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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

HAVING TROUBLE CHOOSING STAGING COLORS? TRY CHIP IT BY SHERWIN WILLIAMS


I love this fairly new tool, Chip It! by Sherwin Williams. You either upload a picture you have in your computer, or a URL, and the tool will pull out the top colors in the photo and match them to colors offered by Sherwin Williams. Yes, it is free. I love Sherwin Williams and Behr from Home Depot, but if you are dedicated to another paint manufacturer, you can always take it there and have them do a color match of the results you got. There are other sites that offer this type of tool, but I like Chip It! the best.

Here are five examples that I did. Now keep in mind, not all of these would be the best for staging. Many of them could work as long as you use the brighter or darker colors for accents, accessories, wall decor, or in small doses. These are just examples that show what the program does.

You’ll see the picture on the left, along with the suggested colors on the right. Some photos allow you to hit a button on the bottom for a few more colors too. If you upload a photo that doesn’t have too many colors, you many only get 3 color options. Most photos come back with 5.

Now, keep in mind that if you like the general colors returned, but they are a little dark for your taste or for staging, find that color's paint strip and select a color a big farther up on the strip (which will be lighter). You don’t need to use all the colors. These are just ideas. And if you see dark browns or black, or other neutrals, remember that those could correspond to the metals in fixtures or hardware, or the floors, trim, and furniture. It could also be the color of the stone or brick in your home. So remember to keep that in mind when you’re putting together palettes. Don’t forget about these permanent features in your home. And if you want to learn how to use neutrals, read about Sabrina Soto. She loves using neutrals and even has a list of her favorites.

Chip It Picture Number 1: Green Glofish.
The black could be accents like black iron lamps, etc. The lightest green could be a wall color, the white for moldings and other trim. Then you can use Laudable Lime for an accent wall or for accessories to get a monochromatic look or use the Regatta as an accent color if you want a different look. Or use them in another way that fits you better.



Chip It Picture Number 2: Staged Dining Room
This is actually a staged room that I entered to see what the color palette would be. I wanted to show you in reverse how it works. Of course, colors aren’t exact. You can see the browns are for the rug and furniture, along with the basket and ceiling fan. The Scanda is the accent wall, while Lazy Gray corresponds to the curtains and the right wall (which is the color on the rest of the walls in that room as well.) The tool didn’t pick up the green from the plants, but they work with any color.



Chip It Picture Number 3: Air Purifying Houseplants

This is a great gray and green palette with white. Gleeful would work for walls or North Star would work too. Saguaro could be used for one accent wall, as well as some other accents or accessories. Dovetail could be used as the accent wall color and for accessories if you used North Star for the walls. And of course you can mix and match these colors. They all work together.



Chip It Picture #4: A beautiful outdoor space.

This palette comes across as blues and browns, with accents of black, which you can always use with any palette, as can white be used anytime. You can go lighter on the paint chip if you think these colors are a bit too strong for you. Also see in the picture how greens and a deep red would work as accents, even though Chip It didn’t pick up these colors because they weren’t prominent.



Chip It Picture #5: A gorgeous ceiling

This is an example of a neutral palette, but one where you might want to find the paint chips and pick some of the lighter shades on the strip. Keep one of the darker ones for accents. Or, for a small room that won’t ever look bigger, go with it and make it cozy by painting the wall in the Copper Mountain. This is great for a small powder room or a cozy library. And yes, it is okay to do this for staging.



Overall, here are some tips when using this tool:
  • You don’t have to use all the colors.
  • You can add other colors.
  • You can find the color on the paint strip and go lighter or darker, depending on your needs.
  • If you have a picture you want to use but don’t like parts of it, just crop out the parts you don’t want to include before uploading to the site.
A great way to use this feature is to upload a picture of the room as it is right now and see what the tool comes up with. You might find colors you never noticed or options you never would have considered.Finally, have fun. This is just one example of how you can find your staging color palette. If you have additional questions or would like to see a topic covered in more detail, please email me or take my Home Staging Survey

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