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Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Released Tuesday, 26th November 2024
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Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Ep. 389: Color Theory with Christine Markatos-Lowe

Tuesday, 26th November 2024
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Episode Transcript

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2:00

I studied undergrad, I have a

2:03

studio art degree, and I was

2:05

really involved in painting, color

2:08

theory, printmaking, and sculpture. And I

2:10

decided at the

2:12

end of school that it was really sculpture

2:14

that I thought I was, you know, the

2:16

most interested in and had applied and was

2:18

accepted and did an MFA program at Penn.

2:21

And it was while I was at

2:23

Penn that I really realized and, you

2:25

know, singularly focused in one type of

2:28

art that I missed those other

2:30

elements. And I was trying to figure out

2:33

what to do about that and just

2:36

sort of my path. And interestingly enough,

2:38

it was my sculpture

2:40

professor there who said, oh

2:42

darling, maybe one day you'll just be a designer. Kind

2:45

of put that idea in my head. I

2:47

really didn't follow interior

2:49

design. I came from,

2:51

you know, my parents are sort

2:53

of very intellectual about their approach to

2:56

art. I was raised going, you

2:58

know, I was raised outside New York City

3:00

and went to museums and we were, you

3:02

know, very intensely educated

3:04

in just the fine arts. And that was

3:06

just something that I'd never entered into the

3:08

language. And so he kind of planted

3:10

that seed. And anyway, the long and

3:12

the short of it is I moved back to New

3:14

York, spent a couple months kind of doing

3:17

a whole lot of nothing, trying to figure

3:19

it out. And, you

3:22

know, back in the day when there were job listings,

3:24

they were listed in the paper. So

3:26

there was a listing in the New York Times

3:29

for basically an assistant

3:31

position at an architecture firm. And

3:34

I applied without having, you

3:36

know, any real obvious skill

3:38

set that was specific. And

3:41

lo and behold, it was Peter Marino's office and

3:43

I was hired. And I was told in my

3:45

interview or my second interview when I

3:47

was offered the position that the

3:49

reason I was hired was because Mr.

3:52

Marino knew that

3:55

I wouldn't have to be taught how to see,

3:58

which I think is. really an

4:00

interesting 20 plus years later, a

4:03

really interesting perspective on the

4:05

artistic point of view, whether

4:07

your medium is fine arts or you're

4:09

in the decorative arts or whatever it

4:11

might be. It's really about how you

4:13

see spaces and how you see things.

4:15

So that was a very long

4:17

winded answer to your question. That was a

4:19

great answer. I

4:22

think ultimately it's really, it's the

4:24

background. It's like the support system

4:26

to then what became a 12

4:29

year training that I went through working

4:32

for a couple of sort of

4:34

well-known design firms and working my way

4:37

up position wise and based on my

4:39

skillset as that increased and my understanding

4:41

of design and the decorative arts increased,

4:43

I kind of moved around. So

4:46

I would say it's the cornerstone though.

4:49

I don't think anyone, it certainly

4:52

wasn't a linear path. Let's put it that way.

4:55

So how do you think

4:57

that your approach to color with

5:02

an art background, I suppose, like

5:04

sets your work apart from maybe

5:06

other designers? Yeah,

5:11

I mean, I think ultimately my

5:13

point of view is

5:17

that color is emotional.

5:20

And so living with color really

5:25

for me as a designer and

5:27

what I'm bringing to our projects is

5:29

really sort of the starting

5:31

point with any project. We work with such

5:33

a large range of color. We

5:36

work with clients who like saturated

5:38

color. We work with clients who want everything

5:40

kind of what we call whisper colors, very,

5:42

very soft palettes. But

5:45

ultimately I think that the starting point

5:47

with every project is what

5:50

is the feeling we are trying to evoke in

5:53

the room, in the

5:55

house, as the experience of

5:57

living in the space. And from

5:59

there, where this story

6:02

evolves using color. One

6:04

of the things that I really loved about

6:07

your spaces is that, like,

6:11

I was trying to analyze, I suppose, how you are

6:13

using the color. And it

6:16

seemed like there might be a

6:18

blue, I'll give an example, there might be a blue room,

6:20

but you've got warmer blues,

6:22

you've got cooler blues, you've got some really

6:24

dark, you've got some light. There's

6:26

this whole range, and I think often

6:30

people kind of think of using

6:32

color in terms of

6:34

matching and being consistent when it

6:36

seems like you're just really kind

6:38

of, it's almost like you were

6:40

painting with the color, but

6:43

there were gradations, I suppose. So

6:45

I'm wondering if you could speak to

6:47

that about using a fuller spectrum and

6:50

why it works. In studying color

6:52

theory, there's this concept called the

6:55

color wheel, which basically

6:57

is a theory or an

7:00

idea that colors can be organized based

7:02

on their relationships to each other. And

7:04

based on how you sort of use the

7:07

color wheel and how the colors

7:09

are juxtapositioned or placed next

7:11

to each other really allows you

7:13

to kind of play with the

7:16

concept of mixing colors. Obviously

7:19

you can start with a monochromatic

7:21

palette, which is the idea of you

7:24

have a blue, you keep

7:26

all the blues the same, and you

7:28

sort of layer maybe with textures or pattern

7:30

or different ways. That's

7:33

very simple, you're kind of using one hue, hue again

7:35

being where the color falls, is

7:39

it a primary color, is it a secondary

7:42

color, is it tertiary color? So you can

7:44

start with a monochromatic palette or you can

7:46

do an analogous palette. So the idea of

7:48

an analogous palette is that you have two

7:50

or three colors that are next to each other in the

7:52

color wheel and you're sort of pulling from all of them.

7:55

And if you contrast them with white,

7:57

you create this really interesting balance. And

8:00

I would say the majority

8:02

of our projects are,

8:05

it's not like I sit down and have

8:08

this kind of conversation with the client, but

8:10

just in working together, that tends to be

8:13

where many people feel comfortable with

8:15

the idea of mixing colors. You

8:17

can also do something with much

8:19

more contrast and you would

8:21

be getting into more of a complimentary

8:23

palette, red and green, blue and orange,

8:25

but that's a much harder concept for

8:27

people to adopt or

8:30

understand. So typically we're working in

8:32

more of an analogous palette. I

8:36

love the visual of the color wheel because

8:38

I think we've probably all seen that at

8:40

some point and it's

8:42

such an easy map to

8:44

follow. It really is and it feels like

8:46

that's a lot to think about, but really

8:49

if you think about it, I mean, you

8:51

can simply look at nature.

8:53

There are so many examples

8:55

in nature. For instance, this morning I

8:57

was out in my garden and I

8:59

was looking at my hydrangea, which we're

9:02

fortunate in California where our summer kind of

9:04

lasts longer, but we are definitely entering into

9:06

fall. And so I have

9:09

these beautiful big blue blossoms

9:11

still on the hydrangea, but

9:13

they're all also turning different

9:15

shades as they are losing

9:17

their vibrancy. And so there's some purple and

9:19

there's a little bit of red and

9:22

then you have the green of the leaves, which

9:24

are also changing. And so it's really all out there

9:26

for you to consider

9:29

and see if you're looking. And

9:33

then can you speak a little bit

9:36

to varying values, like using some darker,

9:38

using some lighter? What is it that

9:40

that's gonna, I suppose, do for your

9:42

room? Why would that help your overall

9:44

space? Well,

9:47

it creates contrast and depth to your

9:49

room. So similar, as you were saying

9:51

before, that there's some sort of painterly

9:53

aspects to looking at color. When you're

9:55

doing design, you have areas where you

9:57

might want to have a more saturated.

10:00

colors. So maybe you have a

10:02

more saturated blue, but then you want

10:05

to balance it with a dark piece

10:07

of furniture in the background. And you might

10:09

have a lamp that has some white

10:11

and lighter colors on a painted dresser and

10:13

that pops your eye. The idea with the

10:15

way we use color is we're always trying

10:18

to, as we call it, move the color

10:20

around the space. So whether that's going from

10:22

room to room or even just

10:24

within one room, it's not like this

10:26

area is blue, that area is green. It's

10:28

all kind of mixed and matched. Typically, when

10:31

we're working on a house, we have a

10:33

color from room to room that kind

10:35

of carries the eye through. So in

10:37

your entry, we have some shades

10:40

of green and maybe lavender, and then we

10:42

move into the sterile hall. There might still

10:44

be a little lavender, but we might have

10:46

shifted tones. This way, again, there's a continuity

10:49

to how we're using color as you

10:51

move through the space. Now

10:54

what about, I know

10:57

we've spoken to like true colors, and

10:59

that's very obvious, but what about when

11:01

to use, you know, like a true

11:03

white versus a creamier base? So

11:10

typically, I make those

11:13

decisions as the fabric

11:15

palette has been confirmed. So

11:18

again, if we're finding that a lot of the

11:20

grounds, like if we're using a lot of patterns

11:22

and a lot of the grounds are a much

11:24

brighter white, one of my favorite

11:26

go to colors is OC 17 from Benjamin Moore.

11:29

It's called White Dove. It's a very pure

11:31

white. It's a very pretty white. It looks

11:34

great in New York. It

11:36

looks great in Los Angeles. So

11:38

it really works in a lot of different

11:40

colors of light, which is so important when

11:42

you are picking color. And

11:47

if that feels too bright, then we

11:50

might move into a softer tone, sometimes

11:52

a more yellow white or sometimes a

11:54

more topi white, again, depending on, you

11:57

know, is the project contemporary? Is the project more

11:59

traditional? What are the fabrics? What

12:01

are the carpets? If there's

12:03

a particular piece of art that we're working

12:05

around, all of those things are factored into

12:07

how we're making our choices. And

12:10

can you make white with this

12:12

kind of off-white cream work? How do you

12:14

make that live

12:16

together well? So I have a 1920s

12:18

Spanish house. All

12:21

the walls are plaster. And I

12:24

probably have four different shades of

12:26

white in moving

12:28

through the house, depending on actually

12:30

the natural light. Because some

12:33

spaces, you know, our stair hall has one

12:35

window and it's much darker than my living

12:37

room, which has French doors and like one

12:39

of those huge traditional Spanish

12:42

windows. So there's tons of light kind

12:44

of pouring in. And I balance the

12:46

whites. No one can tell. I'm

12:48

not even sure at this point, but it

12:51

was something that I did because I do

12:53

like to feel consistency when I'm

12:55

moving from room to room. And it was

12:57

necessary to do so because of the natural

12:59

light. You basically use four

13:02

different whites throughout your house, but because

13:04

of the way each

13:06

room's individual lighting is

13:08

based on the natural light, they

13:11

all look the same. It

13:14

does. That is such a clever idea. And

13:16

something that, well, probably

13:19

is only something really a designer could do, but I

13:21

suppose we could all sort of, a

13:24

great takeaway would just be that like, a

13:26

lot of people feel like, oh, okay, well, I'm just gonna paint this

13:29

one color for consistency and like really,

13:31

so they only have to pick one color,

13:33

but it's gonna look vastly

13:35

different from room to room. So I

13:37

always suggest even with our clients when

13:40

we're signing off on a

13:42

paint schedule for the project and

13:44

just the room selections, that

13:46

they look at everything at night because

13:49

it really does impact how things

13:51

look. There have been instances where

13:53

we've had to make adjustments because

13:55

things suddenly go very gray, particularly

13:58

in California where we have... so much natural

14:00

light and it's so intense. Once

14:03

you get into light where you're

14:05

using incandescent bulbs or

14:07

LED lights in the downlights, there's

14:10

a shift in how that impacts the colors.

14:13

It's good to make sure you're happy with the way

14:15

everything looks, all the different situations that you're going to

14:17

be living with it. So

14:21

say you are testing paint colors and you have

14:23

a white that you like, or

14:25

I suppose any color, a color that you like during the

14:27

day. In the

14:29

evening maybe it feels too gray like you mentioned. Where

14:33

do you go from there? Do you pick something warmer? Do

14:36

you go lighter? I guess

14:38

what is the next color to

14:40

try? So I

14:42

would increase saturation of the

14:44

color because saturation is

14:46

talking about the vibrancy of the color. So

14:49

if you have a blue that's very soft

14:51

and natural light reads gray, then you

14:54

would want to maybe go a shade

14:56

or two more saturated. So there was

14:58

more blue in it to

15:00

offset that grayness that you're seeing in

15:03

the evening. So, okay,

15:05

sorry, do you mean like saturated,

15:07

like less muddy or saturated, like

15:09

darker? Saturated as

15:11

in more intense. Okay, got it. So I

15:13

guess darker would be correct. Because I think that's

15:15

something where it's easy to get hung up. Like

15:17

you've tested your paint colors and maybe

15:20

you know that you don't necessarily like it, but you

15:22

don't know like

15:25

how to fix it, I suppose. You

15:27

know, like how to get what you're

15:29

trying to achieve. I

15:32

think it's always ultimately,

15:34

it's really about

15:37

color saturation and increasing

15:40

intensity and lessening intensity. I think

15:42

that's a very easy

15:45

consideration because on any paint deck, you know,

15:47

if you have a Benjamin Moore paint deck

15:49

and you've picked whatever a particular color might

15:52

be, they give you a range of

15:55

lighter and darker within that

15:57

particular color. And so you

15:59

could... impacting

20:01

how they read to each other, right?

20:03

And then there's the whole light as

20:05

it moves through the room, which is

20:07

also impacting color. Do

20:10

you find yourself tending to

20:12

use certain colors based on

20:15

the direction my rooms face at

20:17

all? Like North rooms? I

20:19

really don't. It's kind of about

20:22

the start of a project comes from a couple

20:25

of different points of

20:27

view. One is if the client has an art

20:29

collection that we are working with and

20:31

how they want that art to read. So

20:33

that is a different perspective than when we're

20:35

using really the textiles and

20:38

the wallpapers and all of the

20:40

materials to kind of create the

20:42

art. And then the art comes

20:44

secondarily into the project. So

20:47

really based on that is kind of how

20:49

we get started. If it's not an art

20:52

collection that we're working with, then what

20:54

we start to do is we pull different

20:58

papers or fabrics that we think

21:00

might be of interest to the

21:02

client. And sometimes they're like, oh,

21:04

I love everything here. And sometimes I might just love

21:06

one thing. And if they can tell

21:08

us what it is about that one thing that we

21:10

love, it's really like a starting point for the project.

21:13

So it's a very, the process is

21:15

very collaborative with

21:19

our clients. And I find

21:22

it's most fun when they're really excited about

21:24

whether it's one particular thing or lots of

21:27

different ideas that we bring to the table.

21:30

And from there, we really set

21:32

the colors of the space. So lighting,

21:35

of course, natural light has something to do with

21:37

what we're looking at. And we might shift

21:40

things based on the natural light, but it's

21:42

really more of an emotional reaction

21:44

to the colors that we're presenting. A

21:46

minute ago, you mentioned like

21:49

using color sort of to

21:51

embody emotions, I guess. And,

21:55

or like, it's like an emotional tool to

21:57

sort of create that feeling in the space.

21:59

And I'm curious. if there are certain

22:01

colors or combinations or I guess like

22:03

strategies around using color that you associate

22:05

with different emotions. And maybe like you

22:07

could give us some examples of how

22:10

you took a color and used

22:13

it to create convey this

22:15

feeling that you're trying to capture. Well,

22:19

as an example, we almost

22:21

always use very

22:23

soft colors in bedrooms. Most

22:26

people want their bedroom to

22:28

feel inviting, encompassing a

22:30

place where they can go

22:32

and relax and rest. And

22:35

typically that translates in a very

22:37

soft palette. So that might be

22:39

using blues, that might be using

22:41

lavenders. We use

22:43

all shades of green. I think

22:46

green really is a color that's like

22:48

a neutral because you have the green

22:51

of the exterior, right, as kind of

22:53

your background color. And so bringing green

22:55

into the interior is very

22:58

soft and soothing. I've had maybe one

23:00

or two occasions where a client has

23:02

asked for their bedroom to be really

23:04

bright and poppy, which is very interesting

23:06

to me because that, you know, to

23:09

me it seems like that would be

23:11

different than you might want to feel.

23:13

But she felt that it was really

23:15

important to, one in particular felt

23:17

that it was really important to wake up

23:19

in the morning and feel a vibrancy. And

23:22

she loved that idea. And so

23:25

we went with a very bright hue

23:28

of greens and aquas and

23:30

dalidon colors to create that

23:33

for her. I think you

23:35

mentioned sort of in the beginning in your

23:37

introduction, working with Peter Marino, which we just

23:39

had another guest who worked with

23:41

Peter Marino, literally, I think our last interview,

23:44

which is so funny. Oh, that

23:46

is funny. Anyway, but I was

23:48

curious, you know, sort of transitioning from color

23:50

about how, I guess,

23:54

like working with an architecture firm,

23:56

I guess sort of informed your

23:58

use of space. you know, layouts

24:00

or the way things relate to

24:02

each other in terms of the

24:04

space itself. So

24:08

working at Peter Marino's office was

24:11

the most eye-opening, incredible

24:13

experience. I mean, I could not

24:15

have asked for a

24:17

better starting education. So certainly

24:20

architecture played into

24:23

it, though the way that

24:26

office was set up, interiors

24:28

and architecture were very separate

24:30

departments. So by the

24:32

time we had the architectural

24:34

drawings, everything was kind of

24:36

organized and set. And then, you know, we

24:38

were working on a different phase

24:40

of the project. So that certainly

24:42

informed me, I think, more

24:45

though, what I was informed with

24:47

from working there and seeing projects, because

24:49

I was very junior when I was

24:51

there, was seeing

24:53

how the spaces

24:56

were organized from a three dimensional perspective.

24:58

So yes, certainly furniture plans and then

25:00

going and seeing the furniture plans in

25:02

the office and then getting to go

25:04

to the site of

25:07

the project and during installations and seeing

25:09

them actually in space was incredible

25:11

for me and very informative. But

25:14

I think more than anything, it

25:16

was the

25:19

use of his

25:21

three dimensional perception in

25:24

the space and the sculpturalness

25:27

of all of his spaces,

25:29

which are supported by the

25:31

incredible architecture that that office does,

25:33

the materials that are used in

25:35

the architecture, which are also, you

25:37

know, always of impeccable quality. I

25:40

think that was the most informative

25:42

part of having worked in an architect's

25:45

office. After

25:47

that position, I did

25:49

not work in

25:52

an office that had an architectural department,

25:54

as I continued on in my

25:57

career. Obviously, we're working with outside

25:59

architects. which was also

26:01

a very interesting experience to sort

26:03

of see how to then take

26:07

someone else's designs and

26:10

as the collaboration of the project was moving

26:12

forward, how the two parties, who was kind

26:14

of the starting point in the parties, that

26:17

was another experience that I had that was

26:19

different and it's very interesting. Depending

26:22

on the design firm I was working with,

26:24

sometimes the architect was really leading the story

26:27

and other times the designer was really

26:29

leading the story and I found over

26:31

time that was typically dependent on the

26:33

relationship of the client. But

26:36

that must vary just so much by

26:38

project, right? It really does. If the

26:40

designer has been working with

26:42

the client long term and brings

26:44

in an architect, often the client

26:47

is still looking to the designer

26:49

for all of the input and

26:51

the designer also has the knowledge of

26:53

how the client likes to live and

26:55

that also works in reverse where the

26:57

architect has really been working with the

26:59

client or the project was started with

27:01

the architect and then the design team

27:03

comes in when the drawings

27:06

are further along and it's just a

27:08

push pull. And

27:10

in the best way, I think the best

27:12

projects are when each

27:15

of the teams is very collaborative. Do

27:18

you find that the

27:21

architecture firms are asking,

27:23

where's the overlap of

27:26

what you're figuring out about the client? The

27:29

overlap of how you live, what

27:31

you love, what you gravitate towards,

27:33

I was just wondering how much

27:35

of that, I mean obviously

27:37

the direction can go different

27:39

ways based on how you approach it

27:41

versus an architect, of course I would

27:44

imagine. But I was just wondering what

27:46

the overlap on actual getting from clients,

27:48

like information is. Well,

27:50

I think to

27:52

some degree it depends on whether it's

27:54

a ground up build versus a renovation,

27:56

right? So a ground up build obviously

27:59

has the architecture. or

32:00

can it be a pillow? It

32:02

could be a pillow. I

32:04

mean, it could be a lamp. It could be

32:07

something that I have

32:09

one client, this is so funny, I have one

32:11

client who, her

32:14

wedding china is this amazing

32:16

royal Copenhagen pattern that

32:20

I don't unfortunately know the name of,

32:23

but it was, it's

32:25

colors of kind of steel

32:27

blue and peach

32:30

and gold and a little bit of pink

32:33

and cream. And

32:35

when we started her project, this

32:37

is an apartment in New York, she said, I

32:40

want this palette

32:43

throughout my house. And

32:45

that was how we started. Wow. Is

32:48

that unusual for a client to have such

32:50

like, I

32:54

suppose like strong

32:56

concept for the whole thing? I mean, what

32:59

a great place for you. Yeah, it was

33:01

really fun. Yeah, it was really,

33:03

it was, I don't

33:05

think at the time that it was a palette

33:07

I had really put together before. So it was

33:09

so gorgeous. I mean, the china is so gorgeous.

33:11

So it was like, why wouldn't we

33:13

use that? This is great. And

33:15

so then we just went out and shopped it and

33:17

kind of got started on it and it all evolved.

33:21

I find that generally

33:24

speaking, my

33:26

clients have a point

33:28

of view and it might be, I love aqua

33:30

and blue and

33:34

it might be as detailed

33:36

as I have this amazing anti-textile

33:38

and I just love it and

33:40

I want to use it and

33:42

let's start there. So it

33:45

just runs the gamut. It's been

33:47

pretty rare that I have someone

33:49

who I've worked with who says

33:51

I have no idea. Mm-hmm. So,

33:54

okay, in the example of the

33:56

client with the dinnerware. Yeah.

34:00

Okay, so you mentioned there were like shades

34:02

of blue, there was pink, like wait, how

34:04

does that turn into a whole house palette?

34:07

Like are you using every color in every

34:09

room? Are you using like one color, primarily

34:11

per room with like accents of another? Like

34:13

how does it kind of look and like

34:15

be feathered out into the different spaces? Yeah,

34:18

so her living room has

34:20

a really beautiful herringbone wall

34:23

covering that has a tiny

34:25

shimmer of like pearl in

34:27

it. So it's basically pearl

34:29

and cream, so it's very subtle. And

34:32

then we did very simple creamy sheer

34:34

curtains that have a little silver thread

34:36

that runs through them. And

34:39

the upholstery fabrics were shades

34:41

of kind of geach and

34:44

salmon and accented with

34:47

the pearl and the silver and a little

34:49

bit of gold tones. So

34:52

it's very light and shimmery, it's kind of like

34:54

the inside of a shell. And

34:56

it's a very bright room, it's very pretty. And

34:59

then from there, when we moved into the den, she

35:01

wanted something a little deeper because that was going to

35:03

be a room that they mostly use at night. So

35:06

we pulled a little deeper blue

35:08

shade from the China and we

35:10

did this amazing Harlequin wall covering

35:12

which are enormous white and blue

35:14

blooms and used a

35:17

really fun blue stripe on her sectional,

35:19

which is shades of like I think

35:21

the stripe repeats with five or seven

35:24

different shades of blue. And

35:26

we did a very simple rug

35:28

and we added in a few

35:31

accents of kind of the peachy

35:33

tone, but the peachy tone went

35:35

slightly browner in there. And

35:37

then as you move into the hallway and her

35:40

kitchen, it was again

35:42

kind of the taupey, silvery

35:44

gray creamy tones, so it would

35:46

feel very neutral in there. And

35:50

then when you move back into her bedroom,

35:52

it was much, she wanted a really dark

35:55

bedroom, so we went with a very dark

35:57

blue brass cloth. and

36:00

accented it with some brighter tones of the

36:03

peach. And

36:05

we added in some different purple-y

36:08

toned accents. It

36:11

is very cool and it's

36:13

very dark, which she loves. And

36:17

so we go from, you know, in the

36:19

space and then there's her daughter's bedroom and

36:21

a guest room, which had a

36:23

little bit more of, I would

36:25

say, input from the people who

36:27

use it. But

36:29

you go from a really light ethereal

36:32

feeling as you move through the

36:34

space to the back of the

36:36

primary bedroom, which is, you know, darker, kind of

36:38

in the back of the building. And

36:41

it becomes this very sort of nesting

36:43

cocoon. That

36:45

is such a, thank you for talking that out

36:47

because I feel like that was so helpful. Like

36:49

just, I mean, because basically what you're doing is

36:51

you're pulling from the color that

36:56

corresponds to the feeling, like you're cherry picking

36:58

from the overall palette, the colors that work

37:00

for the feeling you're creating in the room.

37:03

And that makes so much sense. It's so

37:05

logical, but I probably would have never been

37:09

able to articulate it or come

37:12

up with that sort of, you know, strategy.

37:16

I love that. That's so smart. Thank

37:18

you. Thank you. It was

37:20

described so beautifully too. All the work

37:22

you said. The pearlesque

37:25

wallpaper. Yeah. Yes.

37:27

Thank you. Well, it's fun because I

37:29

was visualizing it as I was talking

37:32

about it. So again, having that kind

37:34

of emotional experience evoking how

37:36

you feel when you're in the different spaces.

37:39

Are there any palettes right now in

37:41

general? Cause we're all talking about color

37:44

today, that you have been recently just

37:46

really excited about. Well,

37:49

we finished a project six months ago,

37:51

maybe nine months ago now here in

37:53

Santa Monica and a really fun client

37:55

who's better than I described, very vibrant,

37:58

the entire house is very vibrant. vibrant.

38:01

Quite fun to do for

38:03

her because I feel like

38:05

she pushed me into having

38:07

vibrancy in every room. And

38:09

the house runs from fuchsia

38:11

to, you know, sort of

38:14

this incredible corn flower blue,

38:16

brighter blues in her family room

38:19

upstairs, this really vibrant green bedroom.

38:22

And we offset everything by using

38:24

different wall coverings that were much

38:26

softer than the fabric choices, which

38:28

were so vibrant and a lot

38:30

of sheer curtains to let the

38:32

light really come in. And it

38:34

was so successful. And it was

38:36

so much fun to get pushed

38:38

because it required a client who

38:40

really believed and

38:43

knew what she liked. And as soon as she

38:45

would see things, she's like, Oh, that's so great.

38:47

Oh, that like, there was nothing that was too

38:49

bright that we could show her. And so

38:52

it was really fun to work with somebody

38:55

where we weren't, you know, pushing them to

38:57

do more or saying, you know, Oh, you

38:59

should really consider this. She just was like,

39:01

Yes, let's do it. Let's do it. I

39:03

think it's gonna work. And ultimately,

39:05

she was very happy. So yeah, that was

39:07

fun. I love that. I love

39:09

hearing just, you know, how to not make color

39:11

so kitschy. I think there's a lot of fear

39:13

in that, right? And so Oh, absolutely.

39:16

Thinking about what you said just if

39:18

you have some fabrics you love that

39:20

are bold, just taking the step back

39:23

on the walls, right? Like making it

39:25

so that the fabric sings, your walls

39:27

step back, but coordinate and make

39:30

it all tell the same story. That's

39:32

a great Yeah. Because

39:34

my biggest fear is picking a color that

39:36

is bold and impactful to me. And then

39:39

once you get at, like, again, fully saturating

39:41

a room, you're like, and this feels childish.

39:43

Like I didn't, what did I do wrong?

39:47

Right, right. Well, I think the

39:51

truth is, is decorating is

39:53

expensive. And so I think because

39:55

of that, everybody becomes

39:58

cautious.

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