***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
This week’s feature was a colorful one: a giveaway offering three winners a free gallon of Behr paint plus a complimentary Behr paint fan deck. With Behr’s palette of thousands of colors, it was a great way to inspire spring refreshes and smaller makeover projects around the home.
Choosing the right paint color is often the most challenging part of a room update. To help with that, Behr provides an online tool called Paint Your Place. This free, browser-based resource lets you virtually paint rooms using photos you upload. It’s an easy, low-commitment way to experiment with color combinations and lighting before you buy a single can of paint.
We tested the tool by uploading a photo of our third bedroom to see how a bold color might look if the room ever becomes a nursery. The sample color we tried was Thermal Spring, and it transformed the small space into a jewel-like room. The virtual preview preserved natural shadows and sun spots from the original photo, which made the result feel realistic and helpful for decision-making. The selector also made it simple to tweak the hue—lightening, darkening, or shifting the balance toward more green or more blue—so you get a better sense of how subtle changes affect the final look.
One of the most useful aspects of the virtual painting tool is that it allows you to test multiple options quickly. Instead of buying sample pots or painting tiny swatches on the wall, you can see several colors in context and determine which undertones work best with your room’s lighting, furniture, and flooring. That can save time, money, and the frustration of repainting when a chosen color doesn’t read the way you expected in real life.
Although this particular giveaway has ended, the idea behind it remains useful: a single gallon of quality paint can dramatically change a room, and having a fan deck makes choosing coordinating colors much easier. Fan decks provide physical color swatches you can hold up to fabrics, trims, and flooring to test undertones in different lighting conditions. For anyone planning a painting project, combining the online preview tool with a fan deck is an effective approach.
We encouraged readers to share their own repaint plans when the giveaway was active. If you’re considering a refresh now, think about which room will benefit most: a bedroom for a calmer palette, a living area for a warm welcoming tone, or a small room where a bold color might add character. Note how natural and artificial light change a color throughout the day, and use both digital previews and physical swatches to narrow your choices.
For projects large and small, testing color virtually and confirming choices with a fan deck can help you avoid costly mistakes and find a finish you’ll enjoy for years. Screenshots shown here were courtesy of Behr and illustrate how their tools can simplify color selection.