The other day we swung by Home Depot to take a peek at the recently added Martha Stewart Living Paint collection and were of course wowed by Miss Martha’s always impeccable taste in colors.
What we didn’t expect was to be equally enthralled by the other side of the paint chips, where Martha has provided a bunch of “extras” to make the most of her paints. It got us wondering about what other paint brands go above and beyond when it comes to their sample chips. But let’s start with the line of paints that piqued our curiosity in the first place:
Perhaps our favorite thing about the Martha chips is that they suggest coordinating colors for the ceiling (on the top of the chip) and the trim/woodwork (on the bottom)- and you can easily fold each of them over to view it with the main color on the front. We think it’s a great way to start thinking outside of the box… since without Martha you might never think of putting River Mist (slate blue) trim with a Bakery Box White (milky white) wall.
And if that’s not enough coordination help, let’s say you’re trying to repaint your whole house. The front corners are marked with small icons to help you assemble a harmonious scheme of colors that could work seamlessly from room to room (just match the icons for foolproof cohesion).
These MSL chips also leave space to assist you in organizing and remembering all of the paints in your house (leave it up to Martha to help you be as type-A as possible when it comes to remembering what room is painted what color).
But enough about Her Hostessness, let’s move on to some of the other souped up paint chips we know and love. We’ve always been fans of Glidden’s gorgeous range of colors (also available at Home Depot) even though they eliminated some of our favs when they trimmed down their line last year (though many are still in HD’s system – just gotta ask for them by name at the desk). But one thing we did like about their relaunch was that their new paint chips, like Martha’s, come with suggested coordinating colors on the back. They also take it one step further and show you an inspiration photo, so you can better visualize how the colors might come together.
Home Depot’s other main brand, Behr, is a little less generous when it comes to guiding you chip-by-chip (though, like many brands, they offer separate booklets to help you stay within a certain scheme or mood). But you gotta give ’em credit for thinking of adding a perforated hole in their cards, so you can easily build your own custom fan deck of favorite colors – they even provide the ring!
Over at Lowe’s we found less in the super-chip department from their main brands Olympic and Valspar. Though you’ve probably seen that Valspar’s chips have these pre-cut squares to help you visualize how two colors might work side-by-side or even to help you see how closely a swatch matches a pillow or other coordinating item that you have on hand. In fact we’ve used this feature to closely match existing wall paint in the sunroom that we couldn’t identify- and the new paint touch ups were completely undetectable.
Now we didn’t make it over to any of the private paint retailers like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore during our tour de chips, but the fan decks we have at home don’t boast any added features like the ones we highlighted above. Although we do love both brands and recognize that their separate booklets and pamphlets are full of steal-worthy ideas. In the end, we’re not judging paint brands solely on how pimped out their chips are- we think it falls in the “nice to have” not “must have” category. But we do appreciate that some go the extra mile to provide some added inspiration, organization, and coordination help.
Have you guys seen any especially helpful “extras” that a paint brand, paint website, or paint department has created? Or have you used any of the bonus features that we highlighted above to help in your paint selections thus far? Has anyone checked out the new line of Martha paints and loved what they saw? We were actually chatting with the Glidden delivery guy as he stocked the paint chips and he whispered that “the new Martha stuff is second to none.” We thought that was a pretty nice endorsement coming from someone who works for the competition!
kelly says
Are you planning on painting anything soon? I think next week we’re going to paint our den Mindful Gray by Sherman Williams. VOC-free, of course.
http://www.kellyloves.wordpress.com
YoungHouseLove says
We’re always planning to paint something! We have about 10 painting projects on our to-do list… if only there were more hours in the day!
xo,
s
Andrea says
I love the Martha colors! When we redid our guest bathroom, we used Sea Anemone. I’m generally an off-white gal, so the color was shocking for the first day, but it’s really grown on me.
Wendy S says
Hi J&S –
Would you mind sharing the paint names of the chips you featured?
Thanks!
Wendy
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a tough question than you might think it is, Wendy S! We brought just about every swatch home and since taking that top photo everything’s gotten mixed up. But by looking at them again, we think this is what you’re looking at (from left to right):
But please keep in mind that the way they appear on your screen may look quite different than in real life so don’t be surprised if what looks perfect for your room online could be way off in the store.
Hope that helps!
-John
Holly says
I used to use Behr only, but we just painted our bedroom with Martha Stewart’s Brook Trout and will be using hers from now on! It covered in one coat, didn’t get tacky/gloppy on the brush or roller, and dried quickly with almost no odor.
I have some before and afters here: http://andyourface.blogspot.com/
Just have to accessorize now!
Janna says
We just painted our bathroom in Martha’s “Spring Melt” and love the way it turned out. The coverage was great and we ended up only needing one coat which made me and my back happy :)
Lesley H says
Is there anything prettier than a fan of paint chips? So full of potential and energy. I need some and it sounds like the Martha line is the place to start.
Jenna says
I love the Martha paints also. We just painted our basement last night in faded ink and the ceiling 50% tinted. Looks awesome.
tammy says
We actually just repainted our living room this past weekend with the new Home Depot Martha line. I think we have a new favorite brand of paint! ;)
Jennifer says
We are finishing a sunroom with a corrugated steel ceiling and one brick wall — going for an industrial look. The other 3 walls are all floor to ceiling vinyl windows in that usual stark white. The rest of our house has off white trim, but I thought that would look weird in there for the trim since the windows are so big & SO white. Would you go white or off-white?
YoungHouseLove says
Jennifer- We’d go white. It’ll work best in there and you’ll hardly notice the difference between white and off white trim in different rooms. Hope it helps!
Grace- Congrats on the bun in the oven. The Martha line is low-VOC, but not completely devoid of them. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Grace says
Love the new MSL paint!!! Do you know if they’re no VOC? I recently found out I’m pregnant!=)
margaret says
i just bought a house, and repainted everything in the Martha line…it’s great! i love all the colors, and had the hardest time picking my favorites for the different rooms :) highly recommend it!
Briony says
I repainted my whole condo with Debbie Travis paint from Canadian Tire. It’s great quality, and with an excellent colour selection. It’s labelled by schemes for easy coordination. She also has a whole line of decor products there including cushions, mirrors and curtains,etc..
Now I want a Lowe’s here so I can get Sarah Richardson’s paint!
Lisa says
Hello John and Sherry:
I am currently on the lookout for for a cool neutral color to paint my son’s bedroom, specifically a beigy brown. I too am a fan of Benjamin Moore since most of my walls are covered by that paint. But I want to try something different. Happily, I discovered a great color in a magazine called Sisal by Ralph Lauren and was told on the source page that is carried by Home Depot. Took a little trip down to the Depot and sad to say, saw no sign of RL Home. DOes that company exist anymore, or maybe it was bought out by another? Is there a way to find a good replacement for that color?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lisa,
They still exist at ours as of a few days ago (although perhaps in some stores they were replaced by the Martha line?). Our only advice would be to call your store and ask if they carry it anymore. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Lisa says
Hi, me again
You may be right. I did notice Martha’s new line of paints there. Maybe RL wasn’t selling for HD. It looks from all the raving posts about Martha’s paints that it may be somethings to try. I have been curious abou the low VOC idea and thought I might want to consider that for my big guys room this time around. What are your feelings about Sherwin Williams- good quality?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lisa,
We’ve heard nothing but great things (haven’t actually tried them ourselves, but we have a paint deck and love the colors).
xo,
s
Rebecca Foxworth says
Oh, silly, Behr has a great color scheme suggesting system. You’re just thinking WAY too low tech. Available both online and Home Depot (at least there’s a user-friendly screen in MY Home Depot), use their Colorsmart System. Go to http://www.behr.com and click on EXPLORE COLOR>BEHR’S VIRTUAL COLOR CENTERS>BEHR COLOR CENTER. Then choose a color family and click on VISUALIZE COLOR. It sounds like a lot of directions but it’s actually very intuitive.
Choose one of the colors and tell the Colorsmart program whether you’re looking for similar colors, colors to accent when your color is used as the main, or colors to use as the main when your color is used as an accent.
This program is too much fun!
Kate! says
whoops! way back on comment #3 I mentioned SW sample cans were $5.99, but they’re really $4.99! Even better. I am also looking at one of my samples right now and it’s labeled 30.7 fl oz, or 1 59/64ths which is nearly a quart!
Jess @ Get Busy Living says
I just finished painting my bedroom with 2 Martha colors! River Mist and Glacier Mist. I had them color matched to Olympic, so I can’t speak to the quality of her paint. However, I love the colors!
Kayla says
I love paint chips! Even when I’m not working on a painting project I collect them. We even used paint chips to help explain our wedding colors to people.
Sherwin Williams had a pretty cool commerical that involved annimated paint chips, have you seen it? Here it is on youtube if you haven’t.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah we love those commercials (and the print ads too)!
xo,
s
Pamela says
My husband and I are in the process of buying a house right now, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some Martha Stewart paints. I’ve been a Martha fan for a long time, and have spent more time than I’d like to admit gazing over her color selections…
On a different note, though, I have done some reading on milk paints and am interested in looking into those for something different and definitely non-toxic. Have you ever tried out any milk paints? If so, what do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
We used Mythic paints (which are completely no-VOC: the green standard when it comes to paint- although it’s not milk paint) and we love it! The coverage was amazing but the cost was a bit more. Worth it for our little girl though!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
Perfect timing! I have a few MSL chips taped around my house for inspiration. I was just thinking of going back to HD this weekend since the first time I went, I didn’t know about or understand the icons. Thanks!
Christine B says
Not only does Martha Stewart have awesome paint colors she is comming out with a cabinet line too. I can’t wait to see it I am sure it will be AMAZING!
Jessica says
Thanks for the info! Quick question: What is your opinion on primer (if painting my room a similar color that is currently on the walls)– Would you recommend priming? Or think I can skip it? Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
We don’t prime unless we’re going over wood paneling (which can bleed) or extremely dark or saturated paint (like chocolate or ruby red). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Nancy R says
Valspar has clear, vellum-like room cards that show a room with clear walls so you can lay it over their paint card to see what the room would look like in that color. They’re pretty fun to play with – I spent several minutes goofing around with them.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like a ton of fun. We’ll have to get our hands on some of those!
xo,
s
Design Love says
I just brought home Martha Stewart paint chips on Sunday from HD and was very impressed with how helpful they are! Love her colors…..
Cindy
Becky says
We were debating between two shades of yellow in the Martha Stewart paint when we were lucky enough to find a gallon of one of the shades on the cheapo mixed paint shelf for $5. That quickly made up my mind of which shade to use. We used the satin finish and absolutely LOVED it. The paint had a great “flow” off the brush when I did the cutting in and covered well. We did need to coats for complete coverage. It might be my new favorite. I will definitely try it again.
This is the first low voc paint we have used. I didn’t notice any difference in the smell but my husband actually mentioned the smell as it bothered him more than our regular Behr paint. (Of course it was a small room and we did not open the windows as it was 103 outside!)
Paula says
Man, I resisted the lure of Martha for years, but I’ve gradually succumbed to some of her recipes and what-not, and I love-love-LOVE the color-coordination tips and other info on the back of the paint cards that you’re clueing us into.
Me, I’ve just gone the easy way so far, and done Benjamin Moore sepia tan in my living room and adjoining den, with high-gloss white on the ceiling molding for contrast (partly because I have so many things that get hung on the walls and add color that way). And I’ll probably keep the verrrry pale lemon yellow paint color in my bedroom, which gets the a.m. light for that added sunshine feeling.
But I may have to check out dear Martha for coordinating ideas for my condo’s hallway, since I’d tempted to get away from the current white, but am at a loss as to what paint to pair with the flooring color in there (a nice tile similar to Spanish tile but not quite) and to not make the hallway darker, since the hallway has no windows (but has a number of doors letting in natural light, in addition to the 2 ceiling lights there).
DemMom says
I’ve heard the exact opposite about the MS line. Really thin, bad coverage, etc. I do like the helpful suggestions on the chips though!
Alissa says
Over the past 2 months my husband and used Benjamin Moore to paint almost every single room of our new house. The BM Regal stood up to years of kid messes when I was growing up, and I’ve read good things about the quality of BM’s Regal and Aura lines. The Aura (self-priming, guaranteed to cover in 2 coats) actually covered the bright red, semi-gloss kitchen in 2 coats of eggshell Linen White. We were amazed! It was definitely pricey, but totally worth it.
Because we painted so many rooms I bought 2 of BM’s fan decks (they have 3 color lines) for $25 a pop…Again, pricey, but so nice to have all of the colors at your fingertips. Once I narrowed down my choices, I went to the BM store and got individual paint chips that I then cut out to arrange on a hand-drawn floorplan so I could see what color was going where. Cutting up the paint chip strips really helped see each color individually, and arranging the paint chips helped me see the entire color flow of the house. I got the floorplan idea from the YHL post about choosing paint colors, and it totally saved us from having a rainbow colored house…Thanks, guys :)
Chandeen says
I also liked the MS colors but in the end we found them too limiting for the whole house paint job we have. We are going with Sherman Williams just because they are so helpful, and they really do give out free pain decks.
I have two paint questions:
1) I saw that you don’t use primer, but I’m moving into a house that was rented. The renter had a huge dog (the smell is pretty bad) and dirtied up the walls quite a bit. Any suggestions? Do you think I should use a primer, and if so should I get one that blocks smells?
2) This is more a design question. My living room has dark brown leather furniture and I’m trying to pull in orange accents. Do you think it would be too drastic to paint one wall orange, and have the rest an off white? The room is very open with lots of light.
Thanks for your time. I have found your blog to be very helpful.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Chaneen,
We don’t have experience with using a primer to block odors (primer usually adds an odor of its own, along with extra toxins which is why we do our best to avoid it). Maybe someone else can add their advice on this subject or you can google around for some answers since it’s not something we’ve personally experienced? As for the orange accent wall, it sounds like your room can definitely pull it off thanks to the rich brown furniture and the off-white walls with lots of light to diffuse and balance the pop of orange. We say go for it!
xo,
s
Zerique Z says
Its funny that you speak of paint when I myself am in a huge paint dilemma. If you have time, can you please stop by my blog and look at my horrendous kitchen and suggest some wall colors. I hope so. :) I need some major help!!!
Tatiana says
I am in love with Martha’s new colors. Once again she wow’s us with her design taste. I can’t wait to get in to our house to get started picking out colors. I love the slate blue trim with milky white walls. So crisp but yet a pop of color. On my way to Home Depot to start my collection!
GSM says
I just brought home Martha Stewart paint chips on Sunday from HD and was very impressed with how helpful they are! Love her colors…..
Cindy
GSM says
with high-gloss white on the ceiling molding for contrast (partly because I have so many things that get hung on the walls and add color that way). And I’ll probably keep the verrrry pale lemon yellow paint color in my bedroom, which gets the a.m. light for that added sunshine feeling
Kristin says
Hi,
I like this site for figuring out which colors to use:
http://www.schoener-wohnen-farbe.de/planen/farbdesigner/
It is german, but maybe it is intuitive enough to take a look. Click on “Farbdesigner starten” (start color designer). There you can select a room and color lots of objects to see how it looks like. If you find it difficult to imagine how a real room would look in this color/s, try it. It’s like an interactive form of the inspiration photos on the Glidden chips.
Have fun painting!
Queenie says
Wow ,I just got home from lowes with some chips to compare as you did but in my case trying to get a favorite color a few shades darker ,I love the little square cut outs .
Umbrella Island says
Great post and very useful since we are going to paint our bedroom soon. <3 Thanks
Mandi Felici says
And Martha’s new paints are also low VOC! And for being low VOC, they have a suprisingly low price!
Nicole C. says
So funny that you would discuss the MS paints today, as I just used some and while I love her colors and the large paint chips, I was really disappointed in the actual paint! I was redoing a small bookcase (which I scuff sanded and primed with oil primer) and the MS paint is literally PEELING off the bookcase. I have no idea why! I’ve never had this problem with painting furniture before. I really wanted the finished product to turn out well, so I used the primer first (as you guys recommend) and this is the first time I’ve tried using an oil based primer. I can’t imagine that the problem is the primer since you’ve used it before with good results and I followed all the directions. I think it must be the MS paint!
I also wasn’t too crazy about the quality of it either. Unlike some of the other commentors who had good results with it, I found it to be very thin. The smell was just as bad as “regular” paint (although I believe it says it’s low odor). And once the piece had dried and fully cured, the slightest touch resulted in nicks and dents in the finish. Not to mention the peeling.
I have no idea what went wrong, but just wanted to offer my experience with the product!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Nicole C,
Yikes! That’s definitely a tried and true method and we (as well as many industry experts) have had success with… so we can’t imagine why it would be peeling other than to blame the paint. It’s so strange because many people have told us they love it. Our only idea about the nicks and dents in the finish that you mention could be that you applied the primer too thickly (you want to put it on as thinly as an eggshell or a sheet of paper) or that you didn’t wait for each thin and even coat of paint (and the aforementioned coat of primer) to dry thoroughly before applying another thin coat. We find that dents and nicks are nearly impossible (as well as brushstrokes) if everything is applied thinly and allowed ample drying time between steps. But as for the peeling- we have no idea!
xo,
s
Rachael says
Martha’s paint sound great, but why do you suppose she hasn’t delved into the no VOC arena? Having small children in the house it’s the only paint I want to use at this point. Mythic is great but a little pricey. I found Lowe’s Olympic has a brand of No VOC that’s great. Home Depot has their line too, but the color choices are very limited. They don’t do any custom colors either. The Olympic No VOC paint comes in any color Olympic carries and any color you’d like to match. I’d say it’s a nice compromise to Mythic. Now, if only Martha would jump on the no VOC train! : )
YoungHouseLove says
Our only thought is that Martha didn’t want to sacrifice the rich deep colors that can be achieved with low-VOC that have yet to be mastered without being quite expensive in the no-VOC arena. Mythic paint is amazing, but you’re right, it’s pricey because it takes more natural colorants and expensive formula additives to make it lovely and perfect in tone- which might not be something Home Depot wanted to use because they try to keep paint a bit less expensive there. This is why the Freshaire line from Home Depot is very limited and not very saturated or rich in tone. And the Olympic paint is actually a no-VOC base, but when you add colorants to make it any other tone than white it actually becomes low-VOC (which is probably why you love it since that can help to achieve a richer and nice color). Most people don’t know that because they don’t exactly advertise that fact! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
jenn says
I was just at home depot this week picking out a new color for my bedroom, and really enjoyed using the Behr ( i think it was behr!!) computer program, where you can scan the paint chip you like the best, and then it shows you coordinating colors which you can mix and match to create your own color scheme. you can then use the colors you’ve picked out to decorate a model room and see how the colors would look together on the walls, trim, and furniture. At the end, you get a print-out with the colors you finally chose, that tells you what type of paint you need, how much, and also includes some handy how-to tips!
Jay says
to Nicole C.
I have learned from experience that you should always use oil with oil and latex with latex. If you painted over an oil based primer/ paint with a latex paint, the chances that it scuffs or peels off when applying latex paint is much higher than if you had used a latex primer.
When I bought my home it was entirely covered with white oil based paint. When I started painting over it (not knowing it was oil at the time) with latex paint, it wasn’t sticking properly, nor was it curing properly either. So from my experience, oil with oil and latex with latex, always gives me the best results.
I have used Martha’s paints in the last month and since then have only been using her paints. So far the bedroom, the halls, the entrance and all the trims have all been painted with MS paint. I find the coverage is excellent and the colours are beautiful. Plus Home Depot will match any colour you want with the MS paints, but not the other way around. I have no complaints as of yet… I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jay,
That’s actually only true about latex paint over oil-based PAINT. Oil-based PRIMER followed by latex paint is the industry standard, and a method that we’ve used time and time again with flawless results. You’re right about painting over oil-based paint with latex paint though- it’s a total nightmare!
xo,
s
Jay says
My bad! Now it’s a mystery why Nicole’s experience was so horrible. Good to know though.
Thanks for the clarification :)
BTW, I love your blog… I discovered it last summer when I was looking for ideas for my 37 year old town home. Even though we have slightly different styles, I enjoy reading all your experiences and love looking at all the beautiful pictures you post. Big Fan here, keep up the good work!
Erica says
My hubs and I just picked Martha’s “cappuccino” for our bathroom. I am so excited to finally have a pretty color in there. I just wish I had a wall to paint in “gingerroot.” Swoon!
LiveLikeYou says
Just when I think Martha will be “over” soon, she reinvents herself and gets better. She is a true pioneer. Not only are her paints great, her new furnishing line is fantastic and current.
Rachael says
I feel tricked! The paint sales guy at Lowe’s was actually telling me the opposite about their NO VOC paint! He was saying that was true of the Freshaire line at HD! That once they added the colorants it became LOW VOC, but that their Olympic line didn’t do that! Lied to, I was! : ( And the paint is already on the walls in the kids’ room. I hope it’s not too harmful for them. I was really trying to use the NO VOC variety in there. Would you consider using Mythic for all the rooms in your home in the future or are you happy with just having it in little Clara’s room?
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe they reformulated? We could be wrong since it’s odd that he would lie to you. We do know they used to be low-VOC with the colorants so we assumed since the tones were still very rich they must still have some VOCs in them. And as for us, we’re happy to use low-VOC paint in other rooms (it’s much improved from the old high-VOC formulas) although we loved Mythic so much that we’d use it again for sure. We also use no-VOC paint for trim and doors since we touch those areas up more often than walls. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
kim says
I fell in love with the colors and ended up using the Martha Steward paint in several rooms in my house. The coverage was awesome, no lingering smell, colors are as great on the walls as they were on the chip.
I have a LOT of chips. It was really hard to choose a color!
Rachael says
Thanks for the info. I think I will use the NO VOC paint from Lowe’s where I need white. Like you said, for trim etc. since it appears to be the tint that’s adding the toxins. But from now on I think I will use Mythic or did you say that HD’s line of Freshaire (with colorants) was NO VOC too? Is there a way you know of to find out exactly what level of VOCs are in a particular paint brand/color?
Your blog is very informative and I love reading it every day! Thanks for all the tips! : )
YoungHouseLove says
Yup we’re sure the Freshaire paint is no-VOC even with colorants (they’re actually powdered and mixed in as opposed to liquid). Mythic is more pure than Freshaire though. We wish there were a purity ranking system but have yet to have seen one. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
millie says
wow,those are very good ideas..so helpful for both – amateurs and professionals. It would be great that paint brands in my area make paint chips like this. Martha’s are the best
katy says
Also, Sherwin Williams has an iPhone application, called Color Snap, which allows you to take a photo of something and match a paint color to that. Very fun and helpful!!
MariahKW says
Alright, so now I’m completely inspired to do the repainting around the house that I’ve been scheming recently. Thanks for the nudge!