With vaccinations widely available and social life back to pre pandemic, millions of Americans are reassessing leaving their home offices to return to their work spaces. The Washington Post reports there is growing evidence that a lot of people are “reassessing what they want to do and how they want to work.” Thousands of jobs remain work-from-home and will remain so even as businesses reopen their office space. Many have found they Iike working from home and don’t want to return to the office. Millions of people are quitting their jobs altogether.
America’s Color Consultants (ACC) is a business opportunity particularly suited for those creative/artistic types who have found that working from home has proven to be desirable, and for those whom the pandemic has taught that life is short. ACC consultants own their own business, and thus own their time – working part-time, full-time, even overtime if they want. They meet a wide variety of people and provide a valuable, efficient service in a growth industry, all the while exercising their creative muscles. And they operate their business from a home-based office.
There will be those who will happily return to their pre-pandemic work environments, but for those who seek something different, there are numerous opportunities for individuals to use their unique talents to both earn a living and satisfy their soul.
This blog was included as part of a larger article on color trends on Redfin.com.
As people emerge from their COVID cocoons, we’ve seen one trend emerging that we expect will continue in 2022: people are going opposite! Those with warm/beige walls are opting for cool grays, whites, and gray-greens. Those who have been living with cooler colors are opting to warm them up! Our clients that are in their forever homes are asking for bolder, brighter colors. They are not likely to follow suggested color trends. Clients who plan to sell in 3-5 years continue to opt for the lighter neutrals that work with their decor: Agreeable Gray, Sea Salt and Ancient Marble by Sherwin-Williams; Gray Owl and Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore continue their popularity streak. The beautiful gray/green shades that are being highlighted by paint manufacturers for 2022 are proving to be popular with clients doing a total reno or for new builds (October Mist-Benjamin Moore; Evergreen Fog-Sherwin Williams).
Another striking trend to emerge is the desire to add personality to one’s home through the addition of architectural elements such as wainscotting, coffered ceilings, and “feature” walls created with furring strips in various patterns. Many clients are also painting their stair railings and balusters a dark brown/black or deep gray color. Some are even trying out these dark colors on the window/door framing and moldings of a “trial” room.
In sum, we have found that our clients are welcoming change and looking to stamp their individuality on their homes in many different ways, and are no longer afraid of color to do it!
Everyone paints their homes, not everyone can choose the perfect paint color.
With vaccinations widely available and social life opening up, millions of Americans are reassessing leaving their home offices to return to their work spaces. The Washington Post reports there is growing evidence that a lot of people are “reassessing what they want to do and how they want to work.” Thousands of jobs remain work-from-home and will remain so even as businesses reopen their office space. Many have found they Iike working from home and don’t want to return to the office.
America’s Color Consultants (ACC) is a business opportunity particularly suited for those creative/artistic types who have found that working from home has proven to be desirable, and for those whom the pandemic has taught that life is short. ACC consultants own their own business, and thus own their time – working part-time, full-time, even overtime if they want. They meet a wide variety of people and provide a valuable, efficient service all the while exercising their creative muscles. And they operate their business from a home-based office.
There will be those who will happily return to their pre-pandemic work environs, but for those who seek something different, there are numerous opportunities for individuals to use their unique talents to both earn a living and satisfy their soul.
When working with clients to develop a color palette for their homes, I am often met with the sentiment “I don’t want my house to look like a clown house.” These clients fear color. As a trained artist and color expert, I use the four S’s to help them select what will be their ideal color solution.
Simplicity, Strength, Sizzle, Sophistication. These Four S’s have been used for decades as the foundation in graphic design, interior design, architecture and most creative fields. In each category the S’s might differ somewhat, but the general idea remains the same.
Simplicity – The simpler something is, the longer its life. When things are simple we do not tire of them as quickly. If you do not plan to paint for another 20 years, consider choosing this path. An example of this is a monochromatic color palette. Simple does not necessarily mean all white or beige.
Strength – This can mean something different for each person. For paint it means a bold, saturated paint color.
Sizzle – Some people just like things that are exciting – colors that create energy. Complementary and analogous colors can also create this color energy.
Sophistication – In the paint world this can also be defined as classy, refined or elegant.
Sophisticated color does not shout at you, and does not stand in opposition to its furnishings. These colors usually fall into the mid-range of intensity.
From Left to right: Bohemian Lace (HGSW-4052); White Diamond (BM-OC-61); Pure White (SW-7005); Alabaster (SW 7008).From Left to right: Mindful Gray (SW-7016); Revere Pewter (BM-HC-172); Classic Gray (BM-OC-23); Collingwood (BM-OC-28).From Left to right: Antique Glass (BM-CSP-695); Sea Salt (SW 6204); Borrowed Light (Farrow & Ball); Aleutian (SW 624l).From Left to right: Full Moon (SW 6679); Napery (SW 6388); Behr P270-2 September Morning; Kilim Beige (SW 6106).From Left to right: Urbane Bronze (SW 7048); Grizzle Gray (SW-7068); Stargazer (SW-9635); Lichen (Farrow & Ball). From Left to right: First Light (BM 2102-70); In Bloom (Magnolia), Dune Grass (BM 492); Behr RD-W14 Aria Ivory.
Sherwin-William paints are indicated as SW, and Benjamin-Moore as BM.
Happy New Year! It’s that time when all the new paint “colors of the year” have been revealed. And there is a hue for everyone! There are soft, muted colors, colors born in nature, bold colors, and dark, moody colors. You can easily Google “Paint Colors of the Year 2021” and find links (and lengthy tomes) from all the popular paint manufacturers. Some of these colors will prove to be trendy – lasting 4-8 years in popularity, and several will prove to be a fad – out of favor in just a year or two.
Many of the shades you see among the major players were developed in coordination with the home decor and furnishings industry several years ago. That’s why you find lots of items that “match” among those manufacturers in any given year. The past several years have seen the continuation of the neutrals trend with the current favorite, gray, now moving from the cooler shades toward the warmer ones being referred to as “greiges”.
America’s Color Consultants often work with people who have had their current furnishings from “a few” to “many” years and more often than not, want a refresh as opposed to a total home redo. Consequently, we are working with fabrics and colors that are not currently “on trend.”
When a client wants a more “modern” color (currently meaning gray) we see which of the beautiful neutrals on the market will work best with their rugs, drapes, furniture, light sources, etc. Because grays are actually black and white paints tinted with color, there is a gray shade of every color.
Over the past 15 years ACC has consulted hundreds of times with homeowners and small businesses and enjoyed the insights of national paint manufacturers and local paint stores, realtors and home owners. We have put together our first ACC Collection of Real Life Favorite Paint Colors (ours and our clients!). A few are personal favorites and colors we would love to spec for someone with bold ambitions; others have proven to be very popular for those planning to sell their properties in a few years; changing from a bright to a neutral; and several are those colors that have proven time again to be both popular and tried and true for clients on the east and west coasts.
Color is SO subjective and there are many factors that are considered when searching for a new paint color. We never push our own personal preferences, but when asked we certainly offer them! Our job, of course, is to educate our clients, guide the process, and assist in identifying the color that makes them say “YES – that’s it!” Experience, product knowledge and industry familiarity make us a valuable tool in your home improvement arsenal!
America’s Color Consultants Real Life Color of 2021 is Agreeable Gray (SW 7029).
While the name of this shade may elicit a yawn, and suggests it is neutral to the point of non-existence, nothing could be further from the truth, in our opinion.
This versatile shade of greige is happy to play with everyone. A medium light shade, it has an Light Reflective Value of 60, so it reflects a fair amount of light, but won’t wash out, and looks great with white or natural wood trim. It works well in any room with any furniture style and loves complementary earth tones. It can stand up to bold accent colors, too. It can comfortably be used in one room or the entire house. It has been a popular choice for all these reasons for the past 10 years with our clients and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
With design trends that are more modern and neutrals maintaining their popularity, accent walls are a good way of accentuating artwork or a fireplace or just adding a surprising jolt of color. An accent wall is a wall painted in a different color than the rest of the room. Usually a contrast to the predominant room color, it could also be a similar color but with a different pattern. Wood, tiles or wall paper can provide that beautiful contrast. There are numerous products on the market now that can serve the purpose.
Random Lengths Butternut Brown Vintage Shiplap Planks
Be careful though – an improperly created accent wall could make the room feel smaller. It’s a safer bet to use accent walls primarily for living rooms or family rooms, rather than smaller rooms such as bedrooms. However, a properly done accent wall behind the headboard of the bed can work very well. An adventurous homeowner could even choose to have two accent walls: multiple accent walls create an accented space. But it would be best to make sure the colors work particularly well together: if the accent colors are fighting each other for attention, then the effect could range from odd to atrocious!
The legend of Haints Blue: In the south it was common to paint porch ceilings blue to protect the house from evil sprits. The Gullah people passed along this tradition. In the Gullah culture of the South , ceilings and sometimes doors and shutters were painted blue to symbolize water or sky. According to folklore evil spirits and haints, pronunced “haunts,” would be either be tricked by the sky or the blue symbolized water which they could not cross. Blue glass bottles were also hung in trees to trap haints.
In the past Haint Blue was mixed with milk paint formulas using lime and crushed indigo plant pigments. Today many people use pale or dusty hues but there is no standard color. The color ranges from light blues and blue greens to darker shades and gray blues.
A few years ago, I received a call from a desperate homeowner. She told me she had hired an interior designer, and she just hated her new living room. She told me that the room was beautiful, but she just felt something was wrong.
When I arrived for the consultation, I looked at the room: it was beautiful. She had paid about $14,000 for the new furnishings and paint job. So why did she feel it was not right?
It was because she hated blue, and the entire room was decorated in shades of blue.
Behr Peek-A-Blue T17-04
What is the difference between a paint color consultant and an interior designer?
Not all interior designers are experts in color or paint. They are experts on styles and products. Color is often just a single class in an interior designer’s degree program. Interior designers make their money on upselling products – buying at a significant professional discount and reselling to the client. The paint color of the room is often dictated by the available products for that year.
The Color Marketing Group works on forecasting future color trends which then defines product development and the colors that will be used that season. Interior designers often follow trends and buy those products for their clients.
Paint color consultants are experts on color. Their training is all about how paint is made, used, applied and perceived. Paint color consultants can improve the look of a room with color, at the same time using either existing furnishings or new. Understanding a client’s color perception and mutual communication is key. A good consultant will listen closely to the likes and dislikes of their clients, and will consider lighting, use and mood when helping select the perfect color for a specific space. Not everyone wants to change everything: nor can they afford to. A carefully selected paint color can go a long way to refresh any space.
So what did we do for the desperate homeowner? We could not do anything about the blue patterned rug and blue sofa and blue chairs. We DID change the color of the walls to a soft shade of white, removed some blue pillows, changed out the blue chairs with others we shopped from another room, and recommended the use of an analogous color (that we selected together) for accents to distract from the blue overuse.
Now she loves her new living room.
(BTW: We would never recommend blue if blue was strongly disliked.)
The beauty of brick is that it is a maintance free building product. It is expensive and the life span of a brick house can be 100’s of years with little or no maintance. Then why paint it? Sometimes we are forced to paint a brick home. An addtion is added and matching brick cannot be found or it is too expensive to use additional brick for the addition. Sometimes after adding an addtion there is very little brick still exposed resulting in very little sense to keep the natural brick.
Lately we have seen a trend to paint brick. Like all trends this one will pass. In 10 years when the paint is peeling and the brick needs to be repainted, you will ask yourself – why did I paint this brick? Before deciding to paint brick ask yourself a few questions. Why am I painting the brick? Does it need to be painted? Is my property historical and will it effect the historical value of the house in the future? Am I OK with repainting it in 10 -20 years. If I am reselling will it be an improvement or not?
Once painted, you can only undo the paint by sand blasting. The cost will exceed the original paint job. An alternative to painting brick – dye it. https://www.dyebrick.com/product/colour-panels. This technique does not give you 1,000’s of color choices, but it does retain the maintance free quality fo brick.
Hint: It’s not cheap! As members of the home improvement industry, we at America’s Color Consultants (ACC) are very lucky to meet and exchange ideas/information with people across the region, country, and even other parts of the world!
Below you will find a link to an extensive overview/analysis of the steps and costs of redoing plaster walls provided by a new colleague, Jen Miller of Jen Reviews. While dry wall is now the most common type of wall surface found in ACC’s work areas, those with older homes (and/or high budgets) should find this well-researched piece of interest. We would venture to say that lath and plaster work (found in most 40’s/50’s built North Arlington homes) is now considered a specialty field and prices for these vanishing plasterers’ expertise will reflect that.
Thank you, Jen! Jen Reviews are packed with lots of good information and excellent research on a wide variety of food, fitness and home products. Jen’s team of reviewers are all experts in their sometimes-niche fields. Check it out. The referenced article was originally published by their sister site, Happy DIY Home.
