Fantastic idea. (Now he just needs a snazzier bedspread!)

Great idea! Looks lovely.

i saw something similar to this years ago and i’ve been wanting to go it forever. this just might be the inspiration i need.

Such a creative and easy idea!

That is AWESOME, and totally something I would do. In fact, I’ve probably got enough samples to do one wall right now… [goes to check]

Creative! Unfortunately, now he needs to upgrade his bedding. It’s being outclassed by the wall.

Very creative idea…the finished wall had a “techie” look to it…reminds me of the old fashioned computer programming cards (oh I am definitely dating myself – yikes!)…might give me a bit of a headache though.

Tricia – Avolli

I don’t know about easy! I wonder how long it took him to get the samples so perfectly lined up and glued to the wall… probably more time than hanging traditional wallpaper! Nonetheless, it looks awesome and I’m sure it was well worth the effort.

I like that while most of the cards are placed so that the colors gradate from light to dark, that some were turned around to gradate from dark to light. Something I am probably too regimented to consider! All together it reminds me of a spectacular sunset : )

This is great! But how do you get all of these without the people at Home Depot giving you the stink eye???

great idea yes, but he’s a thief if he sole over 1000. like you say, he should have paid for the swatches.

I love this! What a great idea!

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but I have thought about doing this and stopped myself. Paint chips are really not meant for this kind of thing, and large scale theft of them without any resulting purchase is really not a good thing to do. Would you want someone to steal stuff from your business? I certainly wouldn’t.

Love it. As someone who routinely hoards swatches like candy without ever really finding a use for them, I am inspired.

i love this idea and i really think the effect is super cool. i wish there were better photos of it.

I’ve already thought about doing a wall like this in my office… but I guess I was just too lazy to make it come true…

This looks amazing!!

Makes me rethink about doing it at home!! Thanks!

Holy cow that’s cool.

so clever.

Very nice.

I don’t feel bad at all for Home Depot…thinking of all the people they put out of business.

I think more DIY projects should involve ripping off corporate chains.

A) It’s stealing. These cost money to produce and procure B) It leaves other people in the lurch who go to the store and there are no paint chips left in the display. Despite how it looks, I must say thumbs down on principle and lack of thought for others.

HA! This is fantastic! What a great “recession proof” decorating idea.

wow, that takes some patience! i’ve never seen anything like it.

Another tip for those who might be wanting to replicate the look without performing theft:

Interior design and architecture firms get BIG fans and boxes of these same samples. Every time the paint company updates their line, we throw the old samples away. I bet if you called ’round to local firms, you could find someone to hold onto their next set of discards for you! Free and legal :-)

Someone has to do something about that bedspread!
Do you approach the manager and say ‘I would like to purchase your free swatches????’

Jenna, stealing is stealing no matter how you try to justify or rationalize it.

I am also so tired of the corporate bashing. Chains like Home Depot employ many, many people and attract other like businesses that are also major employers. It is called competition and if a small mom and pop hardware store is not creative enough to evolve and adapt their business model to compete with Home Depot, then they should go apply for jobs there.

So super cool. Thanks for sharing!

i can’t bear to toss the paint cards even after i’ve made a color decision, so i bookmarked this great idea from a risd grad:

http://www.designverb.com/2006/11/12/paint-chip-card-holder/

I really like this idea, on such a large scale too! I’ve always wanted to find uses for the paint swatches that seem to pile up in my house. And a definite thumbs up to just ordering them through the hardware store and paying a small fee if using this many – definitely worth it.

He collected them over an extended period of time. Big deal.

how do you steal free shit? If you offer something for people to take for free, and they take it, they are not stealing. period.

Also, competition involves two opponents, of somewhat equal qualities, with an uncertain outcome. Home Depot “competing” with a mom-and-pop hardware store is like an adult running a 100 yard dash against a 5 year old. Its a ridiculously outmatched race with a certain outcome. How does a hardware store “evolve” exactly? Start selling hand made prints of nuts and bolts on enviromentally friendly carbon negative organic paper in addition to hammers I guess.

I got it….all the mom-and-pop hardware stores can start building an inventory of wall paper removers now, because in a year or two, there will be a huge demand for them.

BTW, I like the bedspread. I hate the color swatches. The fact that they are modpodged makes me want to throw up multicolored chunks on them. I hope there is a follow up to this post in five years about how Scott burnt his house down rather than scrape all that crap off his walls.

That said, the execution of the installation of these free non-stolen swatches is impeccable, and Scott’s skills should be commended.

flame on!

i could never do this! i’d finish one corner and be totally done lol.
i hate to disagree over so ‘not important’ of an issue but i liken the paint chip acquiring he did to mints at a restaurant. they ARE free, and while the hope is that each guest will take one to kill the stench of garlic after a meal, the guest who loads their purse or pockets is no more a thief than the kid who drinks extra long at a public fountain.
the intended purpose is to be taken and used to determine your home design ideas…i think that’s exactly what he did and i’m guessing home depot isn’t plummeting in the market because of it.

oh wow. that’s beautiful.
but I wish you hadn’t told me I could buy them from the local places! I’ll want them ALL!

Nice, but what happens when you want to paint the wall or otherwise get those things OFF? Can’t do that in a rental, either.

I love this idea, but as Tim Gunn would say, it’s a lot of look… I would go with something a little smaller– maybe a coffee table? That wouldn’t need quite so many paint chips, either.

Dear Cari J:
Maybe you should watch a movie like The Corporation before you say something so ludacris. When you really see how horrible big corporations are, you’ll be feeling rather foolish. I agree with Jenna!!

this is so glorious! it looks fantastic and costs next to nothing. i don’t really see how one can steal a free item. abuse the privilege, perhaps, but i hardly think that using design tools to design would even constitute abuse.

eliza, you could do it in a rental with something more temporary, like sticky tac.

lol “multicolored chunks”

As long as large corporations are willing to pay rent that is infinitely greater than that of mom and pop stores, the homegrown businesses are screwed.

dang!

I REALLY wish I would have thought to do this back in my bachelor days.

Really cool.

Actually, for anyone who watches Colorsplash, the designer had long panels done this way in his apartment. I actually thought about doing it on large canvas so it would not be so permanent!!!

Good Lord. So polarizing.

1. Every time I went into Home Depot I asked “Can I take a bunch of these?” and the answer was always “Yes” or “Please do” or “Be my guest” and “That’s what they’re here for.” And on the way out – you are always checked by security. And I always showed them my stack – and they always said “OK.” Might have been a different story had I taken them all at once. But people please – these are FREE SAMPLES. From HOME DEPOT. Maybe we could all use a creative project to relieve some tension?

2. The walls of my (1930’s) apartment are wallpapered. And they have been painted over many, many times. When I move out – I can simply strip the wall of the wallpaper – and repaint. Easy as pie.

3. I love that bedspread! It’s a gorgeous Marimekko print. But – I would LOVE some suggestions on where to get something that would work better with the wall. Seriously. Cool bedding? Where?

4. I took 1000 swatches from Home Depot – used 450 – and am RETURNING THE OTHER 550. Happy?

Thanks!

scott

BTW: i sent the photos to Behr (paint company) and to Home Depot – and they loved them.

Stefanie & Jenna: Big corporations don’t put mom & pop out of business. Consumers do. Every time someone chooses to save a buck or two at Target/Walmart/Safeway/etc. instead of shopping at the mom & pop, it’s contributing to the demise of small business. Stop blaming corporations and try paying prices that contribute to living wages for others if you’re so concerned about mom & pop.

Wow I took a double take when I read the name Scott Prendergast – years ago I saw his Anna Is Being Stalked video online and loved it, then a few weeks ago we watched Kabluey (which is awesome!), my husband and I recognized him right away and we were so tickled to see that he is working on features now.

As for the bedroom wall, I think it’s a great idea (I also like how once in a while he reverses one of the cards) but I can’t imagine the nightmare of removing mod-podge years after the fact. Perhaps a more temporary solution would be more user-friendly.

scott. you’re rad…enough said.

oh, i love your bedspread too, it looks just like a color swatch. good stuff :)

Clever! This is a great project! Why not have all the colors in the rainbow in a very non-fussy way?!

THIEF not Theif

I think it’s funny that all of the theft accusers never once asked how many times Scott purchased something else on one of these “swatch runs”. I bet he spent something every time he asked politely if he could have what was already free. He is returning the rest, some thief!

tee hee @ Scott ‘thief’ prendergast
what a lovely new moniker

i’m not partial to your bedspread..it reminds me of the weird brown and orange one my mom made me use on my bed at my grammies summer house..not cool.
but i would suggest;
~getting a quilt insert a la IKEA or your favorite fabric store
~finding a cool pattern of fabric to make the quilt cover.
~sew it up on three sides
~stuff in your insert and voila no more bad memories for me when i see your bedroom photos lol
i’m just curious.. how DID you keep the lines of paint chips so straight? did you do it by eye or did you mark the wall and line them up by the marks?

awesome! i also am a big fan of the paint chip. :)
http://claireteschel.wordpress.com/paint-chips/

Thief thIEF THIEF!

Too easy a solution to say big corps don’t put mom & pop out of business, Betty. You’re assuming all people have access to all types of stores and that’s not true. You’re also assuming people earn enough to choose between m&p and target. Let’s step outside of our own socio-economic bubble.

1. I didn’t want to include the whole spectrum of colors. It’s mainly just red and blue with some orange and pink hiding behind the door. I didn’t want it to be TOO “gay rainbow!!” (I’m allowed to say that).

2. I lined them up by hanging strings. Used a level and a ruler. Made a giant grid. But I got a little sloppy. It does not bear the closest scrutiny.

3.And yes in fact I spent about $400 on Home Depot supplies while building my desk and making changes around the house. I’m not planning to move out EVER – which makes modge podge removal much easier.

All this talk of corporations and theft.

I suppose I should have decorated my walls with “Robert’s rules of order” and a picture of a woman saying “shhh” from the library.

Footnote; I’m canceling the Malawi Orphans as throw pillows idea.

Love the wall…very creative.

About the “stealing” issue…

I don’t really know what Home Depot has to do with the conversation. Home Depot isn’t affected one bit by people taking these things, and they don’t give a care in the world. They don’t pay for the samples, and they don’t care who takes them, or how many they take. In fact, I’ve seen the Home Depot employees restocking the paint samples. They open a new package, put as many in as will fit, and throw the rest away.

The company affected by hundreds (if not thousands) of people being encouraged to take advantage of a courtesy that they offer to potential customers is BEHR PROCESS CORPORATION. Home Depot has nothing to do with it.

claire! your paintchippery is awesome and lovely!
me thinks i need to do more thinking about secondary uses than i already do :)

Ha, that’s awesome…great idea for me since I have an awful time choosing colours. Why not have them all?!

My last comment was not posted — was I offensive? My apologies if I was. I have looked at the pix again and have changed my mind anyway — this is really special. I once covered the walls of my bedroom with pennies, arranged by year.

“scott, you’re rad… enough said.”

I totally second that. Thanks for swooping in just in time to keep my brain from glazing over.

This is an excellent project, and not even close to being offensive.’d love to see a version as a Chuck Close portrait grid painting too. Also – I want to see the orphan throw pillow project!

What an awesome idea!!

@virginia – That RISD student is using the same BEHR paint samples

Love that idea. I collect paint chips to make cards but that takes it over the top.

What a great idea!!

hahaha… this is awesome.
the paint chips. the marimekko bedspread. the people who got into a tizzy over home depot’s great loss of some free samples. LOVE it!

what an amazingly brilliant idea!

oh no….mixed opinions here about this!

For the aesthetic and ingenuity 10 out of 10!!!!

For the “ripping” off the home depot store, I think – thumbs up if you are doing it to a big corporate chain – thumbs down for a small independent store…

To be honest though, if I went into my local homebase/B&Q (our big chains here in the UK) and told staff, I think they would be more than willing to help me get as many swatches as possible!!!

Plus…if you go into your local depot with the intention of getting a load of swatches, you’ll probably come out having bought something anyhoo!

…Back to the matter in hand though…I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea, and think I might do it in my study!

dear scott “t” prendergast,
you are freaking funny! <3

I think Scott has done something great and has responded adequately to his accusers. I don’t think it matters what type of store it is, I don’t think the stores PAY for the paint chips…I think they are provided by the companies to promote the product… so…maybe it should be “poor mom & pop paint companies who lost out on one chain nationwide because some THIEF was trying to wallpaper his bedroom on the sly” (that’s a joke and sarcastic)…? Anyway not wanting to fo fan the flames of foolishness, i’ll just say YAY SCOTT!!! (and very funny “I’m allowed to say that” on your rainbow)

that bedspread is classic and works perfectly with the paint chips… which i totally think is a wonderful individual expression of color love.
great job!

Hey SCOTT! This is cool and as a matter of fact I went in with my daughter last week to Lowe’s and took a paint chip of every color, I paint, ALOT and wanted them for future plans. Nobody said anything and the guy who works the department and I were discussing all the projects going round with them. The paint companies DON’T care or they wouldn’t put them up there for the taking. They would charge you for them!! Also for all the accusers and haters, if you wanted to get samples of countertops you could take any that you wanted and as much as you wanted. I also thought about all of the laminate chips and marble pieces I have colleted over the years. AH, the possibilities!!

Interesting, although not my style, a definite statement. My Father’s been in the paint biz 30 years, here’s how it works: Paint chips are the single most expensive outlay of money for paint companies. They simply build it into their final cost. In the end, they charge paint stores/Home Depot more and we pay more as the end consumer.

I think Lily needs to think a little more out of the box. The paint chips are there for everyone to take. Don’t worry, Home Depot will get more.

Oh Betty…who said I shop at Home Depot? (pssst, I don’t ) Don’t put words in my internet mouth.

I wouldn’t do up my bedroom like this (a little too techie feeling for me) but i love the idea, and I have a feeling it will provide inspiration for me in other ways. I’ve loved seeing the paint chips taped to my bedroom wall as we try to decide what color to paint. Hm… maybe they could make an interesting border around the top of the room, and all in one color scheme to lessen the impact.

Ok, now I want to see a bathroom wall papered in pantone chips, please!

Scott – how about deep dark blue bedding, with a slate blueish gray sheet, dark pillows, and one throw pillow with a geometric design (think very simple gee’s bend-esque) in reds. Referencing the color palette and banded feel of the walls, only in a different format/not so literally! I think solid mismatched bedding is really warm, inviting, and subtle. When done right!

If you stare at the second image it produces an optical illusion. It appears that there are black dots where there aren’t.

Similar to this: http://www.vashtie.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/black-dots-optical-illusion.gif

“WOW”….scott this is just awesome
and i am “aww” struck. this has inspired me…my only question is, i “am” in a rental, does anyone have a suggestion or two as to how i can apply thease, other than mod podge???? also…….

as for the stealing, i thought this was a design website???
to those people who are judging you scott…
remember, people……
as 1 finger points at him, 3 are pointing back at you!!!!
enough said, lol

so very cool and modern. great job

Wow people can be so silly. Their color schips for god’s sake. what else are they there for than for people to take? they’re actually a big waste of paper in general so at least Scott is doing something productive with them.

I love the look…very creative idea.

missed my typo…*they’re not their ;)

funny how a cool decorating idea can spiral into an out of control treatise on ethics and morality when you’re not paying close attention.

i think you could’ve made it even *more* gay rainbow and it would’ve worked. one of the best ideas i’ve seen in awhile. kudos.

david bromstead on hgtv had a wall just like this in different colors! very cool!

@possiblyj: spent 10 minutes staring at that optical illusion. am i now hypnotized? afraid to go into my own bedroom…

@cakes: double stick tape will work SHORT term. That’s how i started them off. But after a week or two it may start raining paint swatches.

Great idea (and I think it looks fab), but I would hate to be the next owners/renters of this home. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to remove 1,000 Mod Podged paint samples!?? He’s ruined the wall!

I love it!!! If you did not fix them to the wall and left them so they could be moved around You could change the look . so very cool

OK, to move on to a different (less controversial) topic….

What I think is fantastic now about the room (besides the obvious) is that you can use ANY color bedspread you want and it will work!

It looks from these photos that the wall is heavy on blue, so I would get a bedspread that is more the OTHER side of the color spectrum you have there- something warm and orangey.

I would probably stay away from overly patterned bedspreads to give the wall center stage, so maybe this?

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/wallter/3944?utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Wallter+Premium+Wave+wool+bedspread+++Orange

Anyway great job I love the concept and the execution!

Here’s the point: you’re supposed to take a few. It’s when we all feel entitled to take more and more that we create a problem. Any consumable, any resource: same point.

When you don’t get that point, when you overconsume, that’s the problem.

Oh I was just tickled to see this; I’ve been decorating with paint swatches for years! I’ve been working on a wall with them, possibly unfinished and photographed with my crappy room’s lighting.

http://thoroughlymoderntilly.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/paintswatchwall/

@amandablogandkiss: omg! That’s SO BEAUTIFUL! I’m buying it NOW!

Sheila, maybe you missed the post where Scott said that he let the Home Depot workers know how many he was taking and they were okay with it? Or that he sent these photos to Home Depot and Behr and they loved it? Why do some people have a problem with something that obviously the businesses affected don’t seem to mind?

i actually saw this idea first on the cover of Time Out New York. I’ve been wanting to do this for such a long time!!

In the end I would like to confess that I stole the paint swatches, I stole the idea, and actually i stole the wall. I dont live in this apartment. I broke into the neighbor’s house and decorated his bedroom. HOPING he likes it!

Hey, if you always leave such wonderful presents, you can break into my house anytime you feel like it. :)

I love this — it reminds me of the wall of paint chips that Martha Stewart had hanging in the main lobby at their offices in NY – you would see behind her for alot of interviews – I think those were hung with small circles …

wow, i had no idea people would get so worked up about this! i have been pilfering paint samples from home depot for years, oops! it all started in college when i need sculpture materials and didn’t have any money to pay for them (now i wish i had taken photos of that sculpture). and although i would leave home depot with pocketsfull each time, i certainly did not wipe them out. they are free, people, and they have a lot more in the back, and they restock them when they are out. and i agree that corporations kind of suck so i don’t really feel bad about loading up on paint samples that are there for people to take. although i personally prefer the perfectly square ralph lauren samples, i like what scott has done here, and i feel inspired to do something similar if i can figure out a less permanent method.

This is one of the most entertaining threads I’ve ever read here. Scott, I don’t share your love of paint chips-as-wallpaper but I applaud you for your creativity, hard work and for stickin’ it to the man with style!

If Scott DOES change his bedspread, I hope he sends in a pic so we can see the difference?

Love the room!

NOT trying to bring this down more, because I DO think it’s a great idea and I really don’t give two poops where or how he got the swatches. HowEVER, there is a recent Norwegian designer (of COURSE I can’t find it in any of the 10 magazines it was in) who has come out with the same darn thing, only in a top-dollar designer way. Scandinavians are very proud of this “new”idea.
Not saying you’re stealing ideas now, or anything like that! Just putting it out there… will let you know who/what whenever I find it! And I prefer to do it the DIY way, anyway. So good on ya.

Hmmm. Scandinavia you say? Aren’t they all tall and blond and impossibly attractive over there? What can they really know about colors when they all have white hair?

I never said the idea was original. I actually hadn’t seen it anywhere before but figured SOMEONE had a similar idea before.

I’m going to make some sort of craft bomb to do away with these “norwegians” right now…

WOW, very inspiring : )

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been in Home Depot, looked at the paint chips and thought, “I need to decorate my walls with those.” I’m serious. Dozens of times. The only thing stopping me was not being able to decide which wall to do.

Good for you Scott, for doing it! I think I’ll actually choose a wall now!

[P.S. The Disney swatches (with Mickey's head on them) would be adorable in a kid's room.]

Scott, your bedroom makeover is truly fantastic, but I’m not convinced the look matches your ‘emergency’ style. Did you think of using bandaids? Beige might be making a comeback after this discussion.

thanks ds & everyone for making me laugh today!!

Scott, I’m concerned that your pillows aren’t supportive enough…

my pillows are 100% cheese stolen from sample plates at Albertsons.

ah. never laughed so hard at comment exchanges in my life.

obviously take offense that all of us “scandinavians” are tall & blond. am short and have that indeterminable blah thing going on. also, it is more correct to speak of nordic people, as it includes the finns and the icelanders. who happen to be style icons de luxe.
ALL great design ideas are stolen from us. we’re used to it.

as for thEifing samples, eh…really? putting them to use is worse than throwing them away? really?

I have laughed so hard at this – this has been hysterical! Thanks Scott – this really does look great and I’m thinking of doing the same in my art studio with all my STOLEN paint samples I have collected over the years. Only drawback is my walls aren’t smooth -

I don’t think the bedspread is so bad. It’s more about the tacky way the bed is made. The photo should have been “staged” a little better! We don’t need to see your sheets…ever!

Sandi: speaking as your therapist: get some help.

This is a very very colorful nice idea, i just love it really much. i love alll colors especially they are all together… so good keep the good work :)

i LOVE this idea! so so so much, im moving to a new apartment and will def be doing this to at least one wall.

i thought scott might like this: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p10706/index.cfm?pkey=cpatterned%2Dduvet%2Dcovers%2Dshams

this is the bedding i have on my bed, its made to look like a mosaic of paint chips. it has color number and names on the flowers and everything.

Love this…….AND you are a therapist too!!!!!!!!!!

I am totally planning on doing this in my living room and bedroom in the apartment I am moving into. I plan on using a limited color scheme (greens for the living room and blues for the bedroom) I originally planned on just doing each rows of all the same color plate 500-510-520-530-540-550-540-530….etc but I noticed on yours that the colors are kinda all mixed in? How did you choose how to arrange them?

what did you use to stick it to the wall? i have tones of paint swatches and they’re not the cardboard kind. They’re pretty thin and I’m afraid the edges will peel!

That looks so cool and such a great idea. If I could convince my wife I would love to do this at home. I love the way it repeats and is also so modern looking.

OMG I love this!!!!!! Clever, unique, colorful, affordable and FUN!

Personally, I love this idea. I think it looks wonderful & would love to one day to it in my room with paint chips that I have collected.

I was all for defending you about the stolen chips in the begining but after reading all of these comments you have been nothing but rude. People are allowed to express there opinions but you dont have to answer back with a sassy tone if you happen to disagree. On the other hand I do happen to think this is very unique and fun.

I love it, but I think I would do just a plain down comforter on the bed so the main focus is the gorgeous wall. Great look!

it’s an original idea!

Okay people really, small scale “theft” is not something they would EVER prosecute him for. It said he took one or a few everytime he went to Home Depot. I do the same time I go to ANY place with paint swatch card thingies. So does that mean I’m a thief? NO. If there were a price on them, yes. But the fact of the matter is, there is not! THEY ARE FREE! 1 or 1000. Until Home Depot puts a price on them, they’re fair game.

That being said, this wall is GORGEOUS! I would absolutely love to do this, but I don’t think I could ever manage to get them organized in such a beautiful manner!

I think this man is a genius. PLUS, he’s thrifty. Many kudos…..hope you’ve updated that bedding to match your genius status. GOOD JOB!