apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

the best colors that work for me in my home have an emotional component to them...

i use colors that evoke a memory of a time or place that i enjoy

these are the most powerful for me

I think you know mine... when painting an entire room, pick the color you love on the paint chip, but buy the next lightest color on the swatch.

That you cannot transport colors from a region vastly different from yours without modification? That there is a California palette or a New England palette or a Scandinavian palette or a Provence palette for a reason? To make them work where you are perhaps is not automatic, but rather an adaptation knowing this to be true.

My 2 cents.

Wishing the event every success.

www.rang-thecoloursoflife.blogspot.com/

An idea I read somewhere once, and which I am happy to pass alongto you is this:

To get an idea of "regional colour"--that is, the colours which work well wherever you live is to collect samples of the soil.

Hawaian sand, for example, is a lot different from Carribbean sand....the red earth of the Maritimes is different than the sand of the prairie.

Encourage folks to collect samples of soil whenever they travel: you can build up an interesting palette of "true" neutrals."

Oh--and a little colour goes a long way. Make sure you use it judiciously.....

Don't forget that neutrals and woods are also colors and have undertones that must work with the rest of the color scheme.

Color can be changed, if you don't like it, well go out and get more paint!

Or in my case, just change the colors of the lights.

Wow - Maxwell, already leaving the kid? And letting SK fend for herself? Well, I guess, someone's got to put food on the table.

Color tips for a wide range of budgets always lead to paint topics. How about my top five "decorator" paint color tips that I think are silly? I'll try to keep it short.

1. "Pull" a color from an inspiration piece and have it color matched at the paint store.

Yeah, it works but it has sooo been done. Wall color doesn't have to be an EXACT match to anything in the room. Wall color can be more interesting if it is chosen with focus on the inherent lighting and architecture of a room and is just an echo of colors found in window treatments or upholstered items, etc.

2. Look in your closet for color cues.

I have never met anyone who actually did this. Have to wonder how many people who are seeking color advice for their home could also use color advice for their wardrobe. Analyzing a room's inherent lighting (natural directional exposure as well as artificial) provides better guidance than a "scarf or a blouse".

3. The ceiling is the 5th wall.

No, it's not. A ceiling is a horizontal plane above your head - different from vertical walls. Flop angle dictates how color behaves on a horizontal surface as opposed to a vertical one. Planning color for the ceiling requires a different set of criteria than planning color for walls. I suppose the intent of this tip is to remind people not to forget to treat the ceiling when painting a room. That point I agree with, but why not just say, "Don’t forget about the ceiling"?

4. If you always select the “third color down” on a paint color strip, you are safe. You are guaranteed that it will be a wonderful paint color up on the walls. Part B to that: If you want to use more than one color, all you have to do is select the colors from the same position on the color strips and they will all "go" together.

Paint chips do not work like that. The position a color holds on a strip of color is relative to its value within the range of colors on that individual strip only -- usually colors are arranged lightest to darkest on a strip, but not always. Additionally, each major paint brand's methods of organizing their palette varies thereby rendering "the third color down" completely ambiguous.

5. It's just paint.

If someone is on a budget, they can't afford to buy cheap paint. Factors of coverage and durability are important and they need to evaluate more than just the price per gallon.

From a color quality point of view, paint is similar to wine in that cheap wine maybe tolerable... until you are able to compare it to a better wine. After a taste of a fine bottle of wine, a sip of cheap wine tastes like swill. With paint, once you have lived with wall color mixed with skill and artistry, the sub-quality color and finishes available at home stores, etc. can look rather dead and clumsy.

Lastly, could share some insight on VOCs, volatile organic compounds. Paint is the most economical way to bring change and life to our built environments. We need to be more aware of what we are slathering all over our walls. Interior and exterior. Paint can labeling is not regulated like food package labeling. Consumers have to do their homework, learn about their paint product options, and make smart choices.

The event sounds like fun, good luck!

polkadot--

Hmmmm.

re: "Look in your closet for color cues."
This is a tip given to people who are really stumped, and not meant always to be taken literally. And actually, it's often a trick designers/decorators use to get a "read" on their clients when the clients themselves offer no true
inspiration.

And lots of people fearless about color in their wardrobes are gunshy when it comes to paint color. I think this is just an icebreaker for those stymied, and not meant to be dogma.

re: Knocking the "it's just paint" comment.
Um, even the most expensive paint is generally cheaper than a sofa or a tile job, and much easier to undo.

Or, to use the wine metaphor, a glass of wine is generally cheaper than the filet mignon.

patrick - you get that it's not meant to be dogma. I, on the other hand, have stood in kitchens, bedrooms, family rooms, etc. painted the most ungodly colors while the homeowner groused how she "read a color tip in XYZ Decorating Magazine and didn't expect the wall color to come out the way it did" which was ugly. Attractive clothing colors do not always translate into attractive wall colors.

Designers pokin' around to get a read on their clients is way different than sending an unknowing, color-struggling DIYer off to the paint store to have their knickers color matched.

As far as the it's just paint comment. I'm not sure you fully understand what I mean. I'm coming more from a penney wise, pound stupid perspective. Lots of times DIYers will buy paint based on price per gallon alone. And, often the cheapest brand of paint can end up costing the most because you have to buy twice as much of it to get acceptable results in coverage or quality of final finish. With better grades of paint, fewer gallons are needed and end up a less expensive better value in the long run.

I do understand what you mean as far as a poor paint color choices being manageable to rectify. It is always a lot of work to prep and paint, but usually the materials cost isn't too outrageous. The bulk of expense of any paint job goes to labor. Whether a homeowner pays for it with their own time and effort or rather with a check to a pro.

Yeah, I don't think at all that's what people usually mean by the phrase/advice "It's just paint." But I get your point.

I think the better advice to *your* point would be "Buy the best paint you can afford."

And I'd add: use a tinted primer for any color darker than a brown bag