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Ask Cristina
Plan for Success
Dear
Cristina,
I want to redecorate my home, but I’m confused about
how to start. I began researching ideas by saving
some pictures of rooms I like from magazines and
collecting some color chips from the local paint
store. Now I have a big folder of ideas, but no real
sense of what to do next.
—G. Montoya
You have some
great ideas – now you need a plan.
A good plan divides your large project into smaller
segments that take manageable chunks of time. Create
your plan by prioritizing your projects, starting
with what I call your “foundation choices.” These
choices can vary with the scope of your project but
will always include a master color palette. A master
color palette is a collection of the dominant colors
that are part of the project. Your project may be a
small room, an entire home or something in between.
No matter how small or big your project is, create a
master color palette early in your planning process
and the rest of your decisions will be much easier.
When I guide clients to set up their master palette,
they often bring choices they’ve already made to the
table. In a new home or remodel, these choices range
from things they love – like a great recycled wood
floor or prized painting – to things the clients are
stuck with because the expense of replacing it is
too high. The master color palette can include the
colors of the walls, cabinetry, floors, trims,
fixtures and any important décor pieces such as art,
furniture and textiles.
Sometimes a client is very resistant to including
the color of something they don’t like in their
master palette. No matter how much a client may
dislike the color of something, if they have to live
with it, I encourage them to embrace the color
instead of ignoring it. Ignoring a color and trying
to “work around it” has the curious result of
emphasizing it – usually because the color is left
out of the overall palette so obviously that it
sticks out as a misfit.
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My clients’
love of the natural world
inspired their choice of colors.
The foundation palette of their
home is mostly natural hues of
gold, green and blue-gray. An
energizing counterpart to those
soft tones is the vibrant tomato
red in the dining area. The
warmth of the red echoes the
warm golden tones and
complements the sage green
colors. |
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The key to
color success is to consciously acknowledge and work
with every color so that the result is a harmonious
palette. The only way to develop your skills with
color is to explore. Getting some help figuring out
a color palette is just a few mouse clicks away.
“Take the guess work out of coordinating colors,”
advises Sheri Thompson, director of Sherwin Williams
Color Marketing and Design Department. “Visit our
website and play with our color visualizer – you’ll
be able to look at over one thousand color
combinations, including the hottest trends in
color.”
A collection of paint swatches is the easiest way to
explore color and to create your palette. But don’t
insist on starting with just one version of the
colors you love. Make sure that the colors you
choose coordinate well with products that may be
available in limited color choices such as wood
floors or metal fixtures. As you refine your palette,
save samples in your file. If you have to rethink a
choice in the future, you’ll be able to quickly see
how a change will affect the master color palette.
Sometimes your explorations result in a choice that
doesn’t fit with your home. Rather than considering
a misfit choice a failure, I view it as a challenge.
Figuring out exactly why something doesn’t work
often gives me ideas that will lead me to a solution
that is even more interesting than I could have
initially imagined.
Whatever the size of your new project, a good plan
will help you to relax and enjoy the process as much
as you can. Remember, you are the one who ultimately
decides which colors you do and don’t like together.
Stay happy and have fun!
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This detail of
the dining area shows how the red
and gold wall colors enhance the
warm orangey undertones in the wood
floor. Mix red and yellow paint
together and you’ll get orange. By
using two colors that imply the
third color, the red and yellow wall
colors coordinate with the wood
floor without having to match the
wood color. |
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Get it
Together!
Before you
start your project, I suggest you purchase the
following items:
• A portable file to keep everything in one place
for the term of the project. Knowing exactly where
to find your samples, notes and receipts when you
need them makes everything easier.
• An accordion file with file folders or slots.
Ziploc bags for loose samples.
• Calendar page(s) for the term of the project to
staple to the front of the file
• A rough time-line (write this in pencil!) mounted
next to the calendar.
• A pouch with mini office supplies: pencil, pen,
stapler, and measuring tape.
About Cristina
Cristina Acosta is a nationally renowned artist,
author, and design and color consultant. The author
of Paint Happy!, she is currently at work on a new
book based on her home-décor color consulting. For
more information, visit CristinaAcosta.com |
