Paint really is the easiest way to change the look of a room. Consider it a fresh start. Clean, freshly painted walls are the best way to start a room re-do. Color is all around us in nature. Close your eyes, take a deep breath. Do you picture yourself relaxing on a beach or hiking in the mountains? We all tend to drift one way or the other, you can like both, but my guess is you prefer one over the other. Now close your eyes again. I know that reading a blog with your eyes closed is hard. The good news with your eyes closed, I have zero grammatical errors. Anyway, with your eyes closed picture the colors in nature around you. That is probably what colors you love best. Personally, I love the mountains in the fall and that is no secret when you come to my house.
I love wood and earth tones, the colors of leaves in the fall, and the colors of an Indian summer sunset. I am not a fan of saturated man made colors. I much prefer colors found in the real (natural) world. In my fan deck, I can easily tell you what areas of color I rarely flip to. When I meet with a client, I like to talk to them about what colors they feel most relaxed in. Once we make a selection I like to paint a piece of pasteboard with a sample of the color for them to hold up multiple times throughout the day. Color can look very differently at night then it does during the day. I also like to look at it on a sunny day and a cloudy day as they can look different also.
Don’t be afraid of whites and creams, as they show off architecture! They can be bold and energetic and make art stand out.
Don’t be afraid of color either. Navy, or as it is being called this year, indigo, is an amazing color as an accent wall.
Yellow can be tricky. My advice never, EVER, choose a yellow that makes you sing wheels on the bus. Pick a yellow based in nature not one that evokes a chorus of round-and-round!
Neutrals and beiges have undertones of other colors. Some can be green based, red based or blue based. Keep that in mind.
Don’t be afraid to create a color. I could not find the right color for my house so I had to get the guys at the local Sherwin Williams help me out. The new color is (drumroll please) Antler Tan!
Here it is on the walls!
