Once again, it’s one of those busy weeks where projects are everywhere. After stenciling the bath and closet floors, squeezing in some seasonal crafts, and installing extra-thick crown molding in Clara’s room, we’re now sealing the stenciled floors, finishing the canopy wall, ripping out old stair carpeting, and anxiously waiting to grout the sunroom tile as soon as the weather clears up. In the middle of all that, we received a reader question that felt worth answering, so here we go.

Q: Do you ever make painting mistakes? I feel like I’m always choosing the wrong color, or worse, I don’t pick anything because I’m intimidated by the possibility of a bad choice. After all these years of painting walls, trim, doors, ceilings, and even floors, do you have any tips? I’d love a roundup of paint mistakes you’ve made and what they taught you—mainly so I can avoid the same fate! – Marta F.

A: We like to think we’ve gotten fairly good at choosing paint colors: we usually start with a clear vision, hold swatches up in the room to observe them in different lighting, and buy test pots when a decision feels uncertain. But we’ve definitely made bad calls, and those missteps have taught us a lot. Here are some of the biggest paint mistakes we’ve learned from and the lessons they taught us.

#1 – The Amazing Technicolor Dream House
Our first big mistake was painting nearly every room in our first house a wildly different color that didn’t coordinate with adjacent rooms: tiffany blue here, mint green there, and a problematic yellow-and-red combo that felt chaotic. The result was a disconnected, choppy home. We ended up repainting most rooms with a more cohesive palette and the house instantly flowed better. The rooms felt larger and much more harmonious.

LESSON LEARNED: Think about how colors will flow from room to room. In smaller homes or when you want a calmer feel, use fewer distinct colors and make sure they work together. Bold choices can still be successful if they’re part of a cohesive palette.

#2 – An Unappetizing Glow
One of the most polarizing colors we used in our old kitchen cast a yellow-ish glow that made white cabinets and counters look cream under certain lighting. Even though the color photographed awkwardly, the real problem was the way it reflected on glossy surfaces. We repainted the kitchen in a medium blue that neutralized the unwanted yellow cast and made surfaces look truer to white.

LESSON LEARNED: Consider how a paint color will affect other elements in the room—especially glossy surfaces. Bold or warm hues can reflect and change how whites and neutrals appear.

#3 – Subtle Becomes Not-So-Subtle in Concentration
Colors that look pleasant on a small swatch can hit very differently when applied over large areas. We typically favor desaturated versions of colors—those with a touch of gray or brown—because they read more balanced on walls. When we ignore that rule, even a soft shade can intensify in small, enclosed spaces. For example, a very pure light pink we used on Clara’s ceiling looked fine there but felt overwhelming in her closet under artificial light.

LESSON LEARNED: Test colors in the exact space and lighting where you’ll use them. A color that’s perfect on a ceiling or in a large room can feel too intense in a small, enclosed, or artificially lit area.

#4 – Exteriors Are Counter-Intuitive
Exterior colors behave differently because they’re hit by strong natural light. We once chose a lighter gray for our siding that washed out in afternoon sun. Luckily we noticed quickly and went darker, but it was an expensive close call.

LESSON LEARNED: For exteriors, darker and more saturated colors often perform better in strong sunlight. Always test large swatches and sample paint on the actual surface before committing.

#5 – Don’t Judge Paint While It’s Wet or Isolated
We almost painted our sunroom ceiling a subtle blue that looked too faint when we sprayed planks on the ground. Once installed—out of direct light, paired with crisp white trim, and viewed as a whole—the color was exactly what we wanted. Paint also darkens as it dries, and context matters.

LESSON LEARNED: Wait until paint is fully dry and in place before making final judgments. Viewing samples on the wrong plane or while they’re still wet can be misleading.

The key truth we’ve learned: even with careful testing—holding swatches against surfaces, observing in different light, painting test patches—you can’t truly know how a color will perform until the job is finished and dry. That can be unnerving, but every mistake teaches something useful. Our final reassuring mantra, which still helps when we’re nervous about a choice: “It’s only paint.”

Our Favorite Paint Colors

If you’re struggling to pick the right color, we’ve written detailed posts about some of our favorite paints:

• The 12 Best White Paint Colors
• Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
• Benjamin Moore Simply White
• Sherwin-Williams Pure White
• Sherwin-Williams Extra White