If you’ve ever stood in front of a wall of paint chips, squinting and second-guessing your every decision, you’re not alone. Choosing paint colours can feel overwhelming at the best of times—but imagine choosing them for an entire home, before a single piece of furniture is in place, before the lighting is installed, and before you even have flooring. That’s exactly the challenge DIY influencer Holly Grace faced when she returned to her home after a devastating fire.

Her house had been completely gutted — restored right back to fresh drywall and unfinished floors. While that clean slate might sound like a dream to some, to Holly, it was a daunting puzzle. “You’re not just picking colours,” she shared on Instagram. “You’re trying to imagine a full life in a space that hasn’t come back together yet.” And she’s right—paint isn’t just about aesthetics. It sets the mood, frames the design, and helps your home feel like home.

Prepping Drywall: Where the Real Work Begins

Before you can even think about test swatching colours or picking the perfect greige, you’ve got to deal with the not-so-glamorous prep work—priming. Fresh drywall is extremely porous, and it’ll soak up paint unevenly if not properly primed. Cloverdale Paint offers drywall primers specifically designed to seal the surface and provide a smooth, consistent base coat.

But here’s the kicker: if you think painting walls is a big job, wait until you tackle the ceilings. Holly documented the process of painting hers, arms aching, neck sore, and a face full of paint! It’s a true labour of love. And when your entire home is primed and painted from scratch? That’s a serious commitment.

Why Holly Chose Cloverdale Paint

In the sea of paint brands, Holly Grace chose us! Cloverdale Paint is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with a proud history of supplying quality paint for Canadian professional applicators and homeowners. For Holly—and for many DIYers across Canada—it’s not just about the product, it’s about the people behind it.

The staff at our stores are known for their warmth, expertise, and patience (which, let’s be honest, is key when you’re panicking over the perfect not-too-yellow creamy colour). Holly called her local Cloverdale team “absolutely lovely,” noting how they answered every question and offered helpful advice. That kind of support is invaluable when you’re rebuilding a home from the ground up.

The Truth About Paint Colour: It’s Not What You Think

Now here’s where it gets real: paint colours never look the same on your wall as they do on the chip. Why? A few reasons:

• Primed drywall is super white—blindingly so. It can throw off your perception of colour and make tones appear more saturated with colour or darker than they are. Pro Tip: Have the store tint your drywall primer (like half strength) with your intended finish coat colour.
• Lighting matters. A north-facing room gets very different natural light from a south-facing one. Add in the warmth or coolness of your light bulbs, and suddenly your “perfect taupe” looks mauve.
• Paint changes as it dries, and it almost always looks darker on a full wall than in the can or on a tiny swatch.

That’s why Cloverdale Paint’s tester cans are such a game-changer. Each tester contains enough paint to apply in more than one spot in your home—perfect for trying it in both your sunny kitchen and that shadowy hallway. Pro Tip: Two coats matter. The first coat gives you coverage, but the second is what reveals the true hue and depth of the colour.

Holly emphasized how critical it was to sample each colour in a few different areas before making her final call. “The same shade looked so much different on the wall than in the can. And it looked different again once it was dry. The bright white of the drywall skewed my perception of the colour, so I painted an entire section to get a better understanding of how the colour was going to look.” She painted large sample areas across her home—on different walls, in different lighting, at different times of day.

Following Holly Grace’s journey reminds us that colour choice isn’t just a decision—it’s a process. Especially when you’re starting from nothing, it’s not about finding the “right” paint colour in an instant. It’s about exploration, trial and error, and trusting your instincts along the way.

At Cloverdale Paint, DIYers like Holly have the tools, advice, and locally made products they need to bring their vision to life—even when that vision starts with four bare walls and a ceiling that needs two coats of primer.

So if you’re facing a colour conundrum of your own, don’t stress. Take a page out of Holly’s book: prime first, test generously, and don’t rush the process. Paint is powerful, but it takes time to get it right, and your home deserves that.

Thinking about your next paint project? Visit your nearest Cloverdale Paint store and speak with any of our Customer Service Representatives to get the best colour advice for your home.