And the answer was usually, YES. Colour combinations on interior and exterior brochures in paint stores are always suggested however what they don’t ask you to consider is “What are the fixed elements on my house [for exterior, stone, roof] already?” or for interior; What are the fixed elements inside my house? For example, countertops in the kitchen, or the drapes in my living room or the broadloom in my hallways.
Paint store brochures should really include a disclaimer. Attention: These colour schemes should only be applied inside an empty house before any other colour decisions are made.
All of the above is not obvious to the consumer who has run to the paint store (sometimes at the very last minute) because the painter is coming this week, eeeeeek! And many years ago when my (ex) husband and I had just moved into our new house we simply opened up the brochure and picked a colour we liked from the Heritage collection. We were convinced that because it was a ‘heritage’ colour that it was somehow better than the rest (not true).
10 years ago when I first opened up my business I was called to pick a colour for the Krishna Temple in Vancouver (below). I was very scared of exterior (this was probably my first one) at the time and I arrived armed with my ‘Exterior colour combination’ brochures from the local paint store. I did not have a clue which colour was right but I was absolutely convinced that whatever colour we ended up with be from the inside of that brochure!
This temple is currently bright pink which I did not choose but at the time I did recommend that some pink be added (still wrong) since the awning at the time was pink (above). Sigh. Lessons learned from my earlier days when I was Vanna. Do you like this shade? How about that one? As I said in this post; If you don’t get the ‘Because’ during a consultation with anyone [in any business], you are talking to a novice. And in all fairness we have all been new at some point.
So here’s the lesson of the day. Take that brochure and use it to distinguish a clean/dirty mix of colours. That’s where [some] designers and homeowners make the most mistakes and usually it’s a good guide for avoiding those combinations anyway.
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.
Related posts:
Why you Can’t Afford NOT to hire a Colour Expert
3 Steps to Finding a mentor in the Design Industry
Eeeek. . . it’s Mint Green!
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