In my previous Color Quandary post, I discussed the importance of color in a room. You can read about that here: http://wp.me/pEVbo-2w

Today I want to talk about the fear people have when committing to color. One reason people hire me, is to eliminate some of that fear….I can be the professional, who makes color recommendations based upon my experience and knowledge of hues, undertones, and schemes. Clients want me to make it easy for them.
I want to, I really do!

Sometimes, however, even when I make well-thought out color selections for a client, they still find it difficult to commit. They worry: will it be too bold or too bland? They second guess. They waver.
Trust is paramount between a designer and client, and sometimes I just want to plead, “Trust me…remember you’re paying me for a reason!”

Often, this color anxiety is experienced after the commitment has been made. Once the palette has been finalized, the painter is scheduled to begin work. All the furniture is moved and artwork taken down, walls are prepped. This, in itself, is a stressful process.
Once the painting begins, often the panic does too. And once a first coat is in place, I’ll sometimes get the phone call: “Oh my gosh, Kristine, it’s so bright–very different from what I expected!” Or “Can you come over and take a peek…is this how you were thinking it would look?”

It’s at this point that I become the hand-holder…the soother of frayed nerves.

You see, it’s easy to panic when wall-color is ALL there is. There’s nothing else in the space to distract the eye, or pull it all together. The color is more prominent because there IS nothing else.

Another point to consider is that the first coat of a color does not have the full pigment and true read that the final coats will have…there is not always full-coverage with a first coat, so it can be misleading. That first coat will not be as rich or have the depth that future coats will have. Also, don’t forget that many colors also change as they dry. In some cases the paint will darken as it cures, but in many scenarios it actually lightens as it dries. Of course, your room’s lighting affects color too…when your side tables and lamps make their way back into the room, that warm yellow light will enhance that paint color (I promise I’ll address lighting with more detail in a future post).

Anyway, I guess the point of this particular post is to say to designers’ clients everywhere: “Please don’t panic. There is a plan. Trust me, the room will come together in the end. We’ve done this before (once or twice).”

Remember my post on The Power of Fabric? It can be found here: http://wp.me/pEVbo-3W
In that post, I talk about using textiles as color inspiration in your rooms. Once the paint is on the walls, and those inspiration fabrics or rugs get re-introduced, magic happens. The wall-color suddenly makes sense! The pieces of the puzzle will start to fit.

I’ll keep discussing the successful use of color in future posts. Until then, please tell everyone about Kristine Robinson’s Interiors and feel free to share these posts on Twitter or Facebook.

Also, I LOVE to hear from you…so please feel free to weigh in on this discussion, or send me ideas for future posts with questions you’d like to have answered or your interior décor problems that need addressing. Thanks for reading!