Lori loves to travel the world and brings home exotic art from the most remote places. To honor her sense of adventure and spirit, her art guided the choices for the colors throughout her home. In addition to paint, Emily also helped her with some new fabric selections for upholstery and updating architectural finishes such as new countertops, hardwood floor finish, and tile to be sure that all of the finishes are energetically balanced and flow. Her red dining room is certainly the center and heart of her home!
The red of the dining room flows from the art and textiles in the hallway into the living room and kitchen in the rugs. Creating an energetic flow with color provides for a unified feel throughout the entire home from one space to the next.
The granite countertops in the kitchen provided a lot of color for the palette. The color used on the cabinets can be felt dancing in the granite and was then carried onto the walls in the living room to create the energetic flow throughout all of the spaces.
Lori’s love for the depth and richness of color can be witnessed throughout her choices in art. This bathroom happens to be one of the favorite rooms in her house because it feels like you are walking into the art rather than a room. We selected the tile and paint colors to be the foundation for the art in this space. It’s how it all comes together that matters most and where we feel the difference in our approach!
When Emily arrived at Gloria’s house, there were a number of colors already working well that Gloria liked. However, there were some colors that were out of balance that Emily detected right away. While Gloria couldn’t diagnose the issue herself, she felt something was off. This is what she told Emily on the phone in making the appointment for her color consultation.
The red dining room and rich woodwork created a very deep atmosphere. Yet, the light neutral color on the walls in the living room were too stark of a contrast with it. By bringing the red onto the ceiling in the living room and using a trim paint color to match the original woodwork, the two rooms were suddenly working together in a way that they had not beforehand. To finish the energetic flow, the living room wall color was also then used on the ceiling in the dining room.
From layers of the beautiful faux finish in the upstairs landing that never quite got completed, Emily found a soft color to finish off the space on the ceiling, doors, and hallway walls.
Notice how using the wall color on the ceilings in the two upstairs rooms actually makes the spaces feel bigger. In half-story rooms like these, thinking of the ceiling like the sky makes such good sense. When we are outside, the sky surrounds us: it’s not just above our heads. We always use this same principle for painting interior ceilings, especially when there is no molding at the ceiling.
With the colorful art and not to be missed fuzzy turquoise sofa, this home’s palette was developed from the original woodwork and architectural finishes of this mid-century rambler. The neutral paint colors were chosen to create a serene, yet warm environment.
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We have to point out the effect of metamerism so beautifully captured in the photo of the kitchen. The paint color in that room is the same on the walls and the ceiling. Yet, the camera captured the color as MUCH more blue where it is right next to the cabinetry. Why? The warmth of the wood (perhaps classified as orange) really brings its complement (blue) forward in the paint color. Metamerism at its best: colors’ appearance changes in relation to the other colors adjacent. Magic!
Filed under: exterior color — Emily Lauderback @ 3:43 pm
Wednesday, July 20th 7 pm
Join us for thee design event of the summer at CB2 Georgetown! This is the first DC Apartment Therapy Event of its kind and will offer even more mixing, mingling, and great design! First up, design and lifestyle bloggers are invited to a special presentation starting at 6pm. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about CB2 and meet bloggers from across the metro area. RSVP REQUIRED.
At 7pm, let the festivities begin! CB2 will host multiple DIY workshops throughout the store. Learn how to use their awesome products in your own home with these how-tos:
- Add drama to your space with a power-free chandelier using Whirly candleholders
- Say “so long” to blank or boring walls with a tutorial on clustering wall décor
- And don’t forget the floors! Learn to create area rugs using versatile and eco-friendly FLOR carpet tiles
We’ll also view CB2’s new collection for Fall and Winter – cool thoughts on a hot summer night!
You’ve seen the catalog, now see the store! DC is one of only nine locations throughout the country. Hope to see you there!
Tweet: #AptTherapyDC and @cb2georgetown
About CB2
CB2 is a community (which we hope includes you) seeking modern home design that’s clever and in the moment, that’s spare and simple but with great attention to details, that’s priced smart so we can all have it all (and feel smart doing so). The only attitude you’ll find at CB2 is creative, fun, happy to share.
CB2 Georgetown
3307 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
www.cb2.com
Filed under: exterior color — Emily Lauderback @ 11:35 pm
When Emily is asked to help with kitchen and bathroom remodels, she always looks to the most sustainable and low-cost options first. The layout, appliances, cabinetry, kitchen backsplash, and flooring in this home were all in good shape. Therefore, painting every surface, acquiring new hardware, countertops, window treatments, and vanity for the bathroom were all that was required.
They had also recently had the dining room and living room painted in Benjamin Moore’s HC-82 Bennington Gray, which was a beautiful start to the home’s new palette throughout. Using the existing art, exchanging rugs in the office and breakfast nook, and bringing a hallway rug into the bathroom also kept the budget very low. The homeowners were stunned at how inexpensive this transformation was and delighted to retain so many of their existing decor items.
810 W 36th Street • “The Avenue” in Hampden • Baltimore, MD 21211410-235-READ (7323) • oracle@breathebooks.comCost of the class is $10 to provide for the venue.
Those who attend will receive their choice of one of the eight Dwelling Palettes® as a gift: a $25 value. Your Dwelling Palette® will be used during the class as the tool for understanding how to manipulate the energy of architectural color. Feel free to bring home decor items that resonate with you deeply: art, textiles, and architectural finishes inform your color palette most effectively. Having your personal treasures will allow you to experience the energetic relationships with your choice of Dwelling Palette® while at Breathe Books.
Without light, we cannot see color. When we see color, it is light reflected back to us. Color is light, and light is a form of energy with its own frequency and wavelength. That’s why thinking of color through a scientific or physics lens is often more helpful. This energy (color) is not static. It fluctuates and changes, reflecting the light conditions at the time and responding to the other colors (energies) surrounding it.
With the development of the Dwelling Palettes®, Color in Space has found that educating our clients about Color Theory and physics (the science of light), is the foundation of our success. Most individuals have not had the opportunity to enter the paradigm through which we experience and understand color.
Every color has only one complement. The complementary pairs are red & green, blue & orange, yellow & purple. Each of the primary colors’ complements is a combination of the other two primary colors. Complementary colors make a complete whole, and what they complete is the spectrum of light: between the two colors in the complementary pair, all hues are present. Thus using a balance of complementary colors and relationships allows us to experience the Full Spectrum.
In each complementary pair, one of the colors is classified as a warm color and the other a cool color. When complementary colors are seen together, they actually enhance each other’s energy and appear brighter and cleaner. We often say that they appear to sing together. The colors energetically lift each other and are more luminous. (This is the same science behind Ellen Kennon’s Full Spectrum Paint and what accounts for its depth and beauty!)
We can create this same energetic enhancement by using a balance of warm and cool colors. This basic principle employed by Color in Space is unique and operating in a different dimension than just how the color designs look. Using a balance of warm and cool colors makes the color designs feel incredible because of the energy they produce together.
Fortunately, feng shui, the ancient Chinese system used to balance and enhance environmental energy, has increasingly been accepted as a valid and beneficial solution for improving lives in our culture as well. Fundamental to feng shui is the common sense understanding that harmony and balance, especially with nature, have healing effects. As our culture is awakening to what ancient Eastern cultures have known for thousands of years, we are witnessing the success and healing effects within people’s homes.
When observing Mother Nature’s use of color, we experience the inherent balance of warm and cool tones and the energy to which so many of us are attracted. For example, while the main color of wood is warm, on very close inspection, the grain is typically a cool color. The way in which the tones dance together on a deep level–that we often do not perceive–is the reason so many of us desire wood decor and architectural finishes in our homes. We don’t necessarily see the complementary relationships, but we feel them. Humans are also animals of the Earth, and the energetic balance that resonates with us outside is possible to be brought inside our homes to support us most effectively.
Color Theory, the science behind Mother Nature’s divine plan, has been a very effective tool to educate people about this basic principle of feng shui. Color Theory illustrates that by balancing complementary colors, we can create an energetic whole much greater than the sum of the parts.
Undoubtedly, the architectural application of color is an infusion of energy. We at Color in Space know how to manipulate and balance that energy to better support us. Educating our culture about the energetic depth of the architectural application of color–the Full Spectrum–not only benefits us individually. The benefits ripple out to our greater collective whole. On a mass level, we even have the ability to heal the Earth with the conscious and intentional use of color.
As Lin Yun has stated:
“According to feng shui, our life and destiny are closely interwoven with the workings of the universe and nature. All permutations, from cosmic to atomic, resonate with us. The force that links man and his surroundings is called ch’i (translated as human spirit, energy, or cosmic breath).
“The point of feng shui is to harness and enhance environmental ch’i to improve the flow of ch’i within our bodies, thus improving our life and destiny. Harmony and balance are both crucial factors in feng shui – they pervade the process linking man and the universe.”
We look forward to seeing you at Breathe Books to experience more about the energy of architectural color Sunday, August 14th from 1-3 pm!
Keeping in line with how Mother Nature designs with color, we always strive to balance warm and cool colors (including the architectural finishes) to create the highest vibration and best feeling spaces. When there is an abundance of wood, we balance with cool colors. With the predominant cool tones of the tile in the bathroom, we used a warmer tone for the paint. In the kitchen, a warm color was used on the ceiling to balance the warmth of the floors and cabinetry, while the walls and countertop received the cool part of the palette.
Also, to streamline the environment making it feel most natural, the trim was always painted the same color as the walls. This contemporary, new, “green” construction is airy and simple. Feels like we’re at the beach! All of the Benjamin Moore colors used in this palette can be purchased in our Cabana Palette® available through our website.
When there is significant wood in a space, it greatly affects the appearance of the paint colors–especially cool colors! This is due to metamerism: colors’ appearance changes in relationship to the other finishes surrounding it.
Woods are warm and can be considered as red, orange, or yellow to determine how other colors will relate best. We prefer using “cool” colors as the paint or other dominant architectural finish to give the best energetic balance with the “warmth” of the wood. If the wood appears “red,” the cool color will most likely take on a “green” cast, “orange” toned wood will bring out the “blue” in the cool color, and more “yellow” woods will enhance any “purple” tones in the cool color. This is the complementary relationship in action. The complementary color pairs want to find each other! The warm and the cool complete the spectrum and raise the energetic vibration. This is the most basic principle to understanding Color Theory developed as a phenomenon of physics by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1670’s.
However, this can be tricky business! Complements also enhance each other and make each other appear brighter and more vibrant. Therefore, if you choose a cool color for balance that has too much pigment, it can appear too bright and harsh! Using soft, muted cool colors work best. On their own, one may even call them “gray.” But as soon as it’s next to the wood, suddenly it’s blue, green, or purple. Magic!
This is why we have to see the colors we’re considering in isolation with the other finishes that will be present when the painting is all done. Use swatches that are a single color with no white borders for the most accurate read. We have found that 4″ swatches are best because our eyes can take in the entire relationship in one shot. If the swatches are too big, our eyes are busy scanning rather than feeling the relationship. When the swatches are too small, there is not enough there to feel the influence of the colors’ relationship to each other. This is why the Dwelling Palettes were developed with Benjamin Moore Paint 4″ swatches. The swatches can be considered as mini models of your walls.
Also remember, if the swatches are mini models of your walls, light is the other component of metamerism. Hold the swatches vertically when you are assessing their relationship to the wood architectural finishes…unless of course, you are considering painting your floor with that color!
Emily was hired only to assist with the backsplash for this newly remodeled kitchen. The homeowners had selected the white cabinets, brown paint, and butcher block countertops. They were stymied with then what to do with the backsplash, so Emily came to the rescue!
One trip to the tile store helped them find the design to bring it all together. The leaf accent tiles were the starting place because each one was significantly on sale to close them out. The field tile was selected next to soften the contrast and extremes of the white and dark brown paint and used many of the tones of the butcher block. Lastly, the small mosaic tile was the perfect accent line to bring the leaf accent tiles and field tile together.
Emily is available through her business, emily lauderback design & color consultation, for on-site home and commercial design. Kitchen and bathroom remodels are her specialty from space planning to selecting and coordinating all of the architectural finishes. For most renovations, Emily can manage the entire design for much less than the cost of an architect.
There are two distinct aspects to designing a kitchen. The first is the three dimensional aspect of the space and how to best manage it. You will often hear of the “work triangle” as the starting place for this aspect of the design. Emily will work with your objectives, your appliance selection, and the space to make the most of your kitchen design. A complete set of CAD drawings with elevations are provided for you to see how your new kitchen will layout in the space.
The second aspect of the kitchen design is selecting and coordinating all of the architectural finishes. Practicality and function are where Emily begins this aspect of the design for your cabinetry, countertops, and flooring. It’s always much easier to coordinate the hard finishes first since there are a limited number of choices. After selecting these, the paint color is the very last item to choose since it acts as the glue that brings all of the other finishes together.
The photographs of the kitchen shown here demonstrate how the cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and tile backsplash were the starting place for this home’s entire palette. Because of all of the natural finishes, the paint palette was kept very organic and natural as well.
