68-Square-Foot Paint Swatch Sets World Record

Filed under: Color, Design, etc, News & Trends, Experts

What's 17 feet tall, four feet wide and determined to help you choose the right color for your home? The newest home-related record-breaker: A giant paint swatch!

Ever held a paint swatch up to your wall and thought "I just can't see it!" PPG Pittsburgh Paints feels your pain. So much so that they've made their commitment to you repainting your home in a big way -- a 68-square-feet big way, in the form of a paint swatch that could sufficiently help the Statue of Liberty choose a new color.


The premise is pretty simple -- through research, PPG Pittsburgh Paints found that homeowners have a hard time visualizing what a paint swatch would look like on their walls. So in addition to developing larger take-home swatches in 8.5" x 12" and paint samples, they rolled out the record-breaking swatch made of yes, the same material as its 24-times-smaller counterpart, complete with real paint.

But will we be seeing the 17' tall version in stores? Well, no -- it's stationed in downtown Pittsburgh at 2 PPG Place and will later move to Las Vegas for a trade show. But we spoke to Dee Schlotter, PPG's National Color Brand Manager (hello, fun job) to talk more about choosing colors, how often to paint and why your deli counter might be your first stop on the way to the perfect paint color (really).

ShelterPop: First things first: Your job has "color" in the title. What colors are in your home?

Dee Schlotter: I've actually used one of the colors on the giant paint swatch! It's called "Lichen", and it's that mossy color you see out in the woods, the one that almost glows. That's on three walls of my family room -- the fourth is "Summer Suede." In the kitchen, we have a really rich orange and my breakfast nook is yellow gold.

SP: You don't disappoint! How often do you repaint?

DS: It's been six times in the last 10 years. If you ask my husband? Too often. But I would literally paint every single season if I could. That's the biggest wow factor, the wall color. Why not change it up?

SP: What other colorful projects are you working on?

DS: We're kind of thinking about doing the world's largest paint can! But for now, we're working on a living wall. We're painting it a different color every day, just to see color BIG. Today it's "Autumn Fiesta" -- tomorrow is "Pink Geranium!" It's a great way to see how color can completely change a room.

SP: What about for people at home without living walls and gigantic paint swatches?

DS: You can paint right on your wall, behind a framed picture to get a sense of it, or paint a piece of poster board and put it up. Or if you want to change the color of the ceiling, try this: Go to your local supermarket deli and get a great big piece of unused meat packing paper, the white real thin kind that they use to wrap a roast. Paint the white side (not the shiny side) the color you're considering and then put double-stick tape on the shiny side and stick that up on your ceiling. Because it's so thin, it will stay up and because it's so large, you'll really get a sense of what it looks like.

Thanks, Dee! And if any of you are considering a big color change at home, check out the Voice of Color site for a fun color-choosing game that'll help you narrow things down by your favorite mood, smell and decor style.
Looking for more color inspiration? Check out:
High Gloss Paint: The Best Colors and When to Use It
Decor Don't: Choosing Paint Colors at the Store
Minute Makeover: A Can of Paint Transformed My Kitchen

 

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