I have the privilege of meeting and teaching color to many of our country’s top interior designers as part of our Color for Your Home (CfYH) Color Consultant Certification Course (an advanced level CEU class for Interior Designers). As our list of certified consultants continues to grow, these professionals not only become our color colleagues but also a part of the Color for Your Home family. We love our Consultants and we want you to get the chance to know them too, so every few weeks I will be profiling one of our phenomenal designers through an interview and a display of one of their favorite projects. Enjoy!
With over thirty years in decorative design, Jeanine Maleno has based an international career out of Miami Beach. After leaving New York’s Fashion Institute in 1973, Jeanine embarked on a decade of apprenticeships, studying in several textile studios in Italy ending up in India. There she developed her sense of colour and coupled it with Italian craftsmanship and the clarity of Asiatic design that characterizes her work.
Having consolidated an artistic identity abroad, she returned to North America to become one of its most imaginative designers, winning a reputation of her ability to translate her client’s concepts into vibrant reality. Jeanine’s work has been featured in many design publications and can be seen inside prestigious art deco hotels and restaurants in Miami Beach, in addition to many other places. Her private work is proudly displayed in such prestigious homes as the Versace Mansion on Ocean Drive and the Ferrari Family Estates.
I had the chance to sit down with Jeanine and find out some fun facts and take a peak at some of her work. Here’s what she had to say…
KT: You spend most of your time helping others choose colors for their interiors, but what color palette do you live with in your own home?
JM: A beautiful colorful Tetrad Palette of Yellow-Green/Blue-Green/Red-Violet/Red-Orange, I also use whites, neutrals and browns throughout for a harmonious transitional balance.
KT: Many of us who work in color can remember when it was we realized we had the knack, do you have that special moment?
JM: Those red shoes I insisted on having at age 4 were fabulous accessories to my wardrobe of Navy, Grey and White of the 50’s. My friends wore brown, I knew then!
KT: Do you have any current color obsessions?
JM: The whitest of white with earthy tones of color.
KT: Very trendy, Jeanine! It just so happens that last week’s Trend Tuesday post was all about white, how appropriate.
KT: Since people are always looking to us for advice on color, what piece would you like to give?
JM: When in doubt subtlety is our friend, contrast is our enemy, and stick to a color ratio of 60:30:10.
KT: In this media room that you’ve shown me, what was your inspiration for the colors?
JM: The walls were originally light Blue. My inspiration came from the warm Browns of the wood floor, the wood cabinetry and the creamy theatre seats with the wood fronts.
KT: How was the color harmony created?
JM: The theatre is where my client spends a lot of his time, he asked me to create the theatre to be joyous and creative using golden yellows and give the design an Art Deco Style. I chose a 2 color Analogous Palette of Yellow – Orange and Orange making terracotta the predominate color using the 60:30:10 rule.
KT: What did you love about this project?
JM: Working with Jeff ”Gooch” Gurcuillo is always rewarding. Taking this project from a creative thought to completion and having the client love it is what makes me love what I do for a living!
To get in touch with Jeanine while her website is being updated, you can email her at malenodesigninc@aol.com or call her at her studio 305.892.1904.
To get more information on our Color Consultant Certification CEU Course and becoming part of the Color for Your Home family click here and to see a list of our on-site and online class dates click here.
I love to read about the backgrounds of Designers. Great style, beautiful selection of colors Jeanine. I too had a similar pair of red shoes – I called them my “tomato” shoes!
.-= Donna Frasca • Color Specialist´s last blog ..Ever Changing Color Inspiration =-.
This interview is really interesting. Color is so important everywhere in life. As being synesthete I live a life in colors. Synesthesia means that I see colors when I see words and numbers.
I transform this in paintings of names and birthdays.
.-= Artist´s last blog ..Enchanted Seagulls =-.
Donna, Thank you for your take. We will have many more interesting articles with our color consultants coming in the future for you to read.
Artist, Synesthesia is one of my specialty areas. I have actually researched most of the current projects from Berkley, Yale, and Joffery. I am most interested in Chroma – Grapheme Synesthesia (Associations between color and notes, shapes, tastes, and sounds, etc) and if you ever take our course you will get all the details. If you haven’t done so you need to go on current.com and search synesthesia or grapheme synesthesia and there are fabulous testimonials of people who not only live this this condition but who also research and evolve their future around learning more about this condition. It is amazing! Some of my favorite videos ever!
.-= Kiki Titterud´s last blog ..Featured Color Consultant – Jeanine Maleno, CfYH =-.
Thank you Donna! Enjoyed hearing about your “tomatoe” shoes. Your website is very impressive!
The Chroma-Grapheme Synesthesia interests me and hope Kiki plans on presenting the course down here in South Florida.
Thank you for your comment Cecila “Artist”. Have you taken Kiki’s color consult certification course?
I enjoyed reading the blog and the color proportion advice was particularly useful to know!
You are a natural. I love brainstorming with you.
Great shoes.
it is beautiful what a great talent. mark
Hello Kiki and Jeanine
I love color and design and when you look at the transformation of Jeff’s space, just from applying color and the art deco wall hangings, it shows what it difference good design makes to a sense of space. Before it was just a room. Now it is a cool room!
Are those really your shoes? ha ha.
Nice, nice work Ms Melano. You are a true artist.
I have had the pleasure of working with Jeanine, who created amazing artwork on several of the ceilings in my Client’s Tower Suite. Beautiful job! Jeanine, I look forward to the next time an opportunity presents itself to work together. For anyone needing an Artist, she certainly has my recommendation…she’s a very professional young lady and excellent at her Craft.
All your comments are very much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to review, respond to Kiki’s blog and my interview. The feedback is always welcome.
Helen, i am glad you found the information to be enjoyable and useful. Thanks!
Ann, thank you and we can brainstorm anytime you like.
Melissa, your recommendation is beyond words, thank you! When the opportunity presents to work together again, it will be my pleasure!