HOME INTERIORS & EXTERIORS ARCHIVES
September 12, 2008
Excerpts from
The Power of Paint
San Antonio Express-News
by Aissatou Sidime
When Leatrice Eiseman was looking to sell her large country-style house, she was concerned about whether her paint colors — peach, berry, blue and teal in various rooms — would hurt offers. Eiseman is director of the Pantone Color Institute, which studies people’s reactions to different colors, but she still wanted guidance.
Conventional wisdom cautioned to repaint in neutral colors.
But her real estate agent told her not to worry.
“He said, ‘Don’t paint it. It has a wonderful feel,’ ” Eiseman recalled. The agent said the home’s fun feel would appeal to large families in which each child wanted his or her own distinct room, or even to someone looking to open a bed and breakfast.
Sure enough, an investor bought the house and turned it into a B&B.
While Eiseman’s situation is rather atypical in the advice, it does reflect a common dilemma for home buyers — even those with some color expertise: How far should an owner go in expressing herself in paint when she expects to sell the house later?
Multiple colors are used to add visual interest and make architectual features such as the shake shingles, shutters and doors stand out.
WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT IN THE WORLD OF PAINT
Interiors
What’s hot:
•Deep blues
•Coffee colors
•Sage and other greens
•Colorful powder rooms and entryways
What’s not:
•Pure white walls
•Colored baseboards
Exteriors
What’s hot:
•Dark red
•Dark green
•Greenish gray
•Mottled golden, sandy, camel colors
•Royal to navy blue doors
•White, brown-toned and red-toned shutters
What’s not:
•Black shutters or doors
•Outlining window seals
•Bold colors
SOURCES: Leatrice Eiseman, Kathy Fogle, Paula Stone, Michelle Uhrig
But shoppers also buy homes based on the emotion a room evokes, color experts say.
“If you do the house all in bland colors and there is nothing inspiring in any way, then the house becomes so bland that they walk away and don’t remember anything about the house,” Eiseman said.
Secondly, paint colors, like fashion, go in and out of favor. For instance, greenish and golden tones are popular in cement siding on new homes in the San Antonio area, but pale blues and slate gray were the rage a decade ago, Uhrig said. Similarly, in interiors, “food colors” that remind shoppers of chocolate and coffee are popular now, but pale pinks and sherbets once reigned.
In the newest trend, consumers are looking for colors that remind them of nature.
But because of home-design television shows, buyers increasingly are open to splashes of color in kitchens and family gathering spots, such as game rooms, Eiseman said.
“In kitchens, it works because we already have colorful items there, with food and greater color options in appliances,” Eiseman said. “And color is happy and whimsical, which goes with what people are looking for in those gathering areas.”
September 18, 2008
Excerpt from
Palettes for High-Traffic Homes
Stylish color combinations
and finishes to withstand even the wildest kids, parties, and pets.
by Jill Connors
An Animated Approach
The colors in this tile mosaic represent the “Anime” a 2009 palette color expert Leatrice Eiseman developed for Pantone which was inspired by the neon tones of Japanese anime, the cartoon style familiar to many youngsters. “These colors give everyone the option of bringing vibrant color into their rooms,” says Eiseman.
For those with kids, pets, and a penchant to party, strong colors are the perfect solution to withstanding wear and tear without sacrificing style. Color experts agree that bold color is a hot trend. “It’s time to throw away the rulebook and go with colors that are both whimsical and practical,” says color consultant Leatrice Eiseman.
Using lavender in the bedroom to soothe someone before going to sleep.
Real Simple magazine: What is a soothing color for sleep?
Lee: I continually conduct color word association studies that record the most prevalent responses that we get regarding various color families, lavender being one of the them. What we have found is that lavender, being a cool color closely akin to blue, takes on a soothing quality that would be excellent for a sleeping environment. Lavender is also a 'child" of the mother color purple, which is perceived as meditative - an excellent relaxing mode conducive to sleep.
a purple tidbit from Lee's book
C O L O R : M E S S A G E S A N D M E A N I N G S
Amethyst, generally a blue purple, takes on some of the protective qualities of the blue family. In Egypt, amethyst was thought to be a healing amulet, offering divine protection from evil. It was believed that amethyst brought peace of mind and protection from insomnia.
August 8, 2008
More on C O L O R T R E N D S in 2 0 0 8
Excerpts from
Is plum the new black?
Has the green movement spawned a palette?
Written by Jill Connors from Pointclickhome
in which our very own colorful expert is featured.
Liberty
Color trends come and go, but one constant remains: Color is the most powerful element in home decorating. It can excite, relax, inspire and delight. The "it" colors today do all those things and more.
Plum is the New Black
"People always love blues and greens," notes color expert Leatrice Eiseman, "but what’s especially new is that blue is also taking on more of a purple tone." The Pantone color "Liberty," for example, is blue like the blue in an iris and that Eiseman says is one of the hottest colors right now, because the color’s move to purple gives it a more meditative mood.
Solar Yellow
Another top color trend is inspired by the power of the sun and our eco-conscious mentality. "The warm colors connote energy," says Eiseman, who created a "Solar Energy" palette for Pantone that includes vibrant yellows and oranges. An interesting juxtaposition to the hot hues is the use of grays.
Personal Style
More than anything, color choice is all about personal style. "There’s never just one hot color," says Eiseman. "People surround themselves with the colors that suit their lifestyle and their moods."
Oceanic Palette
This palette of blues and greens, created for Pantone by Leatrice Eiseman, is perfect for creating a place of respite and relaxation. “It is a given that cool tones inspire us." The palette, named “Breathe Easy,” includes sky blues, watery blue-greens, and a deep-ocean blue, as well as yellow-greens and a blue-purple.
Solar Palette
“This palette captures the dynamic power inherent in the sun, depicting the rays of color that have come to symbolize an alternative to fossil fuels,” says Eiseman who created the dazzling palette called “Solar Energy” for Pantone. It includes variations of Mandarin and Flame Orange, Gold and green-based yellows, with an interesting dimension added by Purplish Wine, Fuchsia Red, Electric Blue and Ashy Gray.
May 1, 2008
Which Red Should I Use To Paint The Wall?
New York Times - Home & Garden, May 1, 2008
Room to Improve by Stephen Milioti
Q. I want to paint a room red. How can I make sure it will feel livable?
A. You absolutely can create a comfortable room with red walls by focusing on the details and combining risk-taking with research.
One expert on color, Leatrice Eiseman, has only good things to say about red. “Red is the color of the heart, of sensuality,” said Ms. Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “It works well virtually anywhere in the home, and works particularly well in the bedroom.”
When it comes to choosing colors, Ms. Eiseman said, “I don’t like rules, but there are general guidelines.”
Start by determining what kind of feeling you want to create in the room. Darker reds, sometimes referred to as the bluer shades, produce a soothing, calming effect, she said, while brighter or golden reds offer more excitement, especially in the bedroom.
The easiest way to tell the difference between the two, she said, is to hold up a bunch of swatches and compare them. “Your eye will then clearly distinguish brighter or darker.”
Ms. Eiseman warns that a “bordello red” — a shade that is too bright or too glossy — will be hard to live with over time. She suggests choosing a true red, which has “both the brights and the darks in it.” Examples include American Beauty from Pantone and Real Red from Sherwin-Williams.
