3 min readEarly in Brad Thornton’s interior design career, he began to notice a strange pattern: “A client couldn’t visualize the world I was creating for them, even after presentations,” he says. They would trust him to make decisions with their spaces, which included painting sample squares directly onto their walls, but they struggled to be able to imagine the full scope of the palette he had in mind.
So he came up with an idea to get the point across much more clearly. He began applying paint to drywall samples, which allowed his clients to see what the shades would look like with more dimension. It’s been such a hit with his clients that the principal of Thornton Projects and the voice behind the Substack Can I Move That? attests that he still uses this trick to this day.
“Drywall gives you a true read of color, depth, and finish,” he says. “My goal is always to remove as much friction as possible for my clients so they can feel confident in our design. Tools like the drywall squares build trust.”
Ahead, Thornton walks through the benefits of using painted drywall samples over paper swatches—and why you should consider this trick the next time you have a painting project on the horizon.
Why to Test Paint With Drywall Samples
In his experience, Thornton has found that clients tend to get stuck after a bevy of paint samples are swatched directly on their walls. Drywall samples, by comparison, feel much more casual.
“Paint samples can end up living on the wall for months, turning into visual reminders of indecision,” he says. “Drywall keeps the process lighter. There’s no commitment and no visual clutter. You’re just exploring.”
Furthermore, painting drywall samples makes it easier to move a color throughout a room—or multiple rooms—and see how it morphs in different forms of natural light. This can be especially important when you’re choosing a “house white” or any color that will span multiple rooms or get hit by light at multiple angles.
“Having the real finishes in front of me makes the decisions clearer. How does the upholstery work with the paint? What hardware actually feels right with this color? When you can lay everything next to each other, the answer usually reveals itself,” Thornton adds.
Even better, having tactile samples is especially helpful if you’re working with a designer who is recommending options virtually. “I was working on a project in Austin that I was running from New York, and sending drywall samples made the decision feel much more real for the client,” he says. “And the best part is that when the room was finished, they loved the color because they knew exactly what they were getting.”
How to Create Drywall Paint Samples
Painting may be an inexpensive and fast way to update a space, but that doesn’t mean that the process is not emotionally charged. “Anything that removes stress and adds clarity is worth doing,” he says. “Using drywall samples turns paint selection into an informed choice instead of a leap of faith.”
He purchases drywall online, often in large sheets, and then scores and cuts them himself using a utility knife to have multiple canvases for samples. Later, Thornton primes each square to give it a neutral base. As one final detail of clear-eyed preparation, he pays attention to the finish of the color he applies, just in case that makes a difference in the final look.
“Most paint samples you get from the store are matte finish, which works well for the majority of spaces. However, if you’re designing a kitchen or bathroom where an eggshell or satin finish makes more sense, the sample won’t fully capture that sheen,” he says. “That said, the color itself will still read very accurately. For most people, that’s more than enough to make a confident call.”
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Kelly Dawson is a writer, editor and marketing consultant. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Travel + Leisure and other publications.
