How to plan painting that next room can be easy and exciting if you know how to see the results before you even start.  Digital is here, so put it to use when planning for that bedroom makeover project, or submit the results to your decorator and know it’s going to be perfect when the job is finished.  There’s a well known company offering a virtual design system you’re going to want to know about, and I reveal the details.  If you can’t save yourself some time with this system and come up with some great ideas, you’re not even trying.  I’ve evaluated the reviews of this particular paint company’s products, but the results are mixed.  Their virtual interior paint system however is definitely more than useful, and it’s an up to date web system anyone can use successfully. Here’s how it works:   Take digital pictures of  each bedroom wall (or any room you’re interested in re-styling) including the ceiling, download to your computer (don’t forget the file name), go to the web site, submit, choose your colors, and you’re on your way to an exciting new bedroom decor.

Who’s the company and what’s the plan?  Be patient and learn a little about what I’ve found, and lets not forget the furnishing details for your new décor theme.  Nearly all décor themes you ever see will include floral arrangements and greenery to help set an inviting tone.

If you have time and money to buy and replace flower arrangements weekly, no one has allergies, and you have people to maintain your house plants while on vacation, go ahead.  Otherwise, you will be money ahead using today’s computer designed, realistic silk plants, silk flower arrangements and dried natural arrangements from a reputable company that guarantees your satisfaction.

I invested over an hour registering, reading and watching the tips, taking pictures of our bedroom, “masking” and “painting” with this company’s virtual system.  My rating of the system?  To be fair, I give the company an over all rating of 7 out of 10, but my experience was about a 5 since I wasn’t able to get the masking system to work.  I’m assuming it’s my error, but the ease of use rating is a 6 on my rating scale.  The registration is not long, but a bit irritating when in a hurry.  The short video tools for using the system are a must, but short and to the point.  The video is a bit fast in some areas, but you can keep replaying each step until you retain the info.

The color scheme system works well when planning the colors you’re going to use, and once you pick your primary, three other matching accent colors are offered.  This is a great help, and the color shade adjustments work well if you want to tweak them for your style.  Overall a great system providing you can overcome the masking step problem.  You can even create your own “workbook” and come back to it when needed.

The well known paint company that provides the virtual system is top rated on Consumers Reports.  However after reading a dozen reviews by users don’t let Consumers make your decision.  Be very careful in choosing your paint brand, and by all means:

•  Experiment with paint samples on your walls before you purchase your paint.

•  Do NOT buy 5 gallon containers in this market as paint is getting old.

•  Do NOT use commercial thinners without carefully experimenting.

Some paints will be ruined if you use a certain commercial thinner according to a review on Consumers Reports who learned the hard way.  (See their top rated paint reviews).

To summarize, that new painting project can be a lot of fun planning with the virtual system, as well as effective.  Follow the easy steps and you can see how your new room will look (or very close).  Next, purchase samples of the paint colors you found in the sheen you want.  If you’re doing the project yourself I recommend going to the store and previewing the appropriate color strips to decide which  paint samples to try.  Don’t be too conservative with this step, as too many paint samples are better than not enough.  Save yourself an extra trip to the store.  Now try your colors on the surfaces and and let them dry over night.  How does it look in the various light sources?  Happy with the colors AND the paint performance?  If you don’t like the paint’s attributes choose a different brand.  Use the color strips from the first source to help you find the right choice, but do some research before you choose.

Be sure to read our previous post about color trends if you don’t know where to start, and don’t miss the tip about skipping  the masking step!  These tips are in the same post:  Exciting Grays Take Over Beige.

See a quick video of the system.

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My Best, Billy Goldmark                                                    Silky Flower Store