Paint and Color

Nothing much happens around here on early Monday mornings. But by about 11, the energy picks up:

11:05 a.m.: A mother and her 6-year-old arrive. They’ve bought a new house and they close in two weeks and she has to pick out the colors now because they will only have a weekend to paint before the floor-refinishing guys show up on that Monday. She is seeking the perfect beige and has a list of color names from friends and the internet.  The CC-120 that millions of peeps online swear is the best beige on earth turns out to be too dark for her taste. I agree it is not a light airy beige. We find the swatches for Hillsboro and Squire Hill – maybe too yellowy. No way to really tell until the swatch is in the light of the room. I gave her a fistful of other beiges, on the lighter side and less yellow. Her daughter, who I am told has the flu but has no fever today and I can see the bags under her eyes, loves orange. I am glad to say this mom is willing to paint the low walls in the sloping attic bedroom in an orange, just not a clown orange. So I hand over my favorite civilized orange: Tucker Orange CW-300, and one that is just slightly barbaric: Carrot Stick 2016-30.  Recommendations from friends and internet sites are great way to begin. Buy nothing until you see the colors in person, and then see them in the space. Color is shimmering Light and is affected by every single thing in a room. Each space is completely unique. Life is so interesting! 

11:23 a.m.: A person comes in seeking a color that is the same tone as Hush AF-95, except lighter. The AF Affinity colors are all designed to “go together”, so I think maybe Pashima will do the job. Person says, more gray please! She is selling her house and has been told by experts that gray is the answer to successful showings. I place one of the cool Sell-Your-House-Fast grays next to the warm, beige-y Hush sample. She agrees with me that the combination is pretty darn hideous. We settle on Nimbus and I can rest easy. Trust me, the buyers will most most likely repaint no matter what you do because Color is personal and has great power over us visual beings. I’m not a realtor. These suggestions come out of my experiences as a color consultant: When freshening up any room with new paint in preparation for selling, I suggest keeping the color on the lighter side and making sure it’s in harmony with the colors in every other room. Clear all clutter, even things you don’t think of as clutter. Clean the house, inside and out, like it has never been cleaned before, and maybe bake cookies because the fragrance of baked goods also has great power over us. 

I’m going to publish this now because the internet is acting odd, probably because of the solar wind storm that is hitting earth this week (I read about it on Spacewether.com), and I cannot save this draft.

Happy Vernal Equinox! Barbara