How We Review and Rate Paint Colors
We look at paint colors from every major brand: Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Farrow & Ball, Valspar. A paint chip can’t tell you if a color will actually work in your house.
Here’s how we figure that out.
How we pick what to review
We review colors people are already searching for. That means the shades people ask about most, and the colors trending each season. We don’t review a color because a brand sent it to us.
The specs
Every review starts with the basics: the Light Reflectance Value (LRV), the undertone, and how the color reads across different brands. You’ll find these numbers at the top of each review.
Living with the color
When we say we’ve used a color in a real room, we mean it. We’ve painted bathrooms, kitchens, stairwells with these colors. Colin Archer, who covers most of our paint and finishes content, tests a color herself before she writes a word about it, mistakes included, so what you read actually holds up in a real home.
We watch how a color changes from morning light to evening light, because that’s usually where people get surprised.
Colors people mix up
Some colors get confused with each other all the time. Revere Pewter and Anew Gray. Thunder Gray and Storm Cloud. When that happens, we test both side by side instead of writing about them separately.We watch how a color changes from morning light to evening light, because that’s usually where people get surprised.
What makes something "Worth It"
Our verdict comes down to four things:
- Undertone: does it look the way the brand says it will, in real light?
- Versatility: how many rooms and styles does it actually suit?
- Coordinating: how easy is it to pair with trim, cabinets, and flooring?
- Livability: does it hold up once it’s really on your wall?
If a color does well on most of these, we call it Worth It. If it’s great for one specific use but not for everything, we say that instead of forcing a yes or no.
Before it goes up
One person writes each review. Someone else on our team checks it before it’s published. Nothing goes up without a second look.
No paid reviews
We don’t get paid by paint brands for good reviews. Our verdicts aren’t for sale.
What we don't do
- We don’t rate a color without actually looking into its undertones.
- We don’t copy a brand’s marketing copy and call it a review.
- We don’t compare two colors without testing both the same way.
Found a mistake?
- If a color match, a spec, or anything else in one of our reviews looks wrong, tell us. We’ll check it and fix it. Send us a note on our Contact page.