Paint samples nothing like on wall, help!

[Number12]

We bought a new house a few years ago and the previous owner has painted it the same pale yellow throughout. I hate yellow.

Every paint sample I try turns, grey, lilac, blue. I know I know I can hear you all saying its the light and the undertones etc but its every room, most rooms are south facing so I didn't think I should have this problem!?! I've spent hundreds on testers. Please someone save me, I've never encountered problems like this before this house!!

Im want Little Greens Portland Stone Pale, great on white paper but put it on the wall and its lilac grey. I don't want grey I want a warm neutral with if any hint of anything green. I've got a shitload of testers....not one works.

Any ideas on how to solve this?

Have you tried stain blocking the walls? What happens if you paint the walls white?

I've just painted a small area white. Once that is dry I'll try again. I did try this when I painted the hallway (north facing) and it didn't make a difference, so fingers crossed it works in this south facing room. If it doesn't, I really don't know what to do. Ill update later.

Ok, I've now painted the portland stone on top of the white and its a different colour again. It's more dark grey. Its closer in colour but no stone in it. I want to give up!!

You will probably need a proper undercoat to fully block the original colour, and that might not be white.
Check with the manufacturer or supplier what undercoat they recommend.

Hi thank you, I've just checked and Little Greene do a primer which is tinted to a specific colour... Ill give them a call tomorrow and see what they recommend. Though this will mean at least three coats of paint...

Did the white stay white or did it yellow? I wonder if the previous people who lived in your house were heavy smokers? Noicotone staining can be a right fucker to paint over.

Also, sometimes it will look different because it is being contrasted by the original colour that you can still see. When it's all the same colour it may look different.

Very good point Soup

Previous owner didn't smoke, its definitely not nicotine. I initially painted a test strip on plain white card then painted a test area on the wall. They are completely different when held next to each other. Surely if I can achieve the desired colour in the room on the card then it should be possible on the wall....? So it's definitely the wall not the sunlight? If I can work out how to post a pic I will.

Ok the second strip down is the little green paints and painted directly go the right it is painted onto white... Thoughts. Sorry lighting crap as sun is moving round.

The colour painted on the wall, top left of the card is the paint straight onto wall....its blue.

What happens if you put a second coat on the wall? Do you loose some of the homes you dont like?

We had this problem when we first moved into our new house. We got various greys and they all looked so different on the wall vs. in testers pots. It’s all to do with the lighting I think... a mix of natural sunlight and any artificial lights in the room. We tried so many greys from F&B, Laura Ashley, Dulux, etc. In the end, the best bet was to read loads of reviews and see what people say is the undertone, and pick on that basis. We went for Cornforth White (F&B) for the livingroom, a bright but warm neutral, and various greys for other rooms. Note, Cornforth looked BROWN in our bathroom not good look...

Good luck!

Hi OP, Ive just gone through exactly the same.

What you need to consider is;

Orientation of room (north, south etc)
Time of day (bright sun, evening sun)
Weather (sunny, overcast etc)
Artificial lighting tone (bulbs & shade)
Wall colour
Surroundings colour (reflections will affect paint)
Your perception (we all see colours slightly differently - one persons blue will be another persons violet)

It’s a common problem with greys due to the varying undertones (blue/purple/red/green/brown/yellow).

Try paining the inside of a shoebox with Portland Stone then take it to each of your rooms and walls and compare at different times of day. I think you’d benefit from using a primer to block out the yellow before attempting to paint again.

Ooohhh I hate yellow too. Awful. I’ve just painted slipper satin and all I can see is yellow

The other colours around it are messing with your eyes. What do you decide in the end ??

What did you decide on in the end?