Giving my interior doors a makeover with Behr Dolphin Fin
Here I am again, giving yet another Behr paint color it’s own shout out (or blog post). A few months ago, I talked about Silver Drop by Behr and how I think it’s the prettiest color. I painted by whole house Silver Drop by Behr. It’s a barely there gray that has a blue-ish undertone and looks good and different in every room. That’s when you know you found a perfect paint color. It surprises you everytime you paint a room with it. You can read more about Silver Drop by Behr here
This post is all about Silver Drop’s older brother, Dolphin Fin. On the paint swatch Dolphin Fin is a shade darker than Silver Drop and looks to have more gray in it. I’ve been doing some research on Dolphin Fin and every article I read is singing it’s praise about being the perfect gray. I’m not saying it’s a true true gray. There are some blue-ish undertones too. I consider it more of a coastal gray.
Picking the perfect gray paint can be one of the most difficult things you can do. Ok, maybe I am being a bit dramatic but I’m really not joking here. If you ever tried to pick a gray paint color then you know exactly what I am talking about. It’s like trying to find a needle in a gray haystack.
There are thousands of gray paints out there…at every store. Most gray paints have sneaky undertones that can make or break the paint. Some grays are cool and some grays are warm. Some grays just look, well, gray.
I’m more of a warm gray person. I like the soft grays with warm undertones. I jumped on the gray bandwagon when we moved into this house just a few years ago, but I knew I didn’t want a cool gray. The bones of my home are very traditional. A very modern gray color would look odd in my home.
When looking for a paint color I always look at the other colors on the paint swatch. The darkest color on the paint swatch will show you what undertones you might find in the lighter colors.
I was able to tell from this swatch that Silver Drop might have a blue undertone since Dolphin Fin has some blue in it.
I also like to look at the lightest color on the swatch to get more of an idea of what I am in for when I paint any room.
Irish Mist has warm undertones and almost looks like a light greige. Honestly, the colors on this paint swatch are all just perfect in my opinion.
Let me also say that I am not a paint expert, I am not a real designer. I’m not going to tell you what number Dolphin Fin is on some color scale thingy majiggy. But I will tell you that to my (untrained) eyes, Dolphin Fin is a soft gray with blue undertones. It’s warm and calming. This color would be perfect in a bedroom or bathroom since it is so calming.
There’s a very good chance this color will be painted in our master bath and in the kid’s bathroom.
It’s also one of those colors that can pair well with warm colors and cool colors. There is something about a warm gray paint color and brass accents.
Now, paint colors do not have to be on walls only. I got the urge to repaint some of my doors in my home and since my walls were Silver Drop, why not stay in the family and go with Dolphin Fin on my doors.
Some of my interior doors were previously Nature’s Reflection by Behr and while I loved that color on my front door, for some reason it was too much for me inside. I didn’t mind it, but knew it wasn’t love at first sight.
Make sure you get samples too, even if you are just painting something small like a door. Home Depot can also color match a sample for you. I had three samples, Dolphin Fin, Rhino by Behr (which I also love) and I color matched Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams. I painted all kind of samples on my door.
And quite honestly, I almost decided on Rhino by Behr just from these small samples I painted on my door. I had enough paint in my sample jar to do one side of the door so I painted each door a different color. Oyster Bay never made the cut. It was too green for me in my space.
Look how pretty Rhino by Behr is (sorry, bad iphone picture coming at you with a real life mess in my house):
It was a tough decision to be honest with you. Rhino is very similar to Dolphin Fin but does have more blue in it. Had I did this a year ago, I would easily have picked Rhino for my doors. I love me some blue doors but I’m also craving a slight change. Getting all wild and crazy over here with gray doors instead. And here is after I repainted my pantry door once again to Behr Dolphin Fin. You can see how similar they are in color except Dolpin Fin is more gray.
Behr Dolpin Fin vs Behr Silver Drop
Here’s a real life picture of the two side by side. Silver Drop is on my walls and Dolphin Fin is on my doors.
They make a good pair, I’m telling you.
Behr Dolphin Fin vs Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
I also highly considered getting a sample of Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. Highly highly considered it but was afraid that Revere Pewter would look too greige next to my walls. Revere Pewter does lean more greige as Dolphin Fin leans more gray
Helpful tips when picking paint colors
(Disclaimer: If you have read any of my other paint color posts, this is pretty much a repeat for you. I am not afraid of the copy and paste function on my computer)
Start with inspiration:
I talked a little bit about this in this post but I’ll touch on it again. Picking your paint color for your walls should be one of the later things you do when designing a room. Find a large focal piece (rug, art, window treatments) and look for colors in those pieces that catch your attention. Get on Pinterest and look at magazines. Get some ideas of what you like. It is your house.
Decide on the mood of the room:
Do you want your room to be light and bright or dark and moody? If you home doesn’t get a whole lot of natural light, stark white walls might look dingy. I would consider a paint with some color to it.
Grab your swatches and bring home samples
Bring home some swatches and ideally some sample paints if you feel extra ambitious. Test them in every room. Remember each room gets different natural light. See how they look in the morning and at night. If you want to see the undertone of color, look at the darkest color on the paint color strip. If you love a paint color but fear it can be too dark, ask them to cut it with 25% or 50% white.
You can buy all your paint at Home Depot
I am a huuuge fan on Behr’s paint. I usually use their Ultra line and I can’t say enough good things about it. We had professional painters come in to paint our 2 story entry way and even the professional painter said you can’t go wrong with Behr paint. If you want to save a little money on your paint, Home Depot will color match any color for you from either Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. I know some designers might cringe and tell you that Home Depot won’t be able to match the formula 100%. I haven’t had a problem yet.
Get free large swatches
If you want to see your paint swatches in a larger scale, I have been known to grab a bunch of the same color swatches and then taping them to a piece of paper. Those 2×2 swatches are for the birds. You can also order large free swatches from Benjamin Moore here
Keep a list of your home paint colors
It’s always a good idea to keep a list of the paint colors you have used in your home. I can’t tell you know much it has helped me. You can get access to my paint color tracker in my resource library. Sign up below and get the password right away.
(This post contains affiliate links. You can see my disclosure policy here)
My favorite painting supplies
Paint brushes: I love all of Wooster’s paint brushes but this one is hands down my favorite one to use. It makes cutting in so much easier.
Painter’s tape: I hate taping and I really try to avoid it but when I can’t I make sure I use a good tape
Drop Cloths: Yes, you need them and you need many. I have used trash bags and old shower liners before too.
Cleaning Cloths: These are amazing every day cloths for cleaning but work great for baseboards and walls before painting.
Multi Position Paint Brush tool: The best tool you will ever use if you have tall ceilings or just in general. I used something similar to this to paint my 15 foot ceilings in my family room and it was a life saver.
Paint Edger: This might get a bad rap but if you do it right, it has been a nice helper for me. Especially when trimming around windows and along baseboards.
Touch up cup: Nothing is worse than having to pull out the whole can of paint for a little touch up.
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