Create the room you desire with paint color - an article about interior design from Authentic Home

The search for a home’s just-right color palette often results in frustration and an ever-growing pile of not-quite-right paint chips and cans.

“It’s really that overwhelming fear that ‘I’m going to make a mistake’ that comes over people and then they don’t do anything,” says veteran interior designer Kathy Banak. “They buy a quart, they test it out. How many times are you going back to the store to get that right color?”

To help clients more easily find their true colors, Banak, owner of the West Seattle design store Authentic Home (4151 California Ave. SW, Seattle; 206.937.3070; authentic-home.com) created Authentic Home COLOR Paint. The premium paint line, launched this spring, offers 60 colors helpfully divided into three “moods”—“Elegant” (subtle shades, such as Champagne), “Serene” (natural tones, such as Spanish Moss) and “Playful” (vivid hues, such as Bubble Gum). The three groups can mix-and-match with one another and each color comes in three finishes: matte, buffed and polished.

For example, to transform a 3,000-square-foot house in West Seattle from blah to ahhhh, Banak mixed and matched colors from her line’s Serene and Elegant moods to create a contemporary but warm aesthetic inside and out. “This home didn’t feel as modern as it does now,” she notes. “We’ve had so many comments from the neighbors. They were so excited that the house really blended into the environment.” Paint job well done.

PRICE POINT:
Authentic Home COLOR Paint comes in three finishes: matte, buffed and polished; $43.95 a gallon; $24.95 a quart; two-ounce “taste” COLOR Cups are $4.25. Also available in zero VOC Green paint for $46.95.

DIY Advice:

Pick your color palette first. “Color choices are difficult for many people. However, once colors have been chosen, other decorating decisions are easier. Limited palettes and conceptual groupings make choosing paint colors simpler,” says Banak.
Think of the wall color as art, as it takes up the most space in any room.
Be aware that when it comes to paint, cheaper isn’t necessarily better.
Live with your wall sample not just a day, but for several days; and watch the light from early morning to night. Apply your sample in two coats!
Get an estimate from a painter, you might be surprised. “Remember, it’s going to take you three times as long as you think to paint one room,” says Banak.

Kathy Banak's New Paint Line