Artist Darren Waterston usually sticks to a dark color palette for his paintings, but the colors of his home are anything but. So what was the inspiration for the vibrant paints that he used? Well, it's actually not a "what", but a "where", and for our Escapes month is quite apropos...

Waterston was inspired by a trip to Brussels and Antwerp, where he loved the contrast seen in many 19th century homes of black woodwork and trim against brilliantly saturated plaster pigments. He recreated the look in his NoPa home, and heeded the advice of his neighbor (designer Gary Wiss) by using a neutral taupe in the hallway to pull the contrasting tones together. See more of Waterston's home and artwork in this article from SF Gate.

(Images: Matthew Millman for SF Gate)