November 1st, 2007
Color wave: brighten your home with summery hues from our beach-inspired palette
The easiest and least expensive way to change the look of your interior is to paint it. But there’s a catch: With some manufacturers offering more than 100 shades of blue alone, today’s huge array of color choices can be overwhelming. To simplify the selection process and take the guesswork out of color combinations, we created a palette of 20 colors–shown on the next pages–designed for summer decorating. These pale blues, greens, and sandy neutrals can make any room look like it’s just steps away from the beach.
To illustrate ways to use the palette, we asked photo stylist Emma Star Jensen, who had recently moved to Oakland, California, from Australia, for help. She loaned us the living room in her newly purchased bungalow to use as a decorating laboratory. With Jensen, we selected 5 of the seaside colors, and pulled in furnishings to complement them. The result is a serene and relaxing environment that’s full of inspiration.
Color tips
Here’s a breakdown of what Emma Star Jensen did and how you, too, can pull it together.
* Choose a main wall color and add accent hues. We chose a soft blue (Sky’s the Limit) for the walls and used green (Hillsmere) as an accent in the interior of the glass-fronted cabinets.
* Call out architectural features. We used a different accent color (Malibu Beige) around the window to give it more prominence. The shade was repeated on the wall in the kitchen that can be seen from the living room.
* Use a contrasting trim color. We painted the doors and trim of the cabinets a soft white (Swan Wing) to make them stand out against the blue walls, and we painted the baseboards in a flattering neutral (New Linen).
* Incorporate colors of furnishings. Use fabric and accessories to play up or contrast with the anchor colors. The pale blue ottoman between the sandy-colored sofa and chair matches the blue walls, and the green inside the cabinet rounds out the look. “Blue can be a rather cool color when used alone, but team it with a green in a similar tone and you get instant warmth,” Jensen says.
* Add sculptural interest. We used vessels of different shapes and sizes. Jensen’s collection of pitchers and vases looks artistic against the green backdrop.
Seaside allure
We worked with Kelly-Moore color stylist Mary Lawlor to select from 1,362 hues in the company’s new system, ColorXperience. Each of the three new paint palettes–”The West in Color”–includes 20 hues inspired by a region: the seaside (shown), the mountains, and the desert. All the colors in each palette work with one another, whether you’re painting an accent wall or using several shades in one room. The magazine printing process affects color reproduction, so allow for paint variation. See page 131 for more information and color-chip reference numbers.