at gmail dot com

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  194. I have been dying to change my color scheme but my husband will have a cow if I mention it. (his parents home looks identical to the day I met him 17 years ago-change is not good) Anyway, I would IMMEDIATELY re-paint the living and family rooms!!! And don't tell him but I have already bought a new area rug in the new color scheme...I live on the wild side, hehehe.

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  195. I really need this right now! We are over a year into our new home that once was foreclosed and then rented until we bought it. It was trashed and I have worked my way around, but all the bedrooms are on my list to be painted when my kids are in school in 2 weeks!!! I would really love this gift card.

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  196. My kids rooms are painted SW Light French Grey and Crushed Ice. Check those out too! Crushed ice is lighter, but it's a beautiful creamy grey. I have the Light French Grey paired with white and yellow, but SW has it in a collection with a buttery yellow, coral and a soft turquoise. It's really a great grey!

    I desperately need to paint my basement - walls and ceiling! I think I'm going to be boring and just paint it all white, but it needs a change from the tan and green that it is now. staeblerannie AT gmail DOT com.

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  197. Our bedroom. We painted one accent wall six years ago and haven't done anything since. It's just screaming for an update! jzsoccermom AT gmail DOT com

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  198. First on the list would be our front door (it's just plain ol' white!). Also, since the entire interior of our new house is the same shade of beige, any room will definitely benefit from a burst of color.
    valerie(dot)hansen(at)gmail(dot)com

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If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!