Repaint vs. Remodel

One of the last places people have money to spend during economically turbulent times is on a kitchen remodel. The price of new mid-range kitchen cabinets alone can run $10,000 to $20,000, ouch! When my husband and I wanted to refresh our time warp kitchen of many different decades, we learned how to tile and put in new Marmoleum flooring ourselves. The obvious fix for the cabinets was a fresh new coat of paint, but that project will discussed more in a future post.

A client recently recommended me to friends of hers that wanted to refresh their kitchen and entertain in it more. They also decided to go the route of new paint rather than breaking the bank for a kitchen remodel.


As with most couples, there was a little color fear with one half. The other half wanted to downplay or paint the large odd beam running through one area of the kitchen. We discussed the difficulty in painting or "killing" the large knots in the wood that would probably keep showing through the paler paint they wanted. Also, the rustic nature of the wood would probably not end up looking great when painted. The mass whiteness of the kitchen was not helping and, in fact, was making this dark beam more of a noticeable detail due to the contrast. In the before, you can see the dominating wood beam that was the subject of much discussion.


In the end we agreed that adding a bit of color and warmth would help balance out the kitchen and detract from this large beam holding court over the kitchen.

I agreed that their plan to move a wall of books and file cabinets into another room was a wonderful idea and would give them more room to entertain and enjoy their kitchen. I introduced the idea of reclaiming a window bench from storage, and painting a touch of green around the window bench wall to beckon in the lovely backyard.

The owners wanted to warm up the kitchen since it didn't get a great deal of natural light except from a small southern window in the kitchen, morning light from the patio window to the east and indirect evening light from the neighboring room. White is often chosen in the notion that it will lighten up a darker room, but it usually ends up making it appear colder and throws shadows. We decided on Potters Clay from Benjamin Moore for the backsplash, Sandy Brown from Benjamin Moore for the cabinets, and Dried Thyme from Sherwin Williams for the window bench area.

When I returned a few weeks later to see the kitchen after painting, I honestly have to say that even I was shocked to see how different the kitchen looked! It was transformed into a warm, inviting space. The power of paint wins again.

Their painter did a terrific, detailed job. He even sanded and refinished the beam and now it echoes the wood trim in parts of the kitchen without dominating the room. A win-win situation for the couple.

The bookshelves and file cabinets were banished to another room in the home to become the home office. The visual weight was lifted from the room while more space for entertaining was added.

Although one part of the couple expressed worry over the green bench, it ended up being something they both loved. They are looking to have a custom cushion made for the window seat so they can truly enjoy the tranquil view to their backyard.

Hidden Color in the London Underground

The London tube system is a huge maze of subterranean underground stations, platforms and rail-lines. Many areas are abandoned and not accessible to the public. I found myself getting constantly lost and turned around during my two visits to London and came to appreciate how massive this system is.

There was recently a surprise uncovered at the Notting Hill tube station in London. A time capsule of mid-century posters was rediscovered during modernization work on the station. In 1959, the old lifts were taken out of commission in favor of escalators. The passageways to the lifts were sealed off and the posters sat for fifty years untouched.

A look back at the cheerful pop color posters of yesterday give a great view into mid-century advertising, color and style. The public does not have access at this time to the posters or this part of the station.

The photos below are all credited to Mike Ashworth who is the Underground Design and Heritage Manager. His Flickr photos can be seen here:

The Notting Hill station opened in 1868, with the underground area opening up in 1900. Sadly, these posters will be resealed back up after modernization work if completed and left for future generations to discover.

I guess we can't tease the Brits for the stereotype of having bad teeth. Advertisers were trying!

A 1956 version of this popular story:

The graphics on this poster remind me of Disneyland, It's a Small World, colors and graphics from that era.

Can you believe that this home exhibition has been going on since 1908 and is still an annual event! Wish I could step into a time capsule and go back to take a look at the latest in mid-century homes.

A view of the posters grouped on one of the subway walls. They all date from 1956-1959.

This poster was designed by Daphne Padden who came from a family of artist/illustrators. I love that pop of blue and yellow. Very much part of the visual graphics of the 1950's.

You would have been seeing this Alec Guinness movie in the theaters in 1958

This poster was made by renown designer, Victor Galbraith, for the London Transport

This discovery makes you appreciate the world's hidden urban gems and what is still waiting to be uncovered!

Respect Thy End User

It should really be the first commandment of design. Isn't it? Well, it's my first commandment. Know your end user and respect their needs. My renown professor, Frank Manke, stressed this over and over. Yet, I come across so many situations where this has clearly not been the case. I know in talking with my colleagues that they frequently run across this issue with their clients as well. How many of us in the color/design world have been hired to redo something for a client because the color or design did not suit the client's style?

Give a colorful hand but know your limits

One client had a lovely home and their designer did a fine job with the furnishings but simply handed the clients a list of paint colors at the end of the project. They felt the colors were muddy and dull. Another felt railroaded towards using colors didn't suit her home or style.

Is a soft flow of colors what your client wants?

The Sky is the Limit Design

Is a little shot of color going to bring the room alive and capture their attention without overdoing it?

House and Home Magazine

Perhaps the color design process can be a little intimidating or mysterious to some and people feel a little nervous to speak up and reject color that does not feel like a comfortable fit. I've had clients feel nervous that they are picking out “boring” colors that won't be respected. Others feel pressured by color fearless friends who encourage them to choose racier colors that simply don't work for many people. A good designer/colorist will take the mystery out of the process.

I find my first goal in starting a project is often what is lacking in our fast paced world right now, to listen. Whether it's a large scale project with many end users or a single client's kitchen, the first step in starting the process is to listen. We are often similar to tightrope walkers, walking a fine line between specifying colors that look best with architecture, furnishings and other surroundings, introducing new concepts and respecting what our clients want and can live with.

Sometimes a red pillow is as brave as they wish to be. That's OK!

Philip Sinden Design

Color tolerance is such a personal characteristic and is a key to understanding your client. I was struck by Frank's advice again recently when I started hearing complaints about the school office where my younger son attends school in my neighborhood. A couple of people, who know what I do for a living, even asked if I had been responsible for this. A well intentioned decorator had come in and wanted to assist in choosing paint colors for the office.

Those of us that work with color know that many visual ergonomic principals and other factors come into play when specifying colors for a work environment. This decorator chose a color she thought was pretty and, without testing it or asking the office staff, had the district painters put it up. We now have a strong green office that makes the staff feel ill. The green itself is not bad and may be pretty in a residential environment, but not in an office. The first comment the office staff had when I asked about them about the process was, “We were never asked!”. Know and respect your end user. Don't sell a fuchsia room to a person that gets nervous around beige.

Relaxing or irritating? It all depends on your color tolerance.

Domino

My clients are great about how far I can push the envelope as far as suggestions outside their requested palette and it's certainly fun to see the spark in their eye when a new idea I suggest takes hold with them. Many welcome and want a dose of color education, suggestions, ideas and placement options. That is my job, obviously, but it's also important to know when a client really just prefers you to help them pick out the best white, yellow, gray or taupe for the job and respect that.

ArHZine

So we colorists and designers move forward though the client world and continue the supremely wonderful, happy job of walking that tightrope for our clients. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Alameda Mediterranean Make-Over

Alameda has really grown on me since I moved to the East Bay. I seem to find myself over there for one reason or another quite often. There is a vintage/retro vibe that charms me; With bike/pedestrian friendly streets and a bay front area. The architectural gems are astounding! On any given street you can see Victorians of all eras as well as Mediterranean, Craftsman, Spanish and Tudor homes all living comfortably together. It's a real who's who of styles.

Mediterranean architecture is one of my favorites, so I was thrilled when the owner of an Alameda Mediterranean Revival home contacted me. Better yet, she happened to request a color range I was secretly hoping to work with. This young family's home had so many architectural features, it was a shame that the worn paint was not letting them shine through. My client and her family were ready to showcase this jewel while still being respectful of what colors fit into the scope of their neighborhood.

Benjamin Moore's Vintage Vogue-462, was responsible for this transformation:

We're still figuring out the stairs as the gray color we tried ended up being too cool. We are leaning towards a deeper stone brown to tie it in with the beautiful terra cotta roof.

Since we were using such a deep color for the main body, the use of white was rejected because we didn't want to have too sharp of a contrast, which can often give the final look a cheap quality. Instead we went with Benjamin Moore's Monroe Bisque, HC-26 around the arches and Toucan Black 2118-20 on the window casings. I experimented in Photoshop on different window variations with the placement of black, beige and other color options, but this one seemed to capture the best balance for the clients and I have to agree.

How Do You Paint a Rainbow?

My colleague and fellow IACC-NA (International Association of Color Consultants, North American) member, Belinda Hallmark, had what I consider an ultra cool project this last year; specifying colors for the repainting of the rainbows on the Waldo Tunnel on the south side of the Golden Gate Bridge! Belinda is a color and finishes consultant in Novato and has worked on many large scale projects. When I first heard her mention this project, we were attending IACC seminars in San Diego together. I spent every moment I could talking with her on how she approached such an unusual large scale project.

These tunnels connect Marin County with access to the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. The tunnels existed sans rainbows for many decades until they came under the whims of one person. The rainbows went up in 1970 after Alan S. Hart, former director of the San Francisco District of Caltrans, then known as the state Division of Highways, ordered it. He was retiring and made a last-minute decision to have the portal arches to be painted in a rainbow without his bosses approval. Although this initially caused huge outrage in Sacramento with those in charge, it quickly quieted down when the public embraced the new added colors. The tunnel was featured in at least two big films, Dirty Harry and Dark Passage with Humphrey Bogart(pre-rainbow).

In 1981, there was a movement and some money was raised to use mosaic tiles to replace the paint, but that never came to be. Time, weather and traffic pollution gradually took their toll on the paint and the landmark rainbows were looking faded and sad. Some local residents started asking CalTrans if they could raise money to repaint it but CalTrans fianlly stepped in to restore the colorful tunnels. But it turned out they were in need of some color consultation! The following is an interview with my colleague, Belinda, regarding her approach to restoring this iconic landmark.

Marie: How did you first hear about this project and get involved?

Belinda:
I was reading the Sunday Marin Independent Journal, having coffee with my husband. The cover story was on the history of the waldo tunnel and how Caltrans was considering repainting the rainbows after years of wear and tear. I read the article and said to my husband, "Do you know how many times I'll read an article about something that I could get involved in and say to myself, wow that would be fun!" I got up and said, "You know what, I'm not going to talk about it, I'm going to see if I can make this happen!"

I sent an email to the person who wrote the article, another to Cal Trans and left a message with Cal Trans on the phone. I never expected to hear back from them, but to my surprise, Cal Trans called me within a few days. However, they called to tell me that they went to their archives and found out what kind of paint was previously used and they were in the process of selecting their colors. I asked them if they had the color names or numbers for the original colors and that information was nowhere to be found. I offered to help them select their new colors by donating my architectural color consulting services and that I think I could even find a way to donate the paint, and that the brand and quality would be far superior to what was previously used.

I live in Marin County and do a tremendous amount of work in Marin County. I saw this as a perfect opportunity for me to give back to my community. They agreed to meet with me a few days later where I was able to share my vision for the color direction and what I could offer them in terms of my professional services and the best paint for this project.

Photo: Craig Filpott

Marie: Did they have a specific way they wanted you to approach specifying the colors or were they open to your method of working with color?

Belinda:
This region of Cal Trans is responsible for the highways, tunnels and bridges for most of Northern California. All of the paint colors have already been predetermined, ie; the Golden Gate Bride. They never had to select new colors or design a palette that worked together. They were completely open and very appreciative. They had no idea what went into selecting colors.

CalTrans getting paint ready for the rainbow

Marin Independent Journal

Marie: Did CalTrans put up the samples for you once you determined the colors you wanted to test?

Belinda:
Cal Trans was so great and patient with me! They painted up every color I asked for and we tried several different ranges. They even painted on the walls of their cement office building first to get an idea of what they might look like. They also played with airbrushing the stripes to feather them out for a softer effect. In the end, we all preferred hardlining the colors, as it felt so much cleaner. The hard lines also made the colors pop more.

ABC7 Photo

Marie: I imagine you had to go back a few times and view the samples. How did the weather and time of day affect the sample?

Belinda:
With the bay on one side of the tunnel and the Pacific ocean on the other, the weather conditions can be quite extreme. I went up to the tunnel at least two to three times each time the samples were painted. I had to see them in the morning when the fog was still hanging over the tunnel with mist and sometimes rain, and in the middle of the day when the sun would shine directly onto the rainbow, then again at the end of the day when the shadows would appear before the fog returned again. The colors would change dramatically under the various conditions. In the end, the palette that really worked was the one that looked great under all conditions. I would also go up there on the weekends so I could watch Cal Trans paint. I was also constantly getting feedback about how Benjamin Moore's Aura paint was working.

MoreMarin.com

Marin Independent Journal

Marie: What was the most challenging aspect of this project?

Belinda:
The most challenging aspect of this job was the monumental responsibility I felt to make everyone happy. The local people have such a connection to these rainbows, it's a historic landmark. I didn't want to let anyone down. And, especially during these challenging times, it was really important to me that each and every time you looked at the rainbows, it would lift your spirits and make you smile.

The rainbows shine again:

Photo: Elaina's Blueprint

Mid-Week Color/Art Therapy

Just a little color therapy for your mid-week blahs. Australian photographer Mark Mawson captures otherworldly images using paint dropped into water. These are just a few of his phenomenal works of art from his collection, Aqueous. His fashion, resort and celebrity photos are stunning as well! Enjoy and happy Wednesday, you're almost there!