What’s Your Color IQ? A Fun Pantone Paint Color Quiz

caribbean teal for a dark room

How Well Do You See Color?

I was browsing through Facebook the other day and came across a post about a Colour IQ Test, so of course, I had to take it. I scored 0, which, unlike the other types of IQ tests I’ve taken, bodes well for my ego.

How long does it take? Just a few minutes.

What’s the point? 

You’ll discover how well you see undertones. They (whoever ‘they’ are) state that ‘1 out of 12 men have some sort of color deficiency’, and I have to agree with them. I’m amazed at the number of times I’ve been to a client’s house and said to the main man, ‘What do you think?‘ and he says, ‘Don’t bother asking me; I’m color blind. Enough said.

lower cabinets and island painted Benjamin Moore Brittania Blue, best blue color, white oak floor, fulgor range

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I only wish this test included details on what it meant if you were ‘within a certain range of numbers’. So, just so you have some guidelines on which to base your number, here’s how I classify things…

0-10          Color Genius

11-30        I may not hire you to help me pick colors, but I still like you

31-50        One of your eyes might be slightly crossed from the other (which I can make fun of as I was born this way)

51-70        Are your socks even matching?

70+           Would you like a straw and funnel with that wine bottle?

Like Tim (my hubby), this is just for eye candy…

home office, guest bedroom blue-green gray paint color on walls, beige carpet, white trim, wood shiplap tongue and groove ceiling, pink stained white washed wood. Sherwin Williams Rainwashed

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So, all of that being said, let’s get on to the test—I’d love to hear about your results, and they better not be better than mine!

COLOR IQ TEST

kylie m signature chat soon

READ MORE

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ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2016, UPDATED IN 2024

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95 Comments

  1. Hey, perfect classification Kylie….we both know you would never hire me to pick colours and I think you DO like me! I was a 12. I really wanted to be a 2 😉

      1. Ohh, snooty mcsnooterson! I won’t look down on you with my score of 0. Guess I should be considering a job change! With my eye for color I will be tough competition! 😉 unless you need an assistant that is…

  2. I scored zero first time. I knew I’d do well, but not that well! Still, I look to you for color advice time and time again. I’ve enjoyed your website very much. Now that I’m retired, I’ve thought of doing something with color design or staging. I do enjoy helping others pick their paint colors. This test gave me a confidence boost!

  3. I knew NOTHING about colors until I started reading your blogs durning the pandemic. I just scored a 4 on the test! And I always rely on your wisdom to pick colors for my home. Interesting, the area I show some confusion is between blue and green- which explains the huge difficulty I’m having picking out a gray to complement the undertones in the exterior features of my house (roof, deck, patio). Thanks for all your work 🙂
    Joan

    1. Thank you so much for commenting, Joan! I know, some people do have trouble with only CERTAIN colours, but totally get others! I do find that OFTEN, exteriors suit a subtle violet undertone vs blue-green. I mean, it absolutely depends on the roof and any stonework, but I’d say more often than not ;). Take a look at colours like SW Knitting Needles, SW Requisite Gray, BM Smoke Embers, just to get started :).

  4. Scored a 2, which proves why I find undertones & pigments fascinating, help others choose paint colors AND appreciate YOU so much Kylie! ♥️

  5. I scored 2. Yet, I’ve made many mistakes choosing paint colors. So, I think I can see color differences in context, but cannot choose colors in isolation. Akin to possessing a skill but not being able to apply it? Could be cultivated with more experience??

  6. Just because I can see it, doesn’t mean I can pick it! I scored a 0 but still desperately need your blog and advice to bring my color choices to LIFE! There’s a lot more to it than just “seeing” color (insert wine and corn nuts).

  7. This was fun – I scored 0. May have to come out of retirement to be your assistant!
    Thanks for all your great posts. The series on updating your xxxx home was game changing for choosing new paint colours. The concept of letting the finishes decide the colour direction is genius.

  8. Wow. I got a 2. A couple of the colors were really tricky in the first two rows. I’d move a couple of them around and it seemed like they were either way off or behaved like a chameleon taking on the color next to it. That was kind of fun!

  9. I have always been very fussy about colors matching, coordinating. my husband laughed when I got a zero. he is color blind!
    thanks! this was fun!

  10. I’m so happy to have scored a 0! It is still difficult to pick a color I want to live with for the next 10 years. So grateful for all I’ve learned from Kylie!

  11. I scored a zero and very excited because I just changed out my lightbulbs to daylight to help me see better! I guess it has worked!

  12. I scored a 2! Helps explain why I drive people at the paint counter crazy when I enter what I affectionately call “color matching hell.” LOL I can’t tell you how many times paint counter people told me it was an exact match, when to me the difference was glaringly obvious.

  13. Zero! Now I know why undertones bothers me but my husband claims “it all looks fine.” I can SEE it but still don’t know what to do about it. I may need to hire you again, this time for a bathroom with a wacky tile I can’t remove. xoxo

  14. I had a six but in my defense it was cloudy and DARK here when I took the test. (EXCUSES! EXCUSES!) Everything I know I learned from you!