Paint with the Perfect Palette
It’s an investment of time and money, but most decorators paint before they think. Avoid priming and re-painting with these tips to put 2007’s hot colors on the wall.
Image courtesy Pittsburgh Paints
Walking into the paint store is a lot like walking into a sushi restaurant for the first time. You have paint chips and you have maki rolls. Both are brightly colored and have strange names, and they all look good, but you have no idea which one is going to suit you best. You could play it safe and go with something neutral (like the California roll), but in your heart you know your palette – and your palate – desires something bolder (like the most expensive house specialty).
That’s what color experts (and the wait staff) are for – they help you pick out what’s best for you. Lee Eiseman, color industry expert and executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, and Ken Mesnik, vice president of New York’s Gracious Home, offered their insight into what’s new for color at the International Home and Housewares Show this week in Chicago. Here’s what the experts had to say:
Love Connection
Look beyond a simple matching process and look for colors you can connect with – ones that suit your personal comfort level and excite your imagination. At the same time, keep in mind the products and feelings already existent in your home. Does the new color of your living room walls need to match your sofas? Not necessarily. It’s the introduction of new or renewed themes and colors and unique combinations that will create the essential connections (i.e. matches).
Every Nook and Cranny
“Color captures attention and creates an emotional response,” says Eiseman, adding that it’s No. 1 in the hierarchy of visual memory – what color you see is what you’ll remember. One of Eiseman’s examples showed a small closet space, which was painted a vibrant orange. Color can glamorize those small spaces and make them pop.
But that’s not to say white doesn’t work. When you’re looking for a look that’s clean, constant and pure, white’s the way to go, says Eiseman.
A Little Goes a Long Way
“Graphic design has changed the way people view color,” says Eiseman, noting a teenage boy might not find a traditionally feminine color like lavender so “girly” when it’s on his snowboard. It’s not the color itself but shadings, values and undertones that determine a color’s mood. Depending on how light or dark it is purple can go from magical to moody to thoughtful. When painting a room, think of the mood you want to exude, and then search for the color you think best exemplifies that mood.
Change Your Focus
Think beyond color as your main display and think about it as a backdrop, says Mesnik. In his store, they use dark walls to make lighter items pop and vice versa. And don’t think color is limited to walls or furniture. Mesnik says the use of different colors for storage containers adds a fresh look anywhere, and they even see vacuums as pieces of art in his store. The right color and the right placement make all the difference.
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