Both of these colors fall into the violet category and as stated in my previous blog post, have the qualities of spirituality and calmness, making them especially good for meditation rooms. However, as you’ll see from the photos below, they work equally well in bedrooms and bathrooms. “Lilac Mist” can also be somewhat masculine and makes a great wall color in rooms with brown leather furnishings, for instance.
As you can see, “Lilac Mist” is a very grayed down subtle color.Used on the top exterior of this building in St. Francisville’s historic district, “Lilac Mist” passed the Historical Society guidelines.“Lavender Mist” walls in this bathroomwith “Smoke” cabinet and “Pearl” trim.“Lavender Mist” walls in this office at Sullivan Dental Center in St. Francisville with “Putty” trim.
If you’d like free hand-painted samples of any of my full spectrum paints, visit my Online Store.
“Plum” is a new color created for a client who wanted something a tad brighter than “Silk Road Plum”. Although I retired “Silk Road Plum”, it’s still available so I’ll share photos of both. Both colors are in the violet family which vibrate at a much higher frequency due to the red in it, so it’s not quite as calming as blue or green. Its qualities of spirituality and calmness make it a great background color in meditations. It activates a strong psychic response, together with an incredible reach of the mind.
“Plum” bath created for designer Ann Baumgartner’s NY project.
Close-up of the “Plum” bath wall color.
Close-up of “Silk Road Plum” bar. Can you see the subtle difference?Cabinetry and trim is “Dove”
“Silk Road Plum” foyer walls with “White Opal Trim”
My favorite “Plum” room is the foyor in the private quarters of the St. Franisville Inn. Ceiling is “Juliet’s Potion”.
The walls are so velvety, I wanted the trim and door to be the same finish, so I used the same “Plum” in an exterior flat. “Juliet’s Potion” is also available although it was retired.
If you’d like free hand-painted samples, visit my Online Store!
I retired all of my reds and oranges since not many folks are using these colors these days. However, there’s nothing like a grand red room so I created a new red, “Scarlett” and a new orange, “Sunset Orange”. Both are physical colors so they’re best used in rooms that are used socially, like living and especially dining rooms. I also like to use red in a powder room since you’re not spending much time in it (red closes in on you) and it casts a flattering glow to the skin when you’re looking at yourself in the mirror. Red is the color of energy, vitality, power, passion and desire. It’s known to increase your heart rate, so while it inspires passion, it doesn’t make for a restful bedroom.
Theartist Hunt Slonem loves a red room so when he saw “Scarlett” it was the first color he chose for Madewood Plantation.
Orange is also associated with energy and vitality. It’s also associated with enthusiasm and optimism. As it lies between red and yellow, it affects both physical well-being and the intellect. It’s a good welcoming color for hallways or where conversation needs to be stimulated. Unfortunately, the photo below is the only one I have, but as you can see, it’s certainly a cheerful room!
Although there’s not much wall space in this room, we used “Sunset Orange” on walls and crown molding. To pull your eye out to the view, we used custom “Tyler’s Taupe” on the door and window trim.
If you’d like to see free hand-painted samples of these colors please visit my Online Store.
“Mushroom” was House Beautiful‘s “Editor’s Pick” as one of the top four brown paint colors in their App House Beautiful 500+ Favorite Paint Colors as well as in their bookazine by the same name. I call it a complex neutral because although it’s a beige, it’s definitely not your typical boring beige!
Beige, included in the brown family, is a purely physical vibration firmly grounded in the earthly plane, promoting stability and groundedness. It is similar to green in that it is a ray of balance. It carries with it a person’s natural desire for reasonable comfort, home and security. It typifies home and hearth and the satisfaction of basic human needs. The color of living wood and the earth, it can be rich yet subtle–extraordinarily restful to look upon, creating a feeling of coolness and warmth at the same time.
House Beautiful Magazine’s 500+ Favorite Paint Colors & their paint swatch of “Mushroom”
“Mushroom” walls and ceiling with “Sage” trim pull together a variety of colored furnishings. When you compare the “Mushroom” walls in this living room to the photos above and below, you can see how chameleon-like it is.“Mushroom” walls and ceiling with “Wedgewood” cabinets.
If you’d like a free hand-painted sample of “Mushroom” or any of my Full Spectrum Paint colors, visit my Online Store where you can order all kinds of paint samples and now, you can even pre-order my daughter’s book, Classic Restaurants of New Orleans, that’s coming out November 4th!
Pink is a calming shade of red that is very nurturing and emotionally healing. Although it’s considered a feminine color, it’s sedative qualities are good for places where you want serenity and a supportive atmosphere. “Blush” was created for Designer Marc Charbonnet who gave me a piece of the palest pink silk to create the color from. He used it on the walls of the bedroom below in a NYC project.
“Blush” walls in this bedroom designed by Marc Charbonnetfor a baby girl’s room is not only a very pale pink but it has enough yellow in it to add warmth. He used “Snow” on the ceiling and trim. “Powder Pink” isn’t as pale as the color “Blush”, but “Powder Pink” is still a very soft pink that works equally well in any room, like this New Orleans parlor.
If you’d like to see actual hand-painted samples, visit my Online Store where you can order a variety of samples, even free small hand-painted samples!
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ellenkennon.com
Ellen Kennon Design, Furnishings & Full Spectrum Paints
As an Interior Designer with over three decades of experience, I’ve learned that color and light have a tremendous impact on our well being.
Color is the quickest, most affordable way to define the overall character and feel of a space so the selection of paint colors and the spectrum of pigments which produce colors are critical.
Our paints are blended from the 7 colors of natural sunlight, so they reflect a broader range of light and coordinate more easily with the colors and furnishings around them. They are chameleon-like in their ability to pick up colors from adjacent materials and don’t turn muddy or lose their character in low light conditions like standard paints.
Although we have never advertised, we have been featured in numerous national publications including Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and the Wall Street Journal.
Featured in House Beautiful as “Three of the Best” Color Consultants
Ellen's Blog 