After uploading your photo, you highlight each surface you want to paint, from your ceiling to your trim to an accent wall. This was probably the easiest tool to work with, though it does require you to register an account. Since I’m in the market for paint, I decided to put them to the test. You can then start switching between different hues and see how each wall or section of cabinet will look with each color.

After you upload a picture of your room, you’ll get various Photoshop-eque tools that allow you to select different areas of your room. The tools are all pretty similar in how they work, but while some of them turned my kitchen into an impressionist painting, others gave me a pretty good idea of how my walls would look, whether they were blood red or soft gray. And while you’ll still want to hold up squares because the color won’t translate 100 percent from your computer to the wall, it’s a decent starting point that can help narrow down your choice. Now, however, paint makers all have online tools that will do most of the work for you. Once upon a time, you had to hold up little colorful squares and try to envision your walls going from white to taupe with just the power of your imagination. Pashapixel / 123RF Stock PhotoMorning Mist or Misty Morning? Ah, the joy of picking out paint colors.

Paint my living room virtually