1750 Shades of Home #PaintFinder

You think you know what you want when you enter a place to buy something? You have the image and the design of your desired object fixed in your head. Just go in there, get what you want and leave.
Simple, right?

Well, that was before you became spoiled for choices. That was before you realized that there were not 5 choices but over a 1750! That you did not have just one but all the best choices in the country to choose from, right at your fingertips.

The concept seems simple enough - makeover the rooms of your house, choosing the colors available. There are some lovely preset themes but you also have the choice to personalize your rooms using the unique #PaintFinder feature at BedBathMore.
The preset themes are pretty awesome by themselves, obviously mixed and matched together by a superior eye. These included the likes of Dusky Lavender, Dusted Pink and Lemon Cooler which did have a certain youthful, summer grace to them and were appealing.

But I needed to do my own thing! I needed to see and decide for myself how the house would look and what colour best suited the ambiance of each room. I figured I would have my 'theme' ready within an hour.


That was a day ago...

Oh boy. The gift of choice is something that can really carry you away, is it not? You think it is easy being given the freedom to select any colour for any room? As you can see from the pictures below, I can't even decide which colour works best for each individual room, let alone how to make them look good together!

They all look so darn unique.

Too much pastel?

Honestly, the #PaintFinder is an absolutely mesmerizing feature. You just choose the initial level of intensity (much like how we used to find a colour with MS Paint) and instantly, the 24 closest shades of paint available are displayed on the screen. Click on any one and the walls on the image of the room shown beside it changes to that colour. You have 7 rooms in total so you can easily flip through all 7. 

Here is what I liked best in an already awesome feature: below the room, the name of the company selling the particular shade is also displayed along with the name of the shade and the code. You can save the shades you like for future reference and even have a 'shade card' delivered directly to your home for easy future reference, if so desired. 

There is also a Cost Calculator and a Product Comparison so that you can have a rough idea how much it would cost to paint each room and which brands come under which category. The fact that they include all the best brands in India - Asian Paints, Nerolac, Berger etc - makes it simply an awesome option to select the ones that appeal to you instead of being hindered by limiting yourself to just one brand, as we normally do.

All that is fine but in the end, what did I select? Well, I really did consider mimicking the best of the themes they had already showcased but in the end, the urge to be different got the better of me. There were so many permutations and combinations; so many decisions to make. 

• Should I try to blend the colours of all the rooms together? 
• Should I go for a vibrant colour in one room and then match the other rooms with light shades of the same? 
• Which colour best suits which room and furniture? 
• Did some rooms deserve to have a subdued shade to accentuate other features?

The theme I created is Pangaea.
Pangaea, as some might remember, is what the world once was - a supercontinent of just one land mass surrounded by water before we slowly drifted apart into individual continents. It is a moment in time when all the elements that made the planet - land, trees and water - were intertwined with no borders.
I deliberately decided to make each colour unique and yet, interlink to another one so to represent each of the elements of Pangaea.

• The light shades of blue would add a sense of peace and calmness to the surroundings, thus making them ideal for the sitting room and the bath. They are carefully chosen so that they accentuate the room and yet do not draw attention to themselves.
• In the living room and dining hall, you want the people to be the stars and so mild shades of earthy French Vanilla and Baby Bonnet would ensure that your eyes do not get overwhelmed. Blends of orange and yellow denote optimism and friendliness and are perfect for rooms where people will sit together for awhile.
• A hint of a fresh garden green in the kitchen invites you to come in and stay for a healthy snack. Green tends to be associated with health and freshness and thus serves itself best while matching to pristine white furniture. Of course, that green is a mere prelude to the kids room where a chirpy bright lemony green will greet the kids every morning and match their exuberance.

I will say I had a lot of fun mixing and matching to make the rooms in my house look unique. I am sure there are so many other combinations which will look wonderful, based on what you are seeking - a bold look or a classical one, summer shades or ethnic, old school or modern. There is really is only one easy way to find out - go to BedBathMore, check out the themes available and then do your own thing with the PaintFinder.

As for me, I'm off to relax in Pangaea.


Author's note: 
I am participating in the #PaintFinder activity in Association withBlogAdda & Bed Bath & More

P.S. I won.