ColorTherapy: Why Don’t You…?

Why don’t you install a hand-painted ceramic sink in your bathroom like they do in Puerto Vallarta? Colorful tile is everywhere in Mexico--stair risers, insets, backsplashes. I love these sinks, and furthermore, my favorite place to use bright colors like this is in kitchens and bathrooms, because they’re small ugly spaces that you spend lots of time in and which are always in need of some perking up...

I wish I had a New York resource; if anyone knows where to find these, let us know.

Why don’t you paint your folding side table sea-foam green to match your McCoy Kiln pottery collection? Says Mr. City: “I like my surroundings to be cool, calm and placid, and I choose colors that reflect that. I prefer cold to hot. The pottery reminds me of things I had in the house as a young child. Except for the homoerotic art, my grandmother would be very happy here.” Benjamin Moore Spruce Green, 2035-50.

Why don’t you paint your nursery goldenrod with orange trim? Now that’s a great use of yellow if you ask me. The number one reason I write this column is so nobody has to use pale pancake-batter yellow anymore unless they absolutely believe it’s the perfect thing, and that’s what most people would put in a nursery. I like how this color ties together the dark wood and the outsider art. Even the clutter looks good.

Why don’t you paint the back wall of your closet teal, but leave the shelves white? I’m not always a fan of this look—to my eye the result is too many busy boxes. But what I like here is that the tchotchkes feel special, and the dust bunnies fall back into the distance. That said, this may be a candidate for the tidiest closet in the history of the universe. Benjamin Moore Blue Lake, 2053-40.

And this just in: Why don’t you paint your prep room lime green? I can’t tell if this is a hoax or not. It looks a bit like a psych ward—a POV shot, natch—but I get so few submissions that I’d like everyone eager to have their 15 minutes of fame. So just for fun let’s play a decorating game: what would you do to get this room up on its feet? I say, let’s add some rust-colored Palm Beach chairs with white piping, some wicker shelves and better lighting. What say ye?

Email pictures, a brief description and the paint name if you have it to colortherapy@earthlink.net, and put WHY DON’T YOU in the subject line.

- Mark Chamberlain, interior and decorative painter