The time has come to pick paint colors for the basement family room as well as the laundry room. It should come as no surprise that I’m going with a neutral in the family room. Since the walls are mostly covered by the board and batten there will be just a small section of the wall that needs paint on top. I actually have paint left over from when I painted the entire house when we moved in. I’ll be using one of my favorite colors,  Benjamin Moore’s Brandy Creme. The color will run up into the hallway upstairs where I have a special project planned. More on that later! The laundry room has no windows so I am going with something light and airy, Behr’s Breaker.

I took a couple different paints to come to this decision so I thought I’d share how I do it. First up, I bought some foam core. Then I purchased the little sample bottles for each type of paint. Since I had most of the neutrals I didn’t have to actually buy those this time. I painted small patches of paint onto the outer corners of the foam core, making sure to label them! I put the paint on the edges so that I can hold it up against door frames, window frames, etc to see the paint against the white moldings.

Then I wait. I wait for a sunny day, a rainy day, nighttime, every scenario you can possibly imagine. I carry the board around to different rooms to make sure I like it in natural light, artificial light and everything in between. It is basically my very own Flat Stanley. Obviously my kids have also gotten hold of my artwork and added some of their own. 

This method has served me well and I have never put up a color and regretted it. So far. This is the first time I am painting a space with basically no windows so I’m hoping my record holds up.