A room name alone is rarely enough. One kitchen may have a different wall, ceiling, trim, door, and cabinet finish, while two walls in the same room may not match. A useful record starts with the physical surface and attaches the exact label text you can verify while the can is still available.
Use familiar space names
Name spaces the way the household searches for them: Kitchen, Main bedroom, Upstairs hall, or Front exterior. Do not store a postal address; the private paint log itself is the boundary. Keep names short enough to scan on a phone.
Separate every painted surface that can differ
Create separate surface records for walls, an accent wall, ceiling, trim, door, or cabinets. If “Walls” does not mean every wall, use a precise label such as “North accent wall”. PaintLog never guesses the physical area from a generic label.
Copy paint identity as text
Record the manufacturer or brand, product line, color name, manufacturer code, and finish exactly as printed. Manufacturer finish names vary, so choose the closest standard finish and preserve the custom wording when needed. A photo or screen color is not an authoritative formula.
Append a repaint instead of erasing the old coat
When a surface is repainted, add a new current application. The previous one remains historical, which prevents an old receipt or note from being mistaken for the latest coat. Void an entry only when it was recorded in error; PaintLog does not infer which physical layers remain.