John and I were both staring at our stack of Martha Stewart paint swatches and almost simultaneously the light bulb went on. Why not have some fun with them on our postcard wall in the office? One of our favorite features about that wall is how easily it can be switched out at a moment’s notice. So here’s what the ol’ postcard wall looked like before we went swatch crazy:
And here it is now, after we added some fun rectangles of color for a nice change of pace:
MMmmmm, I just love staring at all of those rich hues. Seriously, we’ve never been so inspired.
Of course the postcards will be back soon, since we love to rotate things around and keep it interesting in there. But for now we’re loving all the delicious hues that we stuck up for our enjoyment (for $0, which is always a plus).
Oh and we just leaned them against the wall (and thanks to the notch that John routed with his Dremel they have stayed put) but you could also use white sticky-tack to keep them in place if you’re taking on a similar project and worry that they’ll blow around.
So what do you guys think? Do you have a favorite color out of the bunch? Have you created any free art or other home decor with paint swatches from your local home improvement store? Share and share alike.
Psst- Wondering how we made our post card shelves? Learn how here. And check out the full office makeover reveal here.
Roo {NiceGirlNotes} says
Okay, I’m going to be the lone dissenter and say that I’d feel a little odd stocking up on paint swatches from my local home improvement store. Yes, they’re free (for us), but at what cost? Stores put them out to help consumers figure out what paint color they want to use for their homes.. not to use them specifically for wall art or business card holders or bookmarks or any of the other crafts I’ve been seeing.
A couple years ago on The Nest, there was a tile company that sent out up to three decorative tin ceiling tiles for – as samples, so you could see which one you wanted to use in your home. Except people started ordering the “free” tiles as wall decor. And of course after hundreds of people kept doing this, they stopped sending out samples – and gosh, I’m sure that someone legitimately needed those samples because they were actually buying tiles.
Anyway.. I doubt Benjamin Moore will ever start charging for paint swatches, but it seems kind of.. I don’t know.. cheat-y?? to use them solely for decor. If I had paint swatches anyway and then wanted to use them for a bookmark..? Sure.. sure. Buuut… I don’t know.
It looks great. And I love you guys. And I hope you’re not offended! :)
Sima says
I collect paint swatches, its an addiction. My hubby has to pull me away from the paint section at our local Lowes sometimes. Now I have an idea what to with them, thankyou.
I wanted to ask you what is the paint color on the walls? It looks gray with touch of lavender. I would appreciate it if you could let me know what color it is.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sima,
It’s actually a greige (gray-beige) hue from Glidden called Sand White. We love it so much it’s in our living room too (although it looks grayer in the office and more tan in the living room). Can’t go wrong with it! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carolyn says
I like the right hand side, rows two and three specifically. But…hmm, I kind of think the overall look belongs in the paint section of the hardware store, instead of in a home. I prefer the postcards – they’re more intersting to look at.
patti says
i love it! but, i always have minor guilt when i take the paint swatches for anything but the intended use. did you guys experience that at all??? i suppose i shouldn’t feel bad – i imagine they usually just end up in the trash. ok, never mind…i don’t feel that bad. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Patti,
We collected that stack of paint swatches when we were planning the sunroom ceiling and floor stenciling project (we didn’t have a definitive color direction til we got them home and held them up) so we think it’s fair game as long as you use them to plan your painting projects and follow up by purchasing paint (since that’s what they’re there for).
Since we sprung for two different gallons of paint after snagging the swatches (for both the ceiling and the floor stencil) along with buying tons of paint in general and using swatches for mood board color suggestions we think it’s fair game to play around with the stack of leftover swatch cards that we had sitting around. We figure it’s better than letting them go to waste!
xo,
s
Megan says
I gasped when I saw the new design. LOVE all the colors.
Sulma says
Very nice! I love the uniform look and the gradation.
katie.kiNdess says
I love the clean new look, but i have to admit i laughed when i thought of going into Lowe’s and finding all the paint swatches gone due to the new inspired zero $ design of yhl.. :) Keep up the posts! love them~
Katie says
I keep discarded paint swatches in a particular spot to use as bookmarks or gift tags. Sure, those aren’t the intended use, but I do purchase some of the paint colors and I think it’s better to recycle the swatches creatively rather than let them go to waste!
Shontay says
I have used the Martha Stewart paint in 3 rooms now and I am sold…LOVE the rich colors. Lemongrass was gorgeous in my office, Beach grass was the color my son picked out for his room (my all time fav…beautiful green), and my oldest son picked out Rain Water (which I have had a few friends go out and get the same color and use in their home).
Andrea says
It looks like the floor of my living room right now! We just moved and I spread out all my paint swatches by color last night :)
Daria says
I wove with long paint swatches once, have a couple pictures of how it turned out.
I absolutely adore the new design!
Hayley says
Hey John & Sherry!
I love this, and am contemplating a postcard wall of my own. I wanted to ask – does it get dusty up there? Do you need to vacuum or do you dust? If so, do you need to take the postcards down each time? Or does it stay relatively clean?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Harley,
We’ve only had our postcard shelves a few months but so far they’ve stayed totally clean and pristine so we haven’t whipped out the microfiber cloth yet. It’s probably because things are contantly being swapped out and rotated around, so if you create a more static display you’ll probably need to take it down and dust from time to time. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Johanna says
I like both looks, but this sure takes your shelves from “pretty display” to “wall art”. I immediately thought that this setup could come in very handy when you two are pondering the newest mood-board colors. :)
Now why do I think that foreign paint swatches always look nicer than our German ones?
Diana says
I saw this tutorial on the Ready Made blog:
http://www.readymade.com/blog/home-and-garden/2010/08/24/easy_party_decor_garland
So I grabbed some leftover brown paint chips to make a fun garland to put on the wall above my sewing machine.
pamela says
What a great “re-use” idea. I grab a couple paint swatches whenever I go into a home improvement store, sometimes to use and sometimes just to dream a little. Most of the time I grab a couple of the same one so I can put them on the wall to see the color at different times of the day and also carry one in my purse to match things to the wall color that I finally decide on. I have re-used them for various things, like book marks and tags on gifts. I don’t want to throw them away after the paint company has spent money making them. This is another perfect use for them.
I just wish I were lucky enough to have a hubby that could make amazing shelves, darn it!
Erica says
This is so beautiful! I always love all the colors but don’t want to commit to them on my walls! My burning question is. . . I was on Katie’s blog and so relieved that her house gets unorganized too! Does your house ever get that way and I would love a post about how to get it under control. Without fail my house goes down the tubes every school year! I’m a teacher. How do you keep up?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Erica,
Piles of clutter definitely pop up, in fact we just posted about an out of control side table with everything from a snot bulb to a slew of vitamins on it (see that writeup here). We do our best to keep them from totally taking over our house though, probably because we’re clean as you go folks thanks to our past lives in NYC where we had tiny apartments that looked chaotic and cluttered with even the smallest amount of mess. But although we do our best to clean things up as we go and spend ten minutes a day staying on top of things (instead of needing huge chunks of time each weekend) we do admit that sometimes things get hairy and we do a major detox (filling bags for Goodwill, returning all borrowed items to their proper owners, and flinging a few things into the closets so we can breathe again). Feel free to check out our Projects page (see that tab up on our blog header?) which has a cleaning category that might help shed some light on a ton of our cleaning and organizing methods. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jen {Savvy Homegirl} says
Awesome, but what if a breeze blows through?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jen,
We’ve had the windows open for the past few days (it’s been soooo nice and cool) and they haven’t moved a smidge. We thought we’d have to use white sticky tack but that routed little notch in each shelf seems to hold them in place really well. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kasey says
I think that’s a fun idea. I have used paint swatches in photo frames before to add pops of color. I think between the two though [the before and now with the swatches] I liked the postcard [before]. I’m not sure why… I guess it seemed more ‘personal’ and had a little bit more ‘character’. But in the end it’s what you guys enjoy. :)
Kyle says
You two are all sorts of ridiculous awesome.
Emily says
I once cut green paint chips into Christmas tree shapes and used as gift tags. I just used white, silver, or gold paint pens on them so that the name would show.
Halley (Blunder Construction) says
With the swatches, it is so easy to swap out the shades depending on your mood, the weather, the season, etc. Mounting the paint swatches on some matte board would be interesting?
Abigail says
I love the oddity of this idea and how well it all worked out! Good for you!
I’m wondering what to put on my office wall, and I like the interchangeability of your postcards. Do you have any trouble with any of them fading from sunlight exposure, or are they switched too regularly for that to be a problem?
Thanks for sharing another fun idea. I have paint swatches from previous and current painting projects that I have been wondering what to do with. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Abigail,
We do switch them out often and have only had the postcard wall up for a few months so we haven’t noticed any fading yet. Perhaps if your wall isn’t in direct sunlight (ours gets a bit of light from the nearby window but we wouldn’t call it direct) your cards will be more protected? Or you can always scan them and print them on card stock or back them with foam core for the wall (and keep the originals somewhere safe). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
what a cool idea. love it. you could even go with the season if you wanted to and get some other colors on that wall too. Nice!!!! Love it!!!!
I have swatches on my bulletin board in our office. It’s fun to look at as well.
Pao Ying says
I use leftover paint chips in the place of greeting cards. I use the bigger ones for “bigger occasions” (e.g., birthdays) and the smaller ones for “just because” notes. It’s fun because sometimes I can find a leftover paint chip that corresponds to the gift I’m giving. Once the paint color was called “coffee” and I happened to be giving fresh coffee beans and a mug. I love re-purposing things!
connie says
I’m in the middle of a bathroom / hallway / bedroom redo and I’ve been using Martha Stewart’s Low-VOC paint and LOVE it! I used Spring Melt, Rice Paper, Tailor’s Chalk, and Sunken Pool. I’m adding one of the grays into the mix soon as well.
I totally love your wall and what a great change. My only suggestion is maybe using a small bit of double sided tape and taping them to the wall so they look more substantial. As they are, they look temporary.
I hope you’ll visit my blog and help me with some decisions on where to go next!
Thanks & fab blog!
Lydia says
i know this is a frightfully late comment… just recently found your blog…but i was just thinking how good a few of your magnetic wall flowers would look with the swatches
Katie says
I love the idea of your shelves and being able to switch it up in a moments notice… I just did my own “paint chip” project…
http://ktdlzll.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-heart-is-chipped.html
.. and am thoroughly impressed at how it turned out!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! I heart it.
xo,
s
Frank says
I love this idea, I like how accessible the products are. I like the paint swatches, very simple but modern looking, best of all it probably cost you guys $0! between the post card and the pain swatches, which one is your favourite?
YoungHouseLove says
We eventually went back to the postcards since they were so meaningful and such a variety of things to look at. We still miss this postcard ledge project, so we’ll have to hang it up in our current house for sure (it’s sitting in our playroom just waiting to be hung).
xo,
s