Two Paint Color Websites I Can’t Live Without
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Picking the perfect paint color can feel like solving a puzzle. You have that vision of the ideal shade in your head, but things start to blur once you get to the paint aisle. Does this happen to you, too? If so, let me introduce you to two game-changing paint color websites that make the process easier (and way more fun): Encolorcyclopedia and Match My Paint Color.
Brand-name paint websites are helpful, too (such as Sherwin Williams), but these two websites, in particular, have been a lifesaver for me. They’re so helpful for anyone decorating, renovating, or simply repainting a room. Let’s dig into what makes them unique and how they’ve earned a permanent spot in my decorating toolkit.
1. Encolorcyclopedia: Your Ultimate Paint Color Resource
The name alone says it all—it’s like an encyclopedia for paint colors. Whether you’re a total newbie or a seasoned DIY-er, Encolorcyclopedia is packed with features to help you:
- Explore Thousands of Paint Colors: The site catalogs paint shades from virtually every brand you can think of. From iconic Sherwin-Williams classics to niche designer colors, you’ll find them all here. This is especially helpful if you are brand loyal.
- Compare Colors Side by Side: If you’re torn between two (or five) shades, you can easily compare them. It even gives you detailed info on undertones, finishes, LRV, and how lighting might affect the color.
What do I love to use it for? If I’m doing a moodboard in Canva, I like to pull colors out of rugs, bedding, or pillow covers, then try to find complementary paint colors to match. You can easily pull the hex code out of an item and then input that hex code into Encolorcyclopedia to find matching paints.
If I’m starting from scratch, I’ll use Color Hunt to find palettes that catch my eye or scroll Pinterest for inspiration photos. You can install free extensions, like Color Picker or ColorZilla, to extract the hex codes from any photo online using a Chrome browser. It’s such a handy tool!
2. Match My Paint Color: The Magic of Color Matching
Have you ever found a color you love but couldn’t figure out what it was? Maybe it was on a Pinterest photo, in a store display, or even in a fabric swatch. Enter Match My Paint Color, the website that takes the guessing out of the equation.
Here’s what makes this tool so cool:
- Find Matching Shades Across Brands: Let’s say you love a Benjamin Moore color but prefer using Behr paint. This site helps you find the closest match in other paint brands. No more running around with swatches! I often use this tool with Farrow and Ball shades because I prefer using Sherwin Williams, Ben Moore, Valspar, or Behr paints.
- Discover the most popular colors from all paint brands: One of the coolest features of Match My Paint Color is its most popular colors section. It’s like a cheat sheet for the top shades from your favorite brands, whether it’s Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, or Behr. You can get this information from individual paint brand sites, but it’s so nice to see it all laid out together.
If you’re curious about the tried-and-true hues everyone loves (think classic whites, moody blues, and trending greens), this tool makes it easy to explore them all in one place. Perfect for when you need a little inspiration—or want to make sure you’re picking a color that’s stood the test of time.
Here’s a recent example of how I used Match My Paint Color. I fell in love with a maroon paint from Farrow and Ball called Preference Red for our entryway cabinet. Match My Paint Color helped me find close matches in my favorite paint brands, and I ultimately decided on Red Henna from Valspar. This tool made it so much easier to narrow down my selection.
And here’s the thing—these two sites are even better when you use them together. I often start on Encolorcyclopedia to explore options and narrow down my choices. Then, I’ll hop over to Match My Paint Color to find my favorite paint brand matches. I think Encolorcyclopedia has this paint-matching feature, too; I just find Match My Paint Color to be much easier to use.
So, I hope this helps you in the overwhelming world of paint colors we live in! 🙂