Best Idea Tools of the Trade: Paint Chip Fans are USELESS

apartmenttherapy.com, "Buying a Paint Chip Fan"

When you think of interior designers, don't you picture them with their paint chip fan and an arm-load of fabric samples?  Here is a little secret: these fan decks are useless!!  These color fan decks have the color chips too close together.  They influence each other.  You can't separate an individual color to lay against a carpet sample or fabric on a couch etc.

I took a few color theory classes in college to get my degree, and one of them was a whole semester of making color boards where we tricked the eye.  Something like this:

Making two colors appear as one:

jersygirldesign.blogspot.com, "Color Theory Assignments"

Make one color appear as two:

jerseygirldesign.blogspot.com, "Color Theory Assignments"

So I don't ever use my fan deck.  I've made my own collection of paint chips.  I never throw them away after a project is done.  I use them all the time.  I have a ziplock of paint chips from KMart (don't buy paint here!!) to Sherwin Williams.  Sort-of like Angela at postcardsfromtheridge-angela (nice post!!):

postcardsfromtheridge-angela.blogspot.com, "Paint Color Advice"

So don't bother with the fan deck--just keep those store chips together for easy reference.