I thought about what I was going to say, put together some great boards and worked with Cathy the fabric guru at Ainsworth and Noah to find fabrics that would capture the audience’s imagination but what unexpectedly inspired the design mavens that attended my talk was the color of the sweater set I was wearing.

Sure, its is a great color for me and I love blue-greens but who would have thought it would have evoked so many comments?  One of my friends from House Beautiful even asked me if I knew what paint color would be that blue since during my presentation he decided it was the perfect color for his bedroom.

Funny but I have been lusting after a room in deep blue too ever since I saw Windsor Smith’s kitchen on the cover of the September House Beautiful (okay, I confess I’ve been carrying the awesome special color issue that included my ‘What the Color Says’ around with me ever since it arrived) and I have thought about painting a room this color every time I put on the sweater set but I hadn’t gone as far as to see if the color existed in any of my favorite paint brands.

Since I’m not the only one loving this color I decided once I got home I would find out.  Now I was on a mission to see if it was a readily available color or one that was going to have to be custom blended.  I was speaking at Calico Corners in the evening so on the way I stopped at Vienna Paint, sweater in hand, to see if Benjamin Moore had a color that matched.

I pulled many color swatches but none of them matched the quality of the color exactly.    The closest was 2059-10 Marine Blue but it was a tad dark and lacked the hint of green the sweater has.  While all of the other paint color swatches were close they seemed either too dull, too green, too blue…you get the idea.

Actually the closest match I found in for Benjamin Moore was the color they used on their brochure of historical colors and although it looks close to the paint swatch in the picture it really wasn’t that close.  The brochure was a much better match but unfortunately, they couldn’t ‘read’ the brochure with the equipment they use to match colors.  They couldn’t ‘read’ the sweater either since it doesn’t work with fabric either but offered to mix it by eye.

The next day I was running into Lowes to pick something up and even though I didn’t have the sweater with me I decided to swing by the paint department and see if any of their colors looked like a match.  I immediately honed in on color 4011-5 Newport Gray (not a color I think anyone would describe as gray but that’s the name) and thought it looked like it might be right.  I grabbed a swatch and as soon as I saw it against the sweater (ding, ding, ding) I had a winner!  It was a great match.  Not too green, not too dull and not too dark.  Perfect!

It is so good that I could see the Valspar ad with my sweater color being ‘poured’ into the can of paint.

And as the ad says “Now the colors of life can last a lifetime” and this is one shade of blue that I think is worth keeping around that long.  What do you think?

]]> http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/the-perfect-blue-at-house-beautiful-color-institute/feed/ 7 http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/join-me-at-house-beautiful-color-institute/ http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/join-me-at-house-beautiful-color-institute/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:02:28 +0000 Kate Smith http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/?p=1005 I had such fun speaking at the House Beautiful events around the country last year and a happy to let you know that I’ll be joining them again this year.

The first event is in Florida! House Beautiful will bring the topic of color to life. The Color Institute will feature presentations, informative seminars and exclusive showroom events hosted by House Beautiful experts and top designers.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009.
Design Center of the Americas
1855 Griffin Rd., Dania Beach, FL.
Time: 9:00am — 1:00pm
Complimentary admission. RSVP required. HouseBeautifulRSVP@Hearst.com

Presenting sponsor:
Benjamin Moore® Paints.

Sponsors: Duralee®, Pierre Deux® and Design Center of the Americas

I’d love to see you at this event or future Color Institute events in Atlanta and Houston.

Titled A Pennsylvania House in Gorgeous Grays the article by Mimi Read begins “Jeffrey Bilhuber envisioned a modernist version of a barn when he designed this soothing, monochromatic abode.”

I think modernist barn is a great way to describe this home and the rich gray palette.

Here are a few pictures of the home from House Beautiful but click here to see the entire gallery…

The color scheme continues on the tabletop with a slightly redder orange.  I think this is a nice addition to the palette.  Julie found many great items in this color at CB2 catalog shows them on Live In Full Color.

Even an ardent urbanite could be tempted to live in a barn when it looks this good.

Newell selected the colors some time ago but I hadn’t gone back and read many of his older posts until now which is why I am just now taking a closer look as his color palette.

Here’s what he selected for his Living Room–

Living Room
Walls – SW 6519 Hinting Blue (satin)
Trim – SW 6219 Rain (semi-gloss)
Ceiling – SW 7007 Ceiling Bright White (semi-gloss)
Window Sashes – SW 7623 Cascades (gloss)
Doors – SW 7074 Software (semi-gloss) with SW 7074 with 1/2 pigment for door panels
Exterior Doors (inside) – SW 7074 Software (semi-gloss) with SW 7074 1/2 pigment for door panels
Exterior Doors (outside) – SW 7623 Cascades (gloss)

This palette is continues throughout the first floor and you can see the details of where else Newell used these colors here…

I can’t wait to see pictures of the final rooms using this atmospheric palette.

Resources:

• Type in your zip code to find your local Sherwin-Williams
• Visit Newell’s blog Twilight Field Journal

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.

Stephen Drucker, editor in chief of House Beautiful magazine, was joined by top design professionals and I was honored to have been included in such a wonderful event.

With his unending wit and charm Drucker opened the event. “Paint is like sex,” he said, speaking to an overflow crowd. “There is an endless fascination with the subject.”

And fascination there was as readers had an opportunity to mix and mingle and talk color. It was a day of ideas and inspiration for all who were there.

Next stop Chicago. Please join me at the House Beautiful Color Institute on May 7th.

I hope to see you there! More information is availble at The Merchandise Mart Design Center.

A beautiful bedroom decorated in House Beautiful style available at Sears–a pleasant surprise.

Sears and Hearst Magazines have come together to create “ReImagine You” a program that showcases Sears spring merchandise around themes of “hope, optimism and renewed spirit.”

In the home section, the bedroom is decorated in the House Beautiful mode, while the kitchen is crafted by Country Living, the family room by O at Home, and garage by Popular Mechanics.

At the “ReImagine You” website, consumers can get room-by-room makeover advice from Team ReImagine celebrities including Ty Pennington, Eric Cohler, Eric Stromer, Deborah Barrow, and Stacy Morrison.

Also if you are a subscriber to any of these Hearst publications: Cosmopolitan; Country Living; Good Housekeeping; House Beautiful; Marie Claire; O at Home; O, The Oprah Magazine; Popular Mechanics; and Redbook you will be receiving custom-publication Sears magazine featuring the “ReImagine You” themes.

The publishing brilliance of the Hearst folks was apparent as I flipped through the pages of the “ReImagine You” website. The experience was fun and reminiscent of the many hours I poured over the Sears Christmas catalog as a child but it has been a long time since I’ve been in a Sears. Maybe it’s time I reimagine myself shopping there.

Each event takes place in one of the many incredible designer showrooms. I will be in the J. Lambeth showroom and will be using their beautiful fabrics and accessories to illustrate my talk.

House Beautiful has an incredible line up and I’m thrilled to be part of this event. I hope to see you there! More information is availble at HouseBeautiful.com