Genesis Painting of Madison now offers free color consultation services to its customers for both their indoor and outdoor projects. The company has hired Laurie Lundgren, a professional artist, muralist, and color consultant with 18 years experience providing services in the Madison area.
According to Genesis Painting president Brandon Vincent, many people believe they haven’t an “eye” for color, which makes them leery about specifying unique and varying shades of paint. So they tend to “play it safe.”
“Unfortunately,” he says, “this is how people oftentimes end up with four pale walls that fail to emphasize the unique dimensions, features, or furniture within an interior space. It’s also how they end up with exterior colors that don’t compliment or improve the outdoor appeal of their property.”
In other words, “playing it safe” with color can actually be a poor investment, because you don’t get the full value from your painting project. Interesting color schemes enhance visual appeal, adding both aesthetic and financial value to your property. And since paint prices don’t vary by color, doing so little if any more.
How color consultants work
Vincent says that customers often worry that a professional color consultant might suggest some outré color scheme that they won’t like—and maybe should like—but don’t know how to assess. So they avoid the whole enterprise and put beige everywhere. But professional color consultants—at least the good ones—are expert at executing your tastes, not theirs or anyone else’s.
For example, a professional color consultant will be logically interested in the colors you like—but will be equally concerned about the shades you tend to avoid. If you hate yellow because you think it makes you look pasty, then you’ll feel equally pasty in a room predominantly painted that color.
A professional color consultant will also interview you about some decorating variables that are typically overlooked by do-it-yourself decorators. For example:
* What furniture, carpeting, and window treatments are staying?
* Are any being replaced?
* Will there be anything new in the space that isn’t there now?
* Are your winter bedspread and accents different from your summertime ones?
With such information in hand, a professional color consultant will note the dominant shades that you tend to choose for your furniture, upholstery, and window treatments. If you own patterned upholstery, an oriental rug, or a large piece of artwork, the consultant might select the colors that excite you most from inside them.
Likewise, where neutrals are called for, a professional color consultant might recommend the specific whites and tans she finds inside your upholstery, rugs, or artwork—not some off-the-shelf beige from the Big Box home improvement center.
The same holds true for exterior spaces. A professional color consultant will notice the dominant colors in your neighborhood: trees and nearby houses for instance. She’ll consider your landscape: trees, shrubs, and flowers. And she’ll be particularly interested in the color of your roof, which most people couldn’t tell you without peeking!