Pros and Cons of a Color Consult
They really should call it a color Prosult because there are a lot more Pros than Cons…despite “cons” being right there in the word itself 😉 . Advanced English aside… What even is a Color Consult? The definition of consult is “to seek information or advice from some with expertise in a given area”. A color consultant is someone with expertise in color and design. For many of us, choosing the color for our home is a big decision. We only want to pay for that decision once, so we really want to get it right the first time. A color consult can help you consider things that maybe you hadn’t thought of to make sure you’ll be happy with your choice! So let’s jump into some of those!
Pros of Color Consult
1. Color Consults Help Us Understand Color
Color may not seem that difficult to understand…But in fact, colors are perceived differently based on other colors around them. Its all fun and dandy to flip through the paint swatches and snatch out the colors you like best..but will they look that way in your space? A color consultant will be able to tell you! They will know if the color of your cabinets or your roof (or something else in your space) will make your chosen color appear warmer or cooler in contrast. And they will have alternative suggestions based on what you like that might just fit your space better! Its easy to say “Just pick the color you like!”. But there are a lot of variables that might make the color you like on the swatch appear as a color you don’t actually like. They will show you!
2. Color Consults Remind Us To Consider Light
Again; this seems like something the average person can understand also… But most of the time we forget to take it into consideration at all beyond simple things like “This room feels dark so I want to paint it a brighter color”. The particular kind of light is another thing that will affect the color we choose! Soft light casts a subtle warm hue over the room, and bright light casts a sharper cool hue over the room. Daylight is another factor to consider. Paint colors look very different with direct sunlight on them, especially with certain sheens! A color consultant will take all of this into account to help you meet your color goals. A color that doesn’t even stand out to you in the paint swatch book might be the color that will get you the look you are trying to achieve!
3. Samples and Examples
A color consultant often has larger paint swatches to hold up in your space. This helps to give you a better idea of how a color will actually appear. Sometimes they even will do a limited amount of paint samples. This allows you to see a large section of wall with the color you are considering. They have experience with many other customers and the specific paint they are consulting with you about. They can also show you real examples of how a paint color looked in a certain environment.
4. Timeless or Trendy
Many of us don’t actually want to choose our favorite color at all. We just want a color that’s going to live its life to the max and work well with changing decor. Color consultants can usually tell if that trendy color you saw on pinterest is going to stick around a couple more years or not. They also know by experience which colors get chosen over and over and are well loved by their choosers. During a color consult, they will find out what you, specifically, are hoping for as a result, and help you get there.
5. Personality
Another thing a color consultant is very aware of is your personality! Ultimately, they want YOU to be happy with your choice so they’re going to be paying attention to whether you are bold or reserved, creative or simplistic, extravagant or minimalist 😉 . If they know you want to sell the house, they might talk you down from your extravagance a little towards something that might fit most buyers. You might say that you wanted to make your color scheme more exciting even though you’re scared of everything that isn’t white. You name it- they have an idea and advice for you! They’ll help you choose a color and feel confident with it!
Cons of Color Consult
1. You Don’t Agree
This really isn’t a real problem because ultimately you get to choose the colors for your home. Sometimes we can hear all the logic and we still want the color we wanted. Except now we know that the expert doesn’t think it will work well. 🙁 I’ve been there.
I learned during my color consult that the name of a color could be enough to turn me off to it…which is ridiculous! I was attracted to names like “Rock Garden” and “Succulent” and “Sea Serpent“… But after painting samples and realizing they were way more intense than I actually wanted… I ended up with colors named “Filmy Green” (ew?) and “Pewter Green” and “Black Emerald“…(just want to state that these are not all in the same area!) I genuinely did like the colors of the ones with pretty names… buuut they were not the right fit at all for the look I actually wanted. And I like to think I understand color pretty well!
The point is- even if you don’t like everything you hear during the color consult, and they don’t give you a suggestion you actually like… Chances are you still learned something that will help you out moving forward! At Sir Paints A Lot- you literally have NOTHING to lose! We include a color consult in your project with us! If that sounds as cool to you as it does to me…why don’t you go ahead and book an estimate with us by clicking here! 🙂