Benjamin Moore Paint Hale Navy & Alexandria Beige

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77
Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17
Front Door BM Hale Navy HC-154

Every once in a while I work with a client that has natural design savvy.  I knew this was the case the moment I walked up the entranceway and recognized the door as Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy.  I smiled, and could not hold back my enthusiasm.  When my new client opened the door, I exclaimed  "Hi, I'm Cathleen, the color designer, pleased to meet you, IS THIS HALE NAVY, it's such a BEAUTIFUL COLOR!"

Door BM Hale Navy HC-154

She was kind enough to go into the basement and look for the paint container, and indeed confirmed the Hale Navy.  I smiled, brightly.

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77
Trim & Woodwork BM White Dove OC-17

My client was on a mission to transform the existing bright light yellow foyer to something more dramatic, gracious, and sophisticated.  She had a wonderful vision but needed a color professional to bring it to fruition. After sampling several colors that did not work, she called me in to help.

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77

Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17

The homeowner has a great eye for color, but it's difficult to translate tiny chips of color into gigantic walls, as color changes and is all about context.  Selecting paint colors is an art, it takes experience, talent, knowledge, enthusiasm, persistence, the right color tools, and often guts.

If you are having color anxiety, know you are not alone.  Simply call in the color professionals, that is what we are here for.

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77

Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17

Front Door BM Hale Navy HC-154

Notice the deep blue dining room above.  It was a burnt red!  (Oh I wish I took a before picture)  My client wanted a blue dining room and had several wallpaper samples for me to look at.  I said "Blue, BRILLIANT, especially with the Hale Navy Door and the blue accents throughout the first floor".

Unfortunately the photo does not rendering the blue wallpaper correctly (computer colors are inaccurate), but it absolutely looks stunning in real life.

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77

Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17

The foyer was a bit of a challenge.  The mission was to go dramatic, with richness and depth, but not too dark.  The home is used extensively in the daytime, as well as in the evening for entertaining.  Plenty of natural lighting is provided by a large window, causing the colors to lighten in the day, and darken in the evening.  The dilemma was finding a color that the client loved both day or night, that simultaneously looks beautiful with all the elements in the foyer and adjacent rooms (including their lovely art collection and stunning blue-green living room).  Oh, and of course, we needed to find a color to go with the Hale Navy door!

Always, always, always consider how the paint color of the foyer looks with the exterior of the house.  Doors are frequently left open, and the front door and foyer are the first things we experience when we enter a home. 

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77

Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17

So I brought in my large paint boards, and we worked together as a team, finally narrowing it down to two colors.   As always, I moved the boards around to different areas of the grand foyer, up and down, and all around, because color changes depending on its immediate surroundings.   I left the boards overnight, because color changes throughout the day and evening.

My client called me the next day and informed me that one color is too dark at night, and the other color not dark enough.  I knew we wanted the sensibility of those particular colors, because we explored many options already.  So I simply had the paint store lighten one color up and darken the other. I painted up two new color boards, and left them for viewing overnight.

Walls BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula HC-77

Woodwork & Trim BM White Dove OC-17

Bravo, we did it.  My client loved one of the modified colors!  It was exactly the look and feel she desired,  and went beautiful in the space.  The color is Benjamin Moore - HC-77 - Alexandria Beige lightened to a 50% Formula.  

Beware, computer photos do not render color accurately.  My monitor is showing more red undertones than in reality.   Be sure to look at the paint colors in the actual space during different times of the day.   And always test the colors on the walls before you commit.

Must sound like a broken record but I'll say it again - color is all about context, and naturally changes.  It looks differently on one wall than it does on another.  Once you accept this fact, and embrace it, you will love the creative process of choosing colors.

Ahh, BM Alexandria Beige 50% Formula, warm, gracious, and sophisticated  (just like the homeowners personality) with just enough drama - intriguing in the day, and at night.  Nothing makes me happier than knowing my clients are delighted every time they enter their home.

Especially when they walk through that fabulous Hale Navy door.  :-)

Lost in the Benjamin Moore Paint Chip Display?

I was in the paint store the other day, and had the pleasure of helping three homeowners lost in the color chip display.

There are so many color choices for paint that it can be overwhelming for the untrained eye to choose an appropriate color. It is amazing how those little chips of saturated color virtually explode on walls, and look totally different than what many people envision.

May I enlighten you to a few of the challenging dynamics of color:

Color changes. It is not absolute. No way. No how.

Consider color ... alive. Like a person, color is moody, and changes with its surroundings.

Like a person, color is fickle. Likes some things sometimes, and other times not.

And like a person, color has personality that touches our emotions, our minds, and our bodies.

Color is all about context. It is how you use it that matters.

Think about color combinations as people relationships.

Because color has many temperamental qualities, it is important to combine colors so there are no personality clashes! As every personal relationship differs, so do color relationships.

Some color combinations are love at first site, others are just okay. Some intrigue our senses. Others bore us. And some color combinations do not get along. At all! They scream and yell and fight.

Color is powerful. It will make or break your overall design.

Color is the ring leader of design. It has the power to create harmony and bring the all the elements of your decor and design together.

Choose your colors for your home, as you choose your closest friends. Carefully! The paint color throughout your home reflects upon you, in more ways than one.

So when you are choosing paint, remember the color on the little chips in the store will change when you put it on the wall. Chose colors with less saturation because chroma tends to brighten and explode visually as it gets larger.

Test the color in the actual space. The color will change depending on the surrounding elements such as flooring, lighting, furnishings, time of day, etc. I prefer test boards because you can move them, up and down, and all around the room.

Make sure all the colors in a space are pleasing and get along beautifully with each other, by comparing the wall color to each colorful element in the room as well as adjacent rooms.

Think overall theme, let the wall color tie the whole design together. The wall color is the main field. And along with the architecture, paint color defines the entire space.

Don't feel alone if you get lost in the paint chip display. Most people do! Call in the color professionals.

Color consultants like myself, are experts who understand the dynamics of color, and have the experience, skills, tools, and knowledge to help you create beautiful designed spaces.

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The Art of Seeing

The first step on the journey to coloring your world is to master the art of seeing.

Although we often look at things, we don't always see them.
Our lives are distracted by thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, and we miss a slice of life.
Don't just wake up and smell the coffee! Experience it. Delight in the visual ritual of drinking coffee. There is a reason why coffee is comforting and makes us feel at home. The rich deep browns of nature give us a sense of belonging and remind us of where we came from.

Ever notice how gracefully cream blends into coffee to create a new earthy color? Color theory in action! Realize how "alive" color is. More or less cream changes the taste, as well as the color. Be part of it. Live in the moment.
That is the art of seeing.

So open your eyes and notice your surroundings. Up, down, and all around. Or you will miss a colorful encounter.

A few weeks ago, I was jogging and glanced up at the sky. I stopped in awe when I saw the most spectacular cloud formations in the bluest sky ever. I was mesmerized not only by natures beauty, but by the intimate connection I felt with it.

Anyone can master the art of seeing with three simple concepts.

• Childlike. Be playful, live in the moment, observe as if you are seeing it for the first time.

• Creative. Release the artist within you. The world is your canvas and your eyes your paint brush. When you look, see it fully by pretending you are painting with it with your eyes.

• Curious. Look everywhere, beyond the ordinary, and discover surprises and meaning in everything. Your mundane routine will magically turn magnificent.

One of my favorite scholars, Friedrich Schiller, states in On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry that geniuses have a childlike naivety; and when adults retain this childlike temperament, they co-exist with nature, and are truly open to explore.  When we live in the moment, we don't get lost in the illusions of our minds, and can create and act boldly.

How many times have you had a brilliant idea pop in your head, when you are not even thinking about it. When you live in a natural state, instinctive and extraordinary occurrences simply happen. Consider it an organic thought.

Thinking in action is what the art of seeing is all about. Visually experience it first. Open your eyes wide! Your body, your senses, and your mind will react naturally as your eyes take in all in.

Remember, color is a gift from nature. Revel in it, and you will color your world.