Mixing & Matching Paint Colours for a Kitchen

The interior designer opened with a killer line. I had no comeback.

“I hear you’re very professional,” she said.

I wasn’t going to deny it. Nevertheless, how do you reply to that without sounding like you think you’re the Cristiano Ronaldo of kitchen painters? I settled on, “Thank you.”

The designer went on to say that she had a particular colour in mind. Could I match it?

This happens occasionally, when a client has seen a colour they adore. Fortunately, the paint manufacturer I work with here in Ireland is very accommodating. They’ve mixed a number of colours at their factory especially for me.

Matching colours with high-end kitchen paints

You might wonder why I don’t just buy the paint that the client has seen. To be honest, the paints I use are very high end. The client may like the colour of a paint made by another manufacturer, but the paint itself might not be suitable or up to the standard I like to give my clients. In those instances, I get the colour matched by my regular paint supplier.

I told the designer that I could match the colour.

The benefit of working with people who care is that they care. It sounds stupid, I know, but it really is important. Here's an example of why.

The first batch my supplier mixed up was ever so slightly off. Not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. They double checked before delivery and got in touch. They were going to do it again, so there would be a delay in delivery. I didn’t mind. It needed to be right. A less caring manufacturer could have sent the paint to me and I wouldn’t have been any the wiser, with disastrous consequences. Imagine delivering a kitchen to a client that isn’t the right colour. Nightmare.

When the second batch of paint arrived with me, I wanted to do my own double check. Just to be absolutely sure. So I did a test and I painted a heel block.

This is where the story gets a little bit weird. You wouldn’t associate kitchen painting with rendezvous in hotel car parks, I’m sure. But bear with me. It’s all above board.

The interior designer had been extremely worried about matching the colour. She even admitted to not sleeping over it. I arranged to meet her in a hotel car park (the only way our busy schedules could overlap) to show her the painted heel block. She was so relieved when she saw it. The colour was perfect.

When the kitchen was done, she sent me a four-word message: “Take a bow, Lee.”