Why You Should Know Your Paint Color’s LRV

Taking on a paint project leads the most organized person to wonder what to do first. Dozens of questions linger in your mind throughout the day and keep you up at night.Here’s a couple of questions that bounce around when you know you’re sooo ready to paint:

Should I paint the room by myself? Would it be better if I hire someone?

Don’t worry too much about answering those questions. Your budget and/or energy level will determine who’s picking up the paint brush.

After you’re all settled on who’s painting, you know what comes next? It’s the biggie. It’s the reason for all of your concern.

What paint color will work better for this kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/living room?

I’m going to take a wild guess. You’ve been eyeing a paint color for awhile now. You love it. You’re seeing it online. You’re seeing it in magazines at the dentist office. You’re seeing it ev-er-y-where.

And that beautifully staged room (online) with the perfect lighting has you thinking that the minute that color gets painted on your walls…that’s it.  Your room will somehow pull together instantly and it’ll be every thing you dreamed about.

Not so fast.

Many factors determine the best paint color choice for your room’s color update. If you’re choosing the paint color to satisfy your personal whimsy and sheer happiness, it’s best to find a starting point with colors that bring you joy and they’ll work with your room’s contents.

On the other hand, if you’re selling the house, this is not the time to show off your personal taste. Sorry to be a bummer. It’s true.

This is the time when you’ll want to put on your VP of Marketing cap take a “safer” approach to showcase what’s valuable about the home. Distracted homebuyers almost always wonder how much it will cost to repaint.

Now that you know how important (or not-so-important) the paint color should be, when you’re narrowing down colors, this is where the LRV comes in handy.

What does LRV mean?

You may have heard the term LRV bounced around when it comes to paint color and nod your head like you know what it’s all about. It’s not a hard concept to grasp even if you’re not a paint color nerd like some of us.

LRV stands for Light Reflective Value. When looking at a color chart, the hues range from light to dark. The darkest color (black) reflects 0% of light and the lightest color (white) reflects 100% light.

Colors falling within the range from 0 to 100 receive a number (the LRV) to assist with determining how much light that single paint color will reflect once its painted on a surface.

Why worry about the LRV?

Don’t worry if the term “LRV” sounds a bit technical. It’s a simple way to help you determine how light or dark you want your room to look and feel once you paint the walls in your space.

For instance, let’s say you love a blue-green paint color for your powder room. The LRV number assists with determining if you’re going into the direction of a cozy, electic powder room, or one that’s like a spa retreat at a seaside location.

How do you find the LRV?

Oh, this is an easy one. If you need to narrow down paint color options and want the darkest of the two paint swatches, the LRV can be found on the front or back of the small paint chip card/swatch.

You can also check the paint company’s website for more information on the Light Reflective Value of each paint color or code.

If the outdated paint colors in your house need a refresh before listing the property, a paint color consultation helps add value when you know the specific paint colors that work with your property’s existing features.