What can a Color Consultant do for my home?
What does a color consultant do? That is a question that I am frequently asked.
My goal is, always, to help you love the look and feel of your home. If I had a mission statement, that would pretty well sum it up. I believe Jane Austen, my literary hero, wrote it well: “There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.” So, what I want to do is to make your home a haven, a place of comfort, a place of beauty, and a place where you can retreat after a busy day. I want your home to be the place that you look forward to.
You see, it breaks my heart when someone says that they hate their house. Why would anyone want to feel that way? That’s what I am here for! I have access to designer carpet, wallpaper, fabric and custom furniture, available to trade-only, in addition to helping select paint colors. If we need to rearrange the existing furniture, I have someone who can come in to move things around and hang or re-hang pictures and mirrors. Sometimes a fresh eye is all that is needed, and that is what I can be.
Now, let me be clear. I don’t have any particular gift of vision. I see exactly the way that anyone with normal vision sees. However, it is the understanding of what I see as compared to other colors that is perhaps different than many.
After going through True Color Expert Training with Canadian color expert Maria Killam, something that was not in me before, actually became a wired-in part of my visual understanding. Have you ever heard someone say, “The lightbulb in my head went on” ? That is exactly what her course did for me. It turned on a lightbulb of understanding undertones of colors, and of how to achieve visual harmony through common undertones, color flow, focal points, and repetition. The rhythm of a home. That’s what I do.
Every house is different, and that is why I love doing what I do. But, my best work happens when the client trusts me and implements the ideas to make the changes I am suggesting. People are naturally resistant to change. But, when something is not working (functionally or visually), you must be prepared for possible changes if you want to be happy with your house. The things that are holding your home back from being its best: those things won’t magically get better, and you are not going wake up one morning to find that you suddenly love something that you now hate. That I can promise you.
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It is my passion, my calling, and a joy to select colors as a certified color professional. I stay current by writing this blog and by reading dozens of other décor blogs and magazines.
And, on a final note, if you are a decision-making executive affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, I now offer a number of pro bono hours each year in the Birmingham, AL metro area to Habitat House homeowners who are selecting the color finishes, interior and exterior, for their new Habitat House. Click on the “about” section in the top bar, and you will see how send me an email. Please include the details of your request, including the time frame and location involved.
Benjamin Moore Sea Haze
Let’s look at the beautiful Benjamin Moore paint color called Sea Haze, pictured in actual rooms.
As a Certified True Color Expert, trained by Canadian colour (I add the ‘u’ to the word color because she does) expert Maria Killam, I know that color on the wall can’t be chosen successfully from a tiny paint chip from a fan deck. And, I know that the color on the chip isn’t even paint, it is a printed interpretation of a paint color. That is why I always rely on my large painted samples when helping a client select paint color.
Sea Haze is what I call a magic color, because it changes beautifully with the light. Of course, every color changes with the light. Sea Haze just has so many permutations when the light is changing, and each one is wonderful. Here is Sea Haze used in a tranquil bedroom:
Image: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
And Sea Haze used in a Candace Olson-designed bedroom/bath combination, where you can see some of the various shades which the color Sea Haze can read.
Image: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
My very first kitchen consultation had greeny gray granite countertops as the focal color in the kitchen. The existing beige color on the walls wasn’t doing a thing for the focal color granite in the room.
At the initial consultation, I selected Sea Haze with my magic wand fan deck as the probable choice. Once the large sample was painted up and brought over, it was the clear choice. The client and I could immediately see that the granite color simply came alive next to Sea Haze. Remember, Sea Haze is a magic color, and changes beautifully with the light.
Here is the actual Sea Haze sample I used in the kitchen consultation. Notice how the color of the large sample brings out the rich greeny grays of the existing granite countertop. That is what the right color does in a room. It creates visual harmony. Remember that, because it is one of the most important things that will happen when you paint the right color on your walls. The right color creates visual harmony.
Benjamin Moore Sea Haze. Image ©Color Calling
Are the paint colors in your home helping you achieve visual harmony? With furniture, between a pricey antique and even a wonderful reproduction, there could be many thousands of dollars’ difference. With paint, it costs exactly the same to paint a wonderful color which gives visual harmony, as it does to paint the wrong color which never will!
Color Calling 
