Choosing Inspiring Color is All About You

Start randomly choosing colors that attract you and after you’ve made 50 to 100 selections, there will be a pattern to your color choices. Guaranteed. I see it with every client.

Afraid of Color? Is it Chromophobia or a Fear of Expensive Mistakes?

Though white isn’t a “color” on the color wheel, it certainly is a paint color, and one that many people love. But if the only reason you have white walls is because you’re afraid of color, you may have a touch of chromophobia or “fear of colors”. Or maybe you just have a fear of making expensive mistakes with paint color. That’s more often the case.

Hiring a Paint Color Consultant

Most people have a lot of questions around hiring a color expert. Just because somebody “loves” color or happens to be standing in a paint store, don’t presume expertise. Remember, anybody can call themselves a color consultant. Do your due diligence and find out about the color consultant’s education and experience.

Choosing Colors Can be Like Chasing a Rainbow

Color communicates. Any color expert, designer or artist will agree with that statement. But ask those creative types what exactly a color is communicating and the answers you get may have surprisingly little in common. Here’s why: Color is a language that continually evolves with the cultures that contribute the shades and tones of meaning each of us sees. And, each individual brings their personal biases and perceptions to the mix, further complicating things. Consequently, the meaning of a color is a moving target.

Creating with Colors from the Landscape

I’ve been thinking a lot about color and culture, and have been exploring that theme in my fine art for many years. The landscape around us effects how we perceive color. This week I painted this silk scarf directly from the inspiration of some recent travels.

Modern Metallics Meld Traditional Surfaces with Contemporary Design

Mixing metallics into your home design can give a small space a stylish vibe. Put the metallic accents on existing cabinetry and your small space can remain clear and uncluttered – both practically and visually. And when those metallics come in a coppery pink tone, the result is gorgeous! Metallic finishes can play up modern architecture like this master bath at the same time they link traditional materials like marble with the contemporary shapes of the home design.
The perfect wall paint color brings together the variety of surfaces with a unified color. With that in mind, choosing the color that works with every color in the bathroom is very important. Helping my clients choose the best color for the room meant first determining a few basic concepts.

Choosing Room Colors

Creating a paint color scheme blending good color design with the architecture of your home is like putting together a 3-D puzzle. One part of that puzzle changes and everything changes. And change can be complicated. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by color, you’re not alone. Putting together entire interior design color schemes can be a lot to think about. But, mixing colors around your home gets a little simpler if you think about those color combinations as a master color plan.

Seeing Color Through the Eyes of Neuroscience

Visualize “fire engine red” and the color red rushes to mind with or without a vision of the wheels. Seeing color is such a natural condition that we often don’t question why we see colors and we presume that everybody sees the same colors. Though most of us do see the same colors, some people can’t.

Blanca, a New Meaning for the Color White

Mother Nature was giving us a lesson in whites along with a reminder that the borders we humans put around our cities, states, territories and countries are invisible to her. During those moments I spent looking at the subtly colored layers of white snow, white became my new “green”.

Best Ever You Paint and Color Expert

Best Ever You magazine has invited Cristina Acosta to be their Paint and Color Expert. The editor, Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino along with her team has put together an anomaly in the current publishing business climate; a successful and growing magazine. Kudos to the staff at Best Ever You!

Changing Two Paint Colors Takes Contemporary Architecture from OK to Gorgeous

Have you ever painted your house and when it was done, wondered why the paint job didn’t look as good as you thought it would? Changing paint colors doesn’t have to be a complete re-do. With a few strategic changes of color you can get the look and pizzaz you want by changing only the colors or areas that make the most difference, rather than repaint the entire exterior of your home.

Can a Color Bring You Serenity?

Some interior designers and color forecasters are touting gray as the new “it” color — the color that is guaranteed to update your home. I’ve read pieces claiming that the color gray is calming and will soften the mood of any room. Don’t believe it.

Paint Colors Together Create a Melody Line in Architecture

Have you ever found yourself looking at two or more house paint colors or other home decor colored items and been completely confused as to which paint color is the best choice? Cristina Acosta says that you need to be aware that every color in your home links to another color and is part of an overall melody line of color. Keep that concept in mind when you get stuck between two color choices.