I love color. I consider color to be in the same category as icing on
the cake and cream in the coffee. A great color for the walls, a pillow
or a throw can be the pizazz that a room needs to look complete.
Color and I have always had a good relationship. It's easy for me to
go to a store with a certain room in mind and be able to choose fabrics,
bedding and accessories. It's important to note this, because my husband
is color-challenged and doesn't distinguish between shades of blues and
greens, or reds and oranges. He is one heck of a handy guy, but I'm the
color meister.
Have you ever gone to the paint store to get color chips and wondered
where they come up with the names? Right now on my desk, I have color
samples called "The Good Life," "Misted Pollen" and "Honesty." If I had
to guess by the names I'd say I was looking at some shades of yellow or
gold. These names are attached to various shades of blue. Go figure.
The color in my kitchen, family room and hallway is "Capertree." This
color does not resemble a caper or a tree or a caper bush (there are no
trees). How did they come up with "Capertree"? I sometimes wonder what
the color-namers eat for lunch before they assign labels on the color
strips.
One strip on my desk has "Columbine Valley," "Veronica," "Fairfax" and
"Glendora." I think this person must need a vacation. Another color strip
includes "Pekoe Tea," "Dried Basil," and "Romaine." Someone was hungry.
I like being master of my own destiny and mixing my own colors. I
invested in a set of universal tints years ago and have been a custom
color girl ever since. A little raw umber here and sienna there, and I
find that I can mix the best color for a room.
It's so hard to calculate color from a tiny strip of paper. Tester
patches are the only way to get a real sense of color, and with my tints
I can make subtle changes.
Colors look different in the morning, afternoon and evening. A room's
lighting, or lack of lighting, affects color. When I am choosing a color
for a room, I paint several samples on the wall. I have had rooms look
like a virtual patchwork quilt with various tester shades.
Whenever I think I have gone too far with my color obsession, I think
of my friend Jeannie. I have found my color-perfectionist equal with
Jeannie.
Jeannie is, among many other things, a balloon artist. I asked her to
come up with a trio of colors for the home tour signs. (And by the way,
if you haven't bought your ticket for the Harbor High Home and Garden
