DEVINE COLOR 25TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

THE YEAR WAS 2001

In 2001, everyone had white walls.

Paint companies told me there was no room for my paint colors. They had thousands of colors and could match any of them. I decided to sell paint out of the trunk of my car. The rest was history.

Devine Color was a colorful path for those looking to transform their spaces on a budget — stuck in indecision and regrets, and craving growth, change, or self-actualization. With my colors, women like me saw their own reflection. With my paint, they trusted in their creative power.

I saw women put their need to be perfect aside and make color decisions based on themselves — not their neighbors, not the trends, not what others thought. They wanted their home to look like theirs. Confidence breeds confidence, and happiness more happiness. My brand delivered both on a colorful platter that inspired everyone to feast on and share. Women put away competitiveness and the need to impress each other, and instead celebrated each other's original blends.

Twenty-five years ago, I launched Devine Color in North America and the U.K. Fifteen years ago, I sold it to Valspar Paint. Ten years ago, it was acquired by Sherwin-Williams. My non-compete ended five years ago.

Today, everyone has white walls.

And I am ready to do it all over again.

Yours truly, Devine,
Gretchen Schauffler

FAQs

You can't touch up old Devine Color paint.

Not really.

The original colors were built on their own proprietary bases and pigment blends — designed to reflect light in relationship to each other, not just live as isolated swatches. Over time, raw materials changed, VOC limits tightened, and other brands' rematching turned those originals into versions of versions.

Even the best color-matching technology carries about a 10% variance. That doesn't sound like much — until it's stretched across a full wall in real light. That's the gap most people feel but can't quite name. The color doesn't look or feel the same, and they don't know why.

I wrote about this in more detail here: The Truth About Paint Color Matching

Are these the same formulas as the original Devine Colors?

No — and that's the point.

I started over from the ground up. I have my own lab and tinting machine, and I rebuilt every Colorwright formula from scratch, testing each color on my own walls for reflective connection and resonance before it reaches yours. It took five years to align the right manufacturer with my standards. Worth every one of them.

Can I match my original Devine Color with a new can?

Probably not — and here's why that matters.

The OG Devine Colors I launched are the ones I'm remastering now, like Taylor Swift reclaiming her catalog, 25 years later. I crafted those colors on canvas, palletized them, and formulated them alongside a seasoned chemist and a veteran paint professional. I oversaw every decision, root to fruit. Whoever tried to recreate them after VOC regulations changed and raw material suppliers shifted — didn't have that.

What you may have on your walls today is a version of a version.

It took me five years to get here. It'll take you five minutes to feel the difference.