“Sage” was created for clients who had “Edgewood Green” as the main color in their Baton Rouge home. When they moved to New Orleans, they wanted the same color but because of the lighting, we lightened it by cutting the formula in half. The new color was so complex and interesting, I added it to my curated palette and named it “Sage”. It’s since become one of my ten best selling colors!
This bathroom is a great example of both colors. “Sage” is on the wallsand ceiling with “Edgewood Green” on the doors and trim. These greens are warmer than the previous cool greens I’ve posted about previously and lean more towards brown instead of blue and gray. “Sage” and “Edgewood Green” both enhance the luster of wood tones.“Sage” on walls in this Atlanta home is the perfect neutral in this space even though the color isn’t anywhere else in the room. One of the main reasons I like to use a neutral shade of green on trim is because it helps draw your eye outdoors toward the view. “Edgewood Green” was used on everything but the “Alexandra Blue” ceiling in this sun porch overlooking Audubon Park in New Orleans. The blue ceiling further connects you to the outdoors and subconsciously makes you feel like you’re outdoors on a sunny day.When I was asked to help with the colors at the Pitot House Museum, I was surprised to find that my “Edgewood Green” was a dead ringer for the original trim color used back in the late 1700’s! It’s so neutral, it works well with every color like these “Wedgewood” walls.These New Orleans clients recently purchased a home that was copied after the exterior of the Pitot House and loved the colors there so much, we used them here as well with “Edgewood Green” on all the trim like at the Pitot House. “Buttercream” is on the walls and “Alexandra Blue” on the ceilings. “Pitot Mango” is on the walls in the room beyond.Click here to see a closeup of “Pitot Mango” and “Edgewood Green”.One of my favorite photos of “Edgewood Green” used on walls and ceiling in this mountain retreat in North Carolina.
“Edgewood Green” is so neutral, it works well as the core color in this home that has several colors branching off of it.
“Edgewood Green” works equally well outdoors and helps this “Buttercream” home nestle into the landscaping.
You can clearly see how color reflective these Full Spectrum Paint colors are by how different they look in each of the photos. I’m happy to send you free hand-painted samples, if you’ll visit my Online Store. It’s the first item. As you’ll see, there are larger hand-painted samples and sample jars as well. Besides selling paint, I welcome helping my clients put together color palettes and selecting paint colors. Color Consultations are free when you purchase my Full Spectrum Paints!
Internationally renowned color expert Kate Smith of Sensational Color named this color that I created especially for her. I included it in a special Designer Palette many years ago and it has become one of my most popular colors. I describe it as a complex neutral in that like Gustavian Grey in my previous post, it shifts from blue to green and although darker than Gustavian Grey, the color is so subtle, it’s very organic and quite neutral.
“H2 Ahh!” walls with “Gustavian Grey” ceiling in this California home. What I especially like about this color is that it’s very organic and works well with views of nature.A current project where we painted “H2 Ahh!” on the walls with “Barry’s White” ceiling and trim. It works beautifully with the cabinet doors and tile, no?“H2 Ahh!” walls and ceiling envelop this bath in color that is both soothing and refreshing.
To read what Kate Smith had to say about her newly painted office in her signature “H2 Ahh!”, visit this link: Sensational Color. If you’d like to see a free hand-painted sample, visit my Online Store.
The last color in the blue palette is “Smoky Blue” but I’m including “Dean’s Dream” that I retired because it is fairly close to “Smoky Blue”. However, I’ve made a new formula for it so it’s still available along with quite a few retired colors. When you order individual samples and paint online, the color dropdown menu now contains an option called “Custom (enter name in Notes)” at the bottom. So if you don’t see a color in the list, I may very well have a formula for it already. So far, I’ve created formulas for these retired colors: Mustard Seed, Wheat, Light Terracotta, Caribe, Tuscan Sun, Beige, Limone, Seafoam, Lakeside Napoleon, Juliet’s Potion, Driftwood, Thunder Cloud, Silk Road Plum, Albania Teal, Barry’s Babylon, Mykonos Blue, Bronze, Sky, Terracotta Sand, Chestnut and Perret Ivory. I also have some custom colors like “Saint Bleu” mentioned in my previous blog post. Custom colors available are: Brandon Blue, Saint Bleu, Saint Grey, Petra Sandstone, Barnwood, Intimate White, Palace White, Teal, Plauche’ Green, Pitot Mango, Pitot Shutter Green, Lady Gaga’s Dress, Paris Mud, Capri and Charcoal. You can probably find photos of these custom colors by using the search feature on this blog and by visiting my Instagram page.
But back to Smoky Blue and Dean’s Dream!
“Smoky Blue” was created for this client’s bedroom. Although it’s a dark color, we used it on both walls and ceiling because the ceilings were fairly low and it visually raises the ceiling height because your eye is not drawn up toward the ceiling. The room is just cloaked in color.Color Specialist Kathy Armssent me this photo of her living room after she painted the walls “Smoky Blue”. It looks great with the dark wood tones!
“Dean’s Dream” was initially created for designer Dean Coe as part of my Designer Palette many years ago. It’s the full spectrum version of Ben Moore’s Hale Navy. Although it has been really popular, it was fairly close to Smoky Blue so I retired it. However, shortly afterwards I was asked to recreate the formula again for an existing client.
I found this photo of “Dean’s Dream” on Pinterest so I apologize for the quality. JoAnne Floyd, the poster & client, describes it as a navy that’s “almost black”.Although this looks like exterior siding painted “Dean’s Dream”, it’s actually in a small interior hallway with “Snow” trim.“Dean’s Dream” walls with “White Opal” on ceiling and trim.
I’ll continue to include new custom colors in my Blog posts. To order free hand-painted samples of any of these colors, visit my Online Store & Order Individual Cuttings.
“Slate” has been a popular color ever since employee Jamie Maxwell suggested it to me back in 2005. At the time, she pointed out that my color palette was missing a darker gray-blue. The formula for “Slate” is in the midtone base, not a deep base, so I don’t really consider it that dark of a color. It’s been used successfully in pretty much every type of space, as you’ll see from the photos below.
A newly painted room using “Slate” on the walls with “White Opal” trim and ceilingI often suggest a blue like “Slate” to go with blonde woodtones like these floors. Think “Sea & Sand”.This is the reception area for theYoga Belly Studio in Mountain View, CA. As you can see, “Slate” works equally as well with dark woodtones.“Slate” walls cozy up this family room with white bookcases and upholstery.
I mention “Saint Bleu” in this post’s title because it’s very similar to the color “Slate”. I could have used it on the walls of the Winter Parlor in the St. Francisville Inn since it was a perfect match for the wallpaper that designer Brandon Branch was using on the back wall of the built-in cabinets. However, I wanted to create a more chameleon-like color, so I added magenta to the formula. “Saint Bleu”, although a custom color, can be yours!
A closeup of “Saint Bleu“ and the wallpaper used to create itDesigner Brandon Branch’s beautiful parlor just off of The Saint Bar at the St. Francisville Inn in St. Francisville. Trim is “Barry’s White” and ceiling is “Silvery Blue”.
If you’d like to see hand-painted samples of these colors or any other of my Full Spectrum Paint colors, visit my Online Store where you can order free cuttings, larger hand-painted samples and sample jars. When it comes time to order paint by the gallon, you also order online and pick it up at your local PPG Paints store. No waiting around in the store for the paint to be mixed. It will already be ready for you so that there’s no wait!
I often use the color “Sandy Lagoon” in color palettes that include “Gustavian Grey” and “H2 Ahh!” because they all fall into the blue-green category. I especially love this color range because it has both the soothing qualities of blue and the rejuvenating qualities of green, so spending time in spaces painted in any one of these colors is both calming and refreshing. They’d make great Spa colors!
“Sandy Lagoon” walls with “Moss Green” trim in this bedroom off of a “Classic Marc” hallway.Another photo of the same project where we used “Sandy Lagoon” with “Moss Green” trim in the adjoining bathroomThis bathroom with “Sandy Lagoon” walls and “Snow” wainscotingis from a completely different project where other palette colors included “Mushroom”, “Ashen Green” and “Wedgewood”.
I often use deeper and brighter colors in bathrooms to give them more drama. Since bathrooms are usually small, I tend to try and turn them into little jewel boxes. However, “Sandy Lagoon” would also work well in Living Rooms, Dining Rooms, Kitchens, Foyers and Hallways. If you’d like to see a free hand-painted sample of “Sandy Lagoon” or any of my Full Spectrum Paints, visit my Online Store.
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 