Hi all, I'm going to share some tips on the tricky task of choosing a pale blue paint color. If what you're going for is baby blue, no need to read further. If you're looking for a sophisticated pale blue, take a look at what happened here.

This photo was taken with settings to reflect how the swatch appears in real life.

My goal was to pick an accent color for a backsplash that read blue with a hint of gray. Not baby blue, not a color that sometimes read gray or green. Just a nice muted blue.

Having said that, when you look at the swatch above, it might seem to fit the bill.

Above: Here's another color that might fit the bill but definitely more gray. When you read up on blue paints, you'll often see advice to look at grays because when you paint it over a whole wall, the blue in it really gets magnified.

Above: Comparing these two, I thought the top color was way too gray. Remember this was supposed to be an accent color that always read blue.

Well, this is what happened when I painted with the bottom color. The photo is auto-enhanced as most cameras do these days, but in person, sometimes it did scream baby blue like this. This is even after testing the swatch in the same strong daylight here.

And here it is repainted in the top grayer color Silvery Blue. This is the most "blue" it gets. At night, it's a gorgeous.....silvery blue.

Tips:

1. For painting entire walls, look in the gray section for colors with just a touch of blue. If I were painting a full wall, Silvery Blue would still look too "blue" in person. Smoke and Pale Smoke are popular favorites.
2. Don't compare swatches next to each other. Test swatches individually. (Notice how the silvery blue seemed more gray in the 3rd photo compared to the 2nd photo, even though everything was the same.)
3. Don't test swatches directly on top of the old color that will be gone. It will change your perception of the swatch. Taping the swatch to a blank piece of paper then taping that to the wall is a better way.
4. Take a picture of the wall with the swatch on there. Modern cameras tend to oversaturate color so you'll really pick up on the undertones. Also, if you're painting to sell your house, you'll get an idea of how the realtor photos will turn out. It may be different from what you see in person.

Happy painting!