What color is that?
This is the question I get asked most often..
"what color is that? Mostly
it is in reference to a project published on the Internet?
This apparently is not an uncommon question. Customer service agents at Pottery Barn
were also inundated with the same question every time they released a new
catalog. So, they partnered with Benjamin Moore and now they offer official
Benjamin Moore Color chips in the store and online. If you don’t see the small
print, no problem, the Customer Service Representatives at Pottery Barn can
tell you what color is behind that couch on page 54.
This is all well and good; however, I am sure
many out there have then commenced to paint a room that color and it just did
not turn out the way they thought it would. This is because color is amazing. It has the ability to change the one next to it just like
your eyes change when you wear certain colors. It is affected by its
surroundings especially the lighting. The light bulbs in the fixtures
throughout the room, or even in the same fixture may not even be the same. The light at different times of the
year and in different areas of the house will appear completely different as
well.
When Clawson Architects photographs a space, we
use a professional and he sets up all kinds of lights. I have even helped change
the light bulbs in the fixtures and hang white sheets or blackout curtains in
windows to diffuse the light to get an image that will communicate the design
intent best. Then, because I use a
double screen at work, depending on which monitor I have the image opened on,
the color appears differently. The
images also prints differently depending on which printer I send it to.
So when someone calls or writes to me and asks
what color something is, the easy answer would be to just tell them a number. They won’t get even close to the same
results, but they are begging me for the number.
So, if you see a color you like, I would like to
recommend you do three things:
1. Try
to capture the color with one of the Color App Catchers. I like Benjamin Moore’s. Or hold up a fan deck from any of the
paint companies out there and try to pick one that is close to what you are
seeing.
2. Buy
small can of the paint and paint pieces of white poster board. Tape it up in different parts of the
room and look at it at different times of day. It may take several tries but it
will be worth it.
3. If
you have control over the light bulbs in your fixtures, buy ones that are
“daylight”. If the fixture has multiple bulbs, and one goes out change all of
them at the same time.
There is so much hesitation over color. As an Architect and Interior Designer,
I select colors for clients all the time.
I use the process described above.
It works. How do I know when I have found the right color? When your friends come in and say “What
color is that?” Or in the case of
the exterior, you will see people standing out in front of your house with a
paint fan deck…the brave ones ring the bell and ask.
