Paint Palettes from Donald Kaufman

Donald Kaufman's full spectrum paints have been mentioned time and again here by Apartment Therapy readers. For a closer look, here is a gallery of residences where his paints are used and their palettes explained...

A Seaside Retreat by Joseph D'Urso: "Given the brilliance of summer light and the abundant detail it seems natural to paint the molding and wainscoting a balanced white, a color that would highlight the crisp architecture and not overwhelm it. The walls and ceilings needed to be dark enough to contrast with the white, but pale enough to be in harmony with the atmosphere. The pale wall tones contrast with the woodwork, but are still pale enough to be understated. Although recognizable as colors, they have the filmy quality of summer light."

An 1840 House: "The living room is painted in graphite gray, a strong, cool color in contrast to the warmth of the terra-cotta entrance hall. Crisp white trim provides a clean counterpoint to highlight the colors and visually unite the rooms."

Penthouse by DD Allen: "Ceilings are not high and rooms open onto each other with little defining architectural detail. An ebony-stained floor flowing throughout the space acts as a unifying factor and leads the eye away from the low ceiling by visually anchoring the rooms. Since the difference in value between the walls and dark floors is more pronounced than between walls and ceiling, the eye is naturally drawn downward to the area of greatest contrast. The dark floor also helps the medium-value walls remain neutral and seem less dark."

An Urban Loft: "To be sure, red walls are a bold gesture, but it is surprising how easily the eye becomes accustomed to it. With one color used everywhere, even this emphatic red actually acts more like a neutral - the color's impact diminishes."

For more palettes and their descriptions, see Donald Kaufman Color.

AT READERS ON DONALD KAUFMAN COLOR:
"The King of Whites is Donald Kaufman, hands down." -mschatelaine from The Best Off-Whites
"You will get the best results with a gray that is mixed from a full spectrum of color. I've used Donald Kaufman paints and had great results." -James from Good Questions: What's That Gray in the Pic?
"Donald Kaufman Color collection has some nice warm grays: DKC-7 (pale), DKC-16 (medium), DKC-12 (almost taupe) and there is a warm white that looks nice with them: DKC-5." -greenlight from Good Questions: Color to "Whiten" These Cabinets?

Images: 1: Tina Freeman, 2: Fernando Bengoechea, 3, 4: Peter Margonelli

Comments (2)

In addition to his whites, we also have that red.. that is what it looks like in bright light, but when the light gets weaker, it becomes a rich oxblood. It is truly gorgeous.

Ugh. Don't get me started.

I was really interested in trying these out a year ago after reading all of the AT buzz. I am lucky enough to live near one of the few stores that actually carries the paint (Cox Paint), so I thought I would head over, check out the colors and sample cards, buy a few test pots, and give it a shot. Well it's not that simple.

Unlike other paint brands, there are no free color swatches. And Cox Paint kept the swatches they do have in a metal binder behind plastic, so it's impossible to judge any subtlety in the color. Donald Kaufman is famous for their whites, but the white sample cards behind plastic all look identical. There is just too much glare from the cheap plastic sheet protectors to be able to judge the differences. So that means you either have to buy the swatch kit (which is hand painted) for $100 or blindly buy some test pots which are $30 each. Either way the "buy in" to do a single wall in Donald Kaufman paint is around $200. And that assumes you nail the color the first time. As intrigued as I was, I just saw the whole experience as a potential money pit, so I went with Behr. I am happy and I got my wall painted for less than it cost to buy a single DK sample pot.

That said, I am still up for trying the DK paint. I don't mind the idea of $100 a gallon paint as much as I hate the idea of being bled dry trying to pick the right shade. If anyone has some advice on how to do this more efficiently, please let me know.