Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee is in the Bedroom and It Sucks!

Hi Everyone,

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’m a fraud. Lol, I mean, how is it possible that I selected a color that sucks?

Oh, it is possible, especially when one is tired, the lighting is bad or non-existent, and the test paint pots and gallons of the end product are faulty.

Here’s what happened.

 

The other day, my painter, Chris, asked me what colors we should test for downstairs.

 

Yes, it was already painted Simply White but Simply has an exceedingly passive red undertone. Who knew? It’s usually not noticeable. However, you can see it if you compare it to other shades of white. As I’ve explained, I am living in a sea of red brick outside my bedroom door and window.

My bedroom frequently reflects this pink.

In addition, the “warm” LED lights look yellow and pink.

The other day, Chris brought over the following 18″ x 24″ samples on poster board:

Cotton Balls
Simply White
Swiss Coffee
White Dove
White Heron

 

Luckily, there was a clear winner and none of these made the cut. (More about why they didn’t in a bit)

 

• Cotton Balls was too yellow.
• Simply White looked as expected.
• White Dove looked slightly peachy.
• White Heron was the worst, looking like a cold, lifeless bright white.

 

And the winner…

 

Swiss Coffee oc-45! I bet you’re shocked, given the post’s title, haha.

However, this version of Swiss Coffee was significantly brighter than White Dove. That isn’t possible. Still, I loved how this Swiss Coffee looked.  No matter the hideous lighting, it had just the right amount of gray and warmth. It also looked great with the wallpaper and was terrific in the bathroom.

 

Still, I could see that this was a brighter version of Swiss Coffee. I guess coffee with an extra shot of milk.

 

I told Chris and he said that was fine. He would have Johnson Paint make a custom mix to match the sample.

So, on Thursday, the painting crew began painting the trim. I must admit that I wondered if it was darker than my sample. However, like most other things that have gone wrong, I tend to go into a state of denial. It’s like if I can just push it aside, it will go away…

 

Of course, it never does; Denial only gives the brain (heart and soul) time to process and deal with things when it can deal with the harsh reality.

 

Friday, I went downstairs at noon to check on things and saw that the guys had done more painting.

Yep, it sucks, but it’s wet. I’ll wait until they leave to form a real opinion.  Oh, I knew the answer already.

I grabbed the paint sample Chris had made for me and tiptoed to the bedroom.

Whoa!!! It was completely different!

 

On the left, you are looking at a door casing/wall and panel moulding. On the other side of the switch, there is the panel moulding, a 4″ piece of wall, and another door casing.

 

Above the light switch and barely noticeable is a piece of the sample Chris made for me.

 

Incidentally, you’ll also notice some test tinting of the wallpaper.

The color has a weird, ruddy undertone. I don’t remember Swiss Coffee looking like this! *Please remember that thought.

Long story short, I got in touch with Chris, who told me to go to Johnson Paint on Newbury Street, which I did early this afternoon. Eduardo (Ed), his favorite paint specialist, was expecting me.

So, today, I waded through thousands of tourists all the way across Newbury Street and walked into a virtually empty store. After all, it’s the end of July in Boston, and most natives clear out at this time of year.

 

So, here’s the bottom line.

 

*Not only was my sample way off, so what was on the wall!

 

Above is the real Swiss Coffee Color on top of Chris’ paint sample. However, the wall color is even deeper than what you see on the chip above!

Below is a closeup of the off-color paint on the wall, next to a piece of Chris’ paint sample.

 

BUT, look at that gorgeous paint job!

So, what happened?

 

What happened is several things.

 

(When disaster strikes, there are usually multiple calamities occurring simultaneously.)

• One, the little test sample was off-color. But, in the best possible way. I like it!
• Somehow, the real paint was also off-color, but not in a good way.

Then, there’s another factor, and that is the formulation.

Unbeknownst to me, there are few new formulations Benjamin Moore is now offering. (Yes, it would be nice if they sent this information to interior designers, but I’ve never gotten anything from them.)

Chris introduced me to a newish product at Benjamin Moore called Scuff-X, and I decided it would be the best option for my job.

 

Please give us a shout-out if you know about Scuff-X, have used it, or have it in your home.

 

It comes in finishes from matte to semi-gloss, has a super quick dry time, is very durable, and, when applied properly, is very beautiful.

However, I learned from Ed that the bases of every Benjamin Moore paint have different colors. While they try to get the bases as close to each other as possible, they are still a little different. Thus, the formulas for the paints are different.

In addition, he recommends never getting a sample smaller than a quart. Even then, some colors are very difficult to make in quart sizes.

 

Then, Ed confessed something I’ve always suspected.

 

It’s about the calibrations of the pigments they use. Sometimes, they use only a drop of color. But the size of those drops can vary widely. So, if you’ve ever selected a paint color you used somewhere else and this time it sucks, it might be that the color wasn’t mixed properly. It does happen!

In addition, these samples were half pints. Why don’t they just call it a cup? As you know, a quart is four cups. Dividing down some of the formulas often yields a color that’s a little off.

 

So, if the color is off, what use is the sample, Laurel?

 

Beats me!

The good news is that I love the “new” lighter, slightly cooler shade of Swiss Coffee. This is not to say that normal Swiss Coffee is a bad color; it’s one of my Laurel Home paint collection colors!

 

However, for me, the new Swiss Coffee that Ed named Laurel’s Swiss Coffee, lol is perfect for the wallpaper (tinted or not), and also looks great for the bathroom.

 

 

 

 

So, Laurel, wouldn’t Cotton Balls have worked?

 

Well, here’s the thing. The sample for Cotton Balls was also off! All of them were. So, yes, the real Cotton Balls probably would have been fine.

The story’s moral is that we should always test the paint before applying it, just in case. (This is where being exhausted comes into play.)

 

So, now what?

 

Oh, I forgot to tell you that Ed whipped up a gallon of Laurel’s Swiss Coffee, and the match is so close that I have trouble seeing it on the small sample piece I brought over. I also brought over a card with the off-color Swiss Coffee that went on the walls. Ed said he was going to send the sample to Benjamin Moore and wasn’t going to charge us for the two new gallons of paint.

I looked to see if another color was already formulated that was the same as Laurel’s Swiss Coffee.

Moonlight White and White Dove are fairly close.

 

The small square on the lower right is Laurel’s Swiss Coffee, and the larger square is Benjamin Moore White Dove. So, maybe you can see that LSC is a hair brighter and cooler, but no less gray than the ever-popular White Dove.

So, on Monday, bright and early, Chris’ fantastic painting crew is coming back to paint the bedroom and will also begin working on the den.

Yes, my lovelies. The den is done, and I can’t wait to show it to you.

xo,

 

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