Does anyone else get mesmerized by all the paint chips at say, Home Depot or Lowe’s? I can get lost in that section; ideas swirling around in my head of all the changes I want to make in that instant. But sometimes, even with all those gazillion different paint colors, it’s just not the one I’m looking for. I have learned that sometimes the best color is the one I have had to work to get to. Mixing paint colors until I get to just the color I want. Today I would like to share how to do just that…Here is a how-to guide to mixing paint colors at home to get to the color you want for your project.

I love Junk Gypsy paint almost as much as I love Repurpose Chroma Color Paint. Both lines have an array of beautiful colors to choose from…

But sometimes I want a color that is a little lighter or darker than what they offer. I used to be intimidated by the thought of going off of their color pallet and mixing paint to see what color I could come up with. But then I had a sofa table that needed a color somewhere in between two of the colors Junk Gypsy offered…

Happy Camper….

And

Wild Oats….

Mixing Paint Colors–Sofa Table

So I decided to give it a try. I purchased both colors and set up shop in my kitchen. I felt a bit like a chemist (on a MUCH smaller scale 🙂 ), mixing a little here and a little there. And what I discovered was…this was a lot of fun! Why had I never done this before? I was hooked.

I learned two important tips, along the way, about mixing paint colors…

Always be precise in what you’re measuring out. Don’t just eyeball it. Use a measuring spoon or cup to get EXACT measurements.
Write it all down. Don’t assume you’ll remember. Especially if you ever want to come back and use this color again. (I store my different concoctions, along with a picture of the piece I painted, in my Notes App on my phone.)

With my sofa table I was painting, I knew I wanted a lighter color in the brown tones. So I started my mixture with 2 tablespoons of Happy Camper. It only took one tablespoon of Wild Oats to get to the color I wanted. So that one was pretty easy….

Here’s a look at the sofa table when it was all finished.

Be sure to check out an upcoming blog post, when I share my technique for painting and distressing this sofa table for a client.

Mixing Paint Colors–Cabinets

After tackling this one time and finding out how super-easy AND fun it was, I was ready to do it again! Last week I shared my favorite project of 2016, my guest bathroom remodel…farmhouse-style. You can read all about it here and see the amazing before and after pictures. I was looking for a gray for my bathroom cabinets and the grays I had on-hand were too dark. Every gray I tried made the cabinets blend in with the faux concrete countertop. I wanted them to pop a little more.

I chose

Repurpose Flannel Gray…

And

Junk Gypsy Buttermilk Biscuit…

I did a lot of mixing paint colors on this one. A lot of trial and error…

I actually need to finish painting the inside of this door. 🙂

Finally after playing around with the colors for a while, I found THE one…

For this color I blended one tablespoon more of the lighter color. Pretty much what I did with the sofa table. It just took me longer to get there. I didn’t realize I wanted to go as light as I did, til I got to this color….One tablespoon Repurpose Flannel Gray and two tablespoons Junk Gypsy Buttermilk Biscuit.

Of course, you can mix up as much paint as you need, just be sure to keep your proportions the same every time you need to add more paint.

Isn’t it amazing what paint can do?! Look at the before and after of these cabinets…

And here they are all finished…

Just another super-easy, fun project. I don’t know if I’ll ever go with the original paint color again. Playing around with mixing paint colors has infinitely expanded the color pallet. I encourage you to give it a try!! When you do, show me the awesome color you come up with. And I would love to see your final piece too.

Until next time,

Happy Building!! (And painting!! 🙂 )

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