Yesterday I arrived at a consultation and my client (who was a referral) said “I know you chose a lot of colour for my friend’s condo, but I prefer neutrals”. It had me realize that some people have the perception that neutrals do not fall into the category of ‘colour’. I’m here to tell you that anything from the palest off-white (okay maybe not the palest :) to beige to sundried tomato red [in my world] is adding colour to the walls. See my posts on beige here and here.
And you should also know that it is not unusual to have the perception that a colour consultant only understands ‘colour’ and not ‘beige’. As a new colour consultant [a very long time ago] I also thought that not only was it my job to choose a ‘colour’ for every room but also that it was my job to pick a new colour for every room. Now I don’t pick a new colour/neutral for a new room unless there is a very good reason to do so.
This means, if I'm in the laundry room, and have already chosen 5 colours for the house in other spaces before we got to this room, I ask my client, “Is there a colour that we already have that you could see in here?” Sometimes I can get too efficient so that’s when I check in with my client and ask “Should we repeat a colour here, or is that just boring?” There is a fine line between picking enough colour, and choosing too much so that the house becomes a kaleidoscope of colours!
The right neutral or colours chosen from nature (a sexier way of looking at beige) creates a feeling, and it’s so wonderful when it’s right, and so hard to live with when it’s wrong.
In Vancouver call me at 604.318.9725 for a personal consultation or email me at info@mariakillam.com for more information on what an on-line colour consultation looks like!
Related posts:
What everyone should know about Beige
The Difference between an experienced Colourist and a Novice
