Pretty Paint Cans Out On Display

Over at Young House Love there's been a basement makeover going on. They've been hard at work making the lower half of their house a space that's functional as well as easy to maintain and feels comfortable at the same time. They've done a great job, but really outdid themselves with this aesthetically pleasing paint can display.

The husband and wife blogging duo that is Young House Love has come up with a great idea when it comes to paint storage. Instead of keeping their household paint in their original containers (which if yours look anything like ours are covered in drips and splatters) they've transferred them to plain cans and added a label and colored thumbprint to easily identify not only the color, but where it was used in their home.

Although it seems silly at first to keep your paint on display, it has to go somewhere, so why not make it look great and keep it out in the open. Plus, think about your own space—how much more likely is it that you'd actually do that small touchup right away instead of leaving it for months (or years) if you didn't have to dig through the garage or dark basement corner to find the right paint color?

The only thing we might add to their already pretty perfect labeling system is the color index that's required to recreate the color, just in case you'd like a whole new gallon without tracking down "Autumn Mist" from the giant wall of paint chips when the time comes.

It's a fabulous idea in a fabulous basement, make sure you head over and check out all the hard work they've done so far and how it's all come together step by step (instead of with that magical online fairy dust where spaces go from drab to fab with one click of the camera) and piece by piece over time.

Thanks This Young House!

(Image: This Young House)

Comments (32)

A little obsessive, don't you think?

i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. : )

Cute idea but really. I will never find the time to do this.

Huh. It's a bit obsessive, but looks neat and clean, and at least they know where everything is for future use. I can't say the same for the paint cans in my garage right now.

It definitely looks pretty, but I think I would prefer to use my time differently.

Does these guys have an 8 day week, or something?!

My issue isn't with the time consumed but with the waste. It looks really nice, but they've now dirtied two sets of paint cans that they will have to trash/recycle.

So they (hopefully) recycled the old cans, only to put the paint in new cans?? And this AT post was not about "don't do that"?

They must have a huge house with tons of room to be able to have a special display for paint cans.

I don't think this will prevent having drips all over again on the second round of cans. (not to mention the fancy cans aren't all that cheap.) I save my left over paint in plastic tubs recycled from takeout that way I can clearly see the colors and the containers are airtight. to each his own I guess.

I agree that its a little (ok, a lot, compulsive) but they look really cute, well organized and I dig it.

I agree. A good idea in theory and for a blog... but it would take way longer to complete this whole transfer project than to look for the original paint can in the basement.

Where I buy paint, they put a label on the lid with a thumbprint of the color... plus, by the time I'm done painting there's usually enough paint on the can to tell what color is inside.

My cost-benefit analysis concludes: nice to look at, but not worth it.

Where does the organizing obsession stop. This should not be on at, it has nothing to do with design.

I used to have a roommate that organized the contents of our fridge by height and colors, it reminds me of that.

Although not everybody would choose to spend their time this way, I like that this gives them a clean slate to work with now, and it will help keep their paint fresher longer. The labels are great, too.

Such snippy comments! They are designers/decorators...so yes, they spend a lot of time on making their home perfect, right down to the paint cans. While I may not have time to do something like this, you must admit it DOES look nicer than a stack of drippy, mismatched cans. Whatever floats your boat!

Tarah, I thought the organizing principle behind Apartment Therapy has much to do with organizing -- streamlining the stuff in our lives, cutting the clutter, and curing that feeling of being lost. While the specific image of the paint shelf isn't decorating per se, it certainly seems to be design. (That being said, I wonder "wow---such energy.")

hmm... I thought this was nice too... and to answer the questions above from someone who is following their basement transformation, the walls cannot be painted, that's drylok. They don't have a huge house. And they addressed the new cans clean.

makes me tired just looking at it. too martha stewart for my taste. and yes, once they use this paint and it drips, do they get yet another set of new cans to keep up the pretty? eh, what the heck! another one into the landfill...

I wouldn't mind seeing the same paint cans being used for hardware storage--screws, nails, etc. and other little bits that gather in the garage.

Making the irrelevant relevant is just too exhausting. I'll pass.

“Plus, think about your own space—how much more likely is it that you'd actually do that small touchup right away instead of leaving it for months (or years) if you didn't have to dig through the garage or dark basement corner to find the right paint color?”

A classic false dilemma. My paint must either be in brand new shiny cans with custom thumbprinted labels OR I’ll never do any touchups because my paint needs to be dug for in a dark garage?

I could just as easily ask how likely it is that someone would do touchups if it meant having to disturb the perfectly spaced paint-can shadowbox art rather than just grabbing a can from the paint pile in the garage?

How about I just take my perfectly usable original paint cans with spatters on them (which, conveniently enough, tell me what color paint is inside) and line them up inside a cabinet?

Meh, I don’t want to be a hater… but… I guess… I am. Sorry. I do love the house though. Really impressive work.

Krister,

I do appreciate at's focus on organizing and simplifying. This to me is perpetuating the opposite of simplifying and paring down. It's running out to buy new cans so that even your paint cans can be displayed without any drips. And then throwing the old ones in the garbage.

For me it's about space. Small cans take up less space than big cans. We have a different color/shade in each room and we utilize mason jars for unused paint and safely dispose of the leftovers we won't use. We always need touchups (we have a five year old and we are constantly switching art around and we patch nail holes) and it's easy to grab a clearly marked mason jar and a small sponge brush to fix something up quickly.

Small cans or jars take up less space, period. That's not obsessive, that's smart.

So why aren't the labels in the colors contained in the cans? This is silly. Just because the photo is a great image doesn't mean it's a good idea. I think some AT bloggers pick the photo and then dream up a reason to use it.

It would be a cool idea if you could buy the paint in cans that already looked like this, but transferring it over...? Hm...

Why not just put them in the closet and buy a nice picture.

Peanut butter jars. You can see the color thru 'em and they take up less space. And if you eat as much PB as me, you have plenty free.

I don't know...I see this and I think...craft or hardware store.

I really like the Young House Love blog and have been following it religiously ever since I saw their house tour here on AP (which also got a lot of snarky comments). Here's the thing-- John and Sherry are aware that they're a little OCD. When they posted this project, they said, "Yup, those are matching paint cans. And yes, we’re ok with you calling us nerds." They don't take themselves too seriously. I'd probably never put this effort into my paint cans, but hey-- it makes them happy! Some people here are way too self-righteous.

Oh, also they posted an update-- a reader told them they can buy spouts that click onto the top of paint cans so that you can pour without drips. So this really WILL stay looking pretty for a long time.

Another cool reader suggestion was that these cheap shiny new paint cans could have other uses... that one made me think!

hehe, I buy the mini 250ml paint tins from a local car paint supplier and use then to keep all my herbs and spices in the kitchen. It's great, you can just write on the op of the tin and srcub it off when you need to re-lable.

:(( THIS GIVES ME THE CREEPS.

Go away, crazy cans of anti-color dripping! :(