Color selection is the part of any painting project that causes the most anxiety — and the most regret when it goes wrong. We've been called in to repaint rooms that were finished just weeks earlier because the color looked completely different on the wall than it did on the chip. It happens more often than you'd think, and it's almost always preventable.
After 15 years of painting homes throughout Park City, Deer Valley, and Summit County, here's what we tell every homeowner before they pick up a brush.
Paint chips are photographed under controlled studio lighting — typically cool white light that makes colors look clean and accurate. Your home has warm incandescent lighting, cool daylight from north-facing windows, warm afternoon sun from west-facing ones, and everything in between. The same color can look completely different in each of those conditions.
Rule one: never commit to a color based on a chip alone. Always buy a sample quart and paint at least a 12"×12" test patch directly on the wall. Observe it at different times of day — morning, midday, and evening with lights on. Only then should you commit.
This is where most color mistakes happen. Every "neutral" has an undertone — a subtle cast of pink, green, blue, yellow, or purple that becomes much more apparent once it's on all four walls. A white that looks clean on a chip can turn visibly pink on the wall. A gray that looks sophisticated in the store can read lavender in your bedroom.
To identify undertones, hold the chip against a pure white surface. The difference between the chip and white will show you exactly what undertone is present. For Park City homes with warm wood tones, leather, and natural stone — the dominant palette in most Summit County properties — you generally want warm undertones: creams, taupes, warm grays, and greens with yellow rather than blue bases.
Park City's high-altitude light is more intense and direct than most homeowners are used to. South and west-facing rooms get blasted with direct sun, which saturates colors and makes them read more intensely than expected. North-facing rooms — common in Park City homes designed with mountain views — receive only indirect light, which makes colors read cooler and darker.
As a general rule: in sunny south-facing rooms, go a half-shade lighter than you think you need. In north-facing rooms, go warmer than you think — a warm taupe in the store will read as cool gray in a north-facing Park City room.
If you're painting multiple rooms and want them to feel cohesive, use this formula: 60% dominant color (walls), 30% secondary color (furniture, textiles), 10% accent color (accessories, art). For an open-concept Park City home where living room, dining room, and kitchen are all visible at once, this framework creates a palette that flows naturally rather than feeling choppy or disconnected.
At Park City Paint Crew, color consultation is included with every project. We'll walk through the space with you and make specific recommendations based on the home's light, architecture, and existing finishes. Call us at 435-659-1101 to schedule a visit.
Park City Paint Crew is here to help. Call Thomas Nutting at 435-659-1101 or request a free estimate online.
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