I'd been thinking about painting our front doors when a press release from Para Paints arrived, accompanied by a photo of a front door painted a deep brownish red called "Garneta" (P315-5).
While I'd love to have Chinese red doors — that strong red with a blue undertone that makes your teeth ache — it won't work on my house because of the warm peachy tones in the stone. "Garneta" might just be the answer, I thought, especially once the faded faux Tudor crossbeams on the upper cladding are returned to their original dark brown.
I then decided to do something for my own house that I usually reserve for clients. Using my trusty "DesignVision" software, purchased several years ago from Para and since discontinued, I took a digital photo of the front facade and digitally "painted" the cross beams, the front doors, and the door trim on the photo. After a bit of experimentation, I narrowed it down to two potential colour schemes, each with the cross beams painted Para's yummy "Chocolate craving" (P427-5), a rich, dark hue that looks crisp and fresh against the white stucco.
The "Garneta" looks great on the doors and really pops against the white trim. The second potential door colour is Para's "Sea wharf" (P2322-2) with white trim. It's a luscious dark teal, a complementary colour to the aforementioned and despised (by me) peach tones in the stone. I haven't made a decision yet, but having photographic evidence of what each scheme would look like will help sell the idea of yet more painting to hubby.
Three versions of the front door and facade ‘painted’ electronically approximate what various colour combinations might look like. (ELIZABETH RAND-WATKINSON)
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The software I use is great for showing clients what their spaces can look like in new colours, but you don't need to be a designer to use it. It's fast and fun to work. It took me mere minutes of mousing to digitize my photo — the process involves masking the areas to be painted using your computer mouse — and start trying out different colours.
Many of the bigger paint manufacturers offer these software programs and I've broken them down into two categories.
There are those that are free, available online at manufacturer websites, and have stock photos of rooms and exteriors for users to paint. It's a good tool for getting a sense of how certain colours and combinations could look in a furnished space.
These stock photos tend to be of interiors that are spare and uncomplicated. While they're usually attractive, they may not be specific enough for some users to visualize their own spaces in different colours.
If that sounds like you, consider the offerings from the second category — software that can be ordered online in CD-ROM format or downloaded. For a small fee, usually less than $15, this type of software allows you to paint your own digital photographs.
In both categories you're limited, of course, to the paint colours sold by the manufacturer offering the software. This isn't an issue for a couple of reasons: Most manufacturers that offer this software have hundreds of colours to choose from, each of which can look exactly the same on your computer monitor as similar colours from other paint companies. For example, on my computer screen, Para's "Garneta" looks the same as Ralph Lauren's "Balmoral red" and Farrow and Ball's "Eating room red." They're not the same, but they are similar enough to be considered in the same family, and that's the key.
Consider this more personalized type of software a tool to help you narrow down your colour choices from mind-boggling to a few real contenders within the desired colour families. Even better, it'll help you avoid that deer-in-the-headlights stare when confronted by the thousands of paint chips on display at any given paint store.
Virtual colour
Free online tools: These websites let you experiment with paint colours on stock photos:
www.sico.ca offers "Virtual decorator 6000"
www.sherwin-williams.com has the "Colour visualizer"
As Glidden and Dulux are both part of ICI Paints, their websites — www.glidden.com and www.dulux.com — offer the identical tool, in association with Colour Your World stores.
debbietravis.canadiantire.ca lets you paint interiors using palettes arranged by moods such as cheerful, dramatic, nostalgic and calm.
Software: To purchase software that allows you to digitally paint photos of your own home, check out the sites or dealer locations for:
Sico — Its "Virtual decorator Xpert" (for PC only; sorry Mac users) costs $11.95
Benjamin Moore — the "Personal colour viewer 2.0" can be ordered online at www.benjaminmoore.com for $10.
Under construction: Canadian paint manufacturers are emerging as leaders in the development of these consumer-centric digital tools.
Cloverdale Paint (www.cloverdalepaint.com), Western Canada's largest paint manufacturer and one of the largest privately owned regional manufacturers in North America, will be introducing its "Colour visualizer" for sale later this year.
Para Paints (www.parapaints.com) has plans to launch a new virtual decorating tool to help make the colour selection process even easier. Para's offering should be available late this year or early next.
