Calculators to Colour Matching Apps

When it comes to home renovation, few decisions feel as daunting as paint. It’s not just about picking a colour you like — it’s about calculating how much you’ll need, ensuring the shade works in your space, and finding a way to get that boutique look without boutique prices.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the essentials: how to use a paint calculator, why paint colour match technology is changing DIY forever, and how downloading a paint colour matching app can save you time, money, and stress.

Step 1: Calculate How Much Paint You Need

One of the most common mistakes in DIY projects is underestimating or overestimating paint quantities. Buy too little, and you risk mismatched batches. Buy too much, and you waste money and storage space.

That’s where a paint calculator comes in. These tools let you input the dimensions of your walls, ceilings, or furniture projects and give you an accurate estimate of how many litres you’ll need.

Why it matters:

• Consistency: Ensures all coats come from the same batch.
• Budget control: Prevents overspending on unnecessary tins.
• Efficiency: Saves trips back to the store mid‑project.

👉 Try DupeCoat’s paint calculator to get started.

Step 2: Understand Boutique Colours

Brands like Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, and Edward Bulmer are famous for their depth, undertones, and heritage palettes. These paints often cost two to three times more than trade paints, but their reputation for richness keeps them in demand.

The challenge?

• Cost barriers: Designer paints can be expensive.
• Availability issues: UK‑specific brands aren’t always easy to ship abroad.
• DIY frustration: “I love this shade, but I can’t get it here.”

This is where paint colour match technology comes in.

Step 3: The Science of Paint Colour Match

Colour matching isn’t about “cheap copies.” It’s about using colour science to replicate the undertones and depth of boutique shades in durable, scrubbable trade paint.

Systems like the Natural Colour System (NCS) and RAL provide universal codes that professional merchants can use to mix exact equivalents.

Benefits of colour matching:

• Accessibility: Get boutique looks with local paint brands.
• Durability: Use trade paints designed for heavy wear.
• Confidence: Know your chosen shade will look right in real life.

👉 Learn more about the Natural Colour System and RAL Colour Standards.

Step 4: Download a Paint Colour Match App

Instead of juggling swatches and charts, a paint colour match app does the heavy lifting. Apps like DupeCoat use NCS‑based analysis to identify trade equivalents for boutique shades.

What a colour match app offers:

• Search designer shades (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, etc.)
• Find their professional trade equivalents
• Get universal codes to take to your local paint merchant
• Explore matching tiers (Platinum through Bronze) for accuracy levels

👉 Download DupeCoat on the Google Play Store

Step 5: Localising Inspiration

One of the biggest advantages of colour matching apps is localisation. For example, if you’re based in the Netherlands, UK brands like Dulux Heritage or Johnstone’s Trade aren’t easily available. But with DupeCoat, you can get the universal trade codes and have them mixed locally at Sigma or Sikkens dealers.

This bridges the gap between international inspiration and local reality — making bold colour choices possible wherever you live.

Step 6: Case Study — Matching Avocado Green

To show how fun and versatile colour matching can be, let’s look at a quirky example: matching the shade of an avocado skin.

Using a colour match app, you can scan or select a similar tone and find its professional equivalent. Suddenly, a playful experiment becomes a real design option — whether you want a kitchen accent wall or a bold piece of furniture.

This kind of entertainment‑meets‑utility content is what makes colour matching approachable for DIYers.

Step 7: Colour Confidence for DIYers

The biggest barrier to bold colour choices isn’t cost — it’s fear. Many homeowners default to greys or neutrals because they’re worried about making a mistake.

By combining a paint calculator with a colour match app, you remove two major sources of stress:

• “Do I have enough paint?”
• “Will this colour look right?”

With those questions answered, you’re free to experiment with richer, more expressive palettes.

FAQs

Q: Is colour matching really accurate? Yes. Professional systems like NCS and RAL are designed to ensure consistency across brands and countries.

Q: Will trade paint look the same as boutique paint? In most cases, yes — especially when using high‑accuracy matches. The finish and durability may even be superior.

Q: Can I use a paint calculator for furniture projects? Absolutely. Just measure the surface area and input it into the calculator.

Conclusion

Choosing paint doesn’t have to be stressful. With a paint calculator, you can plan your quantities. With paint colour match technology, you can access boutique shades locally. And by downloading a paint colour match app, you can bring it all together in one place.

DIY is hard work — but colour choice doesn’t have to be.