Home Design and Architecture Guide

Free Tools to Choose House Paint Colors

Wouldn’t it be great to preview color combinations on your house, before spending a lot of money on paint? You can, with digital painting tools. Just point and click to see rooms, furnishings, and house exteriors in many different colors. The software and online tools listed here are inexpensive, and most are FREE! Keep in mind, however, that your monitor cannot render colors precisely. Use these digital painting tools to explore possibilities, then test spot your chosen paints in a small area.
1. Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer
Try thousands of Benjamin Moore paint colors. Use the free online tool to view colors on sample photos showing interior and exterior views. Or, buy the $10 “>CD and try Benjamin Moore colors on photos of your own house. Available for Windows and Mac.

2. Resene EzyPaint
Use the easy, free version on EzyPaint online, or pay to download the more sophisticated version which includes a drawing and mapping tool that lets you fine tune the areas you want to color. The Ezypaint programs are available for PC or Mac, and will let you view thousands of colors manufactured by the New Zealand paint company, Resene.

3. American Traditions Virtual Painter
Select from a palette of National Trust approved American Tradition® colors from Lowes. Try your chosen colors on several online photos of interior and exterior views. Easy to use, but the selection of images is limited. Free.

4. Sherwin-Williams Painting Images Color Simulator
Select a photograph that most closely resembles the style of your house, then choose the Sherwin-William palette to experiment with color combinations. Free.

5. Bob Vila’s Paint Designer
Home repair guru Bob Vila lets you view his Signature Collection paint colors on several different house styles. You can’t import your own photos, but the free interactive Web page includes a color wheel for easy color selection and a handy estimator tool that calculates how much paint to buy.

6. CBN Selector™
Here’s a complex and powerful tool that lets you visualize the appearance of thousands of colors on a variety of surfaces including stucco and concrete. Once you’ve selected your colors, you’ll have a precise CBN Code that will let you order the color mix you want from your local dealer. You can download this software and try it out for 30 days for free.

7. Better Homes & Gardens Color-A-Home
Register for a free log-in, then use the free online tools to view different color combinations on a variety of house styles.

8. Photo-Editing Programs
Chances are, you already have a photo-editing program on your computer. While not specifically designed to work with house painting, most photo-editing programs include tools that can help you in the color selection process. This page from Microsoft Windows XP shows how to do this using Microsoft Digital Image Suite. Other programs work in similar ways.