With a typical custom or semi-custom home, the builder is deeply involved with the customer's selection decisions.
A few recent innovations in choosing interior and exterior paint mean builders can delegate at least one chore to someone else - the buyer. Builders can guide buyers to a color selection tool, like the ones outlined below, which makes picking a full color scheme a breeze, even for a novice.
Company
|
Tool
|
Where to Go
|
What it Does
|
Benjamin Moore
|
The Personal Color Viewer
|
Lets users try out paint colors and schemes on sample photos of interiors and exteriors online, then view, print and save. User-friendly with lots of room options. The Professional Color Viewer is a CD-ROM version ($14.95) targeted to builders to work with clients.
|
|
Dutch Boy
|
Color Cast
|
Same idea as Benjamin Moore's online color selector, but it offers tips in design (e.g. how to choose colors for different light conditions) and technique throughout the user-friendly process, a paint calculator and a rebate at the end. Relatively few palette options and low-resolution photos.
|
|
Glidden
|
Color@Home II
|
Glidden paint retailers
|
For $5.95, this CD-ROM also lets users upload digital (including Home Depot) photos to paint rooms virtually any color. If buyers prefer actual paint chips, Glidden's over-sized "peel and stick" chips stick and restick on any surface.
|
Home Depot
|
Color Solutions Center
|
All 1,500 Home Depot locations
|
Brings brands together in one 30-foot display. Includes the BEHR Premium Plus interactive kiosk with virtual rooms and color coordination tips. More than 3,000 paint samples available, making color coordination amongst brands a snap.
|
Lowe's
|
Signature Colors Design Center
|
All Lowe's locations by summer's end
|
Unites Laura Ashley, Eddie Bauer and other designer brands from Valspar in a 32-foot display with computerized color selection tool and tips from designers.
|
Advertisement
Related Stories
Design
The New American Home 2024: Modern Features, Timeless Comfort
Explore the design elements and unique, luxe details that combine to create a sense of comfort and relaxed indoor/outdoor living in The New American Home 2024
Design
4 Inspiring Adaptive Reuse Projects With Real Impact
From former schools to warehouses, these adaptive reuse projects—winners in the 2023 Best in American Living Awards—succeed in creating new housing and revitalizing their neighborhoods
Design
Kid-Friendly Home Design Four Ways
Do your ‘family’ homes really deliver great design for parents and their children? Here are four clever home design ideas that consider kids and adults alike