Restoration Hardware Paint Color Match

Oh renovating.  I’ve discovered that it’s not for the faint of heart.  Or control freaks like me.  I may even steal Steph’s title of before this is all said and done because I’m so frustrated with what a debacle certain aspects of this process has been.  There have been more days in September where people haven’t been working on the house than there have been.  That makes me *really* grumpy.  Finding out that we’re going to have at least three more dead weeks because of Cabinetgate (another story for another day) makes me grumpy.  

Update:  To see how the paint turned out, check our kitchen renovation reveal!

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My husband has found other things to be grumpy about… His thing is the “emergencies.” That is, the times when our GC calls us and says, “OMG, we NEED THIS TOMORROW!” and we jump through hoops to get it done and throw off our work days… and then it wasn’t all that much of an emergency because we are SO behind schedule.  That happened (again) last week… and it almost did me in.

Last Friday, we were told that we needed to pick a paint color for the base mold, crown molding, and doors.  Now, we’re not too adventurous around here, but I do know that white is not white is not white in the world of paint.  Between the Restoration Hardware paint fan deck and pictures online, I thought RH Seafoam would be gorgeous with the Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper we chose for the living room and kitchen.

I sent my husband down to a local paint store that opened early to have them match RH Seafoam.  They refused. Off to Texas Paint and Wallpaper we went. Not only did they agree to do it, they also recommended that we use the Advance line in the Satin finish for the best look for what we were planning on painting. They cautioned us that the color could be off if the contractors change the formula, so we needed to INSIST that they either 1) use EXACTLY what we picked out or 2) color match it again with whatever formula they were using.  I dropped the can off to my empty house and texted my GC to tell him where it was.

He asked if it was Sherwin Williams.

Nope, Benjamin Moore.  We’ve been planning on using Benjamin Moore the whole time.  I had told him via email repeatedly that we planned to use Benjamin Moore Aura paint, and we asked for our bid to include the higher end paint. We even included the colors in the original emails regarding the bid. A friend recommended it and we’ve had REALLY good experiences with the Aura line.  My husband refuses to use anything else because it was so easy to work with and covered so well.  My house was covered in BM swatches before demo started. (It was hilariously awkward.)

Then the GC calls and tries to tell me how Benjamin Moore paint isn’t good and his painter doesn’t like it.  He only uses Sherwin Williams…. otherwise, it’s going to cost us $30.00 more per gallon.

I’ll spare you my reaction… but no one has ever mentioned SW paint to me, but I’ve definitely mentioned BM to my GC.  I gave him the exact line, the exact paint colors, and everything when we were still in the bidding process.  He should have always known exactly what paint we were using.

I digress. So here I was in love with these paint cards, but I didn’t know what the paint would be like, and given the “urgency” of the situation, I didn’t have time to buy paint, wait for it to come in, and test it on the walls.  That ship has sailed.  

Fortunately, Benjamin Moore has the exact Restoration Hardware paint color match available…

Restoration Hardware Glacier paint = Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper (1632)

Restoration Hardware Seafoam paint = custom color match (photo with details below)

I tried both samples on a piece of drywall and even used the seafoam on a piece of base mold.  It went on just fine and the colors were exact in person.  I’m calling BS on it not going on well and being difficult to work with.  Here’s hoping it looks just as pretty in my house!