Name: Beverly Hills 180
Brand: Benjamin Moore

What would you do? My client had the walls of this room painted in a paler shade of yellow, and wanted something richer. I always love a rich color, but would have gone cooler and richer, either a dirty yellow or a green-yellow. The reason? Everything else in this room has a red base to it—redwood furniture, red leather, red pillows, red floor—and I wanted something to cut through the fat.

I’m usually looking for my eye to do a little dance: I like little changes as I flicker across the surfaces of a room, and that keeps my interest up.

The photograph posted is the final result, and I think I stick by my original instinct, but what saves it for me is the carpet. That green on the floor is what pulls the whole thing together, it’s like a bridge. It cools everything off and nods toward the color of the wall. Additionally, there are shear linen drapes of a similar green over the windows.

I probably would have picked a greener yellow, perhaps Ralph Lauren Mango Gold, VM34. What would you do?

- Mark Chamberlain, interior and decorative painter