AboutRebecca Bushner Expertise Specifying paint/coating colors or materials for interior or exterior of buildings including residential and commercial spaces. I also do graphic design & color marketing. I'm the current immediate-past-president of the International Association of Color Consultants/Designers North America (IACC-NA), a former Color Marketing Group chairholder, and an award-winning fine artist.
Experience I've been officially a color consultant for 7 years, a designer and researcher (tableware design) for about 10 years. I have my own color consulting/graphic design business in Arizona.
Organizations IACC-NA: International Association of Color Consultants/Designers, North America.
Publications NAFEM (North American Association of Food Eguipment Manufacturers, Ceramics organizations.
Education/Credentials BA in fine art, MBA, and have taken the full International Association of Color Consultants/Designers seminar course and oral exam.
Question I am trying to select an appropriate color for the walls of our north-facing bedroom. I want to select a shade that complements or blends with the colors in the window curtain. The colors are grayed-out, very muted, but deeply saturated: purple, gold, coral, green and a mauve-tan-gray. I prefer a color that is tranquil and relaxing, light and bright. I've tested a light, semi-muted lilac to pull in the purple which I like, but when it's on the wall it looks too bright and doesn't seem to "go" with the muted drapes. I also like a stoney-gray with a purple cast, but I'm wondering if when it's on all four walls it will look TOO purply, or even too depressing. (I've tried some lighter grays and beige neutrals which look awful as they all appear gray and gloomy because of the lack of light.) The question is, is it necessarily bad to put a brighter color on the wall than is on the furnishings, or does everything have to be in the same intensity or brightness? I prefer a color that the eye will recognize as a real color rather than white or off-white. By the way, I have a light green on the ceiling and a light green comforter, so I don't want green on the walls, although I know it conveys tranquility.
Answer Hi Ellen
Looks like you are on the right track: using the patterned curtain to try to create a color scheme. If you want "real" color, choose a real color.....tranquility is in the eye of the beholder and it's also not necessary to choose "tranquil" colors for a bedroom. Decorate it how you want. When you love your bedroom, you will feel good.
I'd consider some of the other colors in your curtain fabric you mention: purple, gold, coral, green. Since I cannot see the green you already have, I won't be able to really choose something exact for you.....but I can give you some ideas. Plus, as I mentioned to another poster recently, there are thousands of shades of green, so it's tough to guess what you have on your ceiling and on your comforter. An option: pick a new wall color you LOVE...then change your ceiling color to fit it rather than the other way around if they don't quite work together.
Some ideas for purple, gold and coral from Pittsburgh Paints:
Plum Shade 444-6 or Pale Purple 442-5
Bran Muffin 217-6 or Mecca Gold 214-7
Cranapple 231-5 or Summer Sunset 228-6
Another option is look at the curtain from very far way or squint: what color do you see when they are blended together? It just might be a color from Ellen Kennon Full-Spectrum paints if you are able to get ICi Dulux paint in your area. You can play with the paint colors on this website even though the computer doesn't show them accurately: http://www.ellenkennon.com/art/interactive/ek_paint_v3.html
Take a look at these gorgeous "colorful" neutrals: STONE, Edgewood Green, Cognac, Sage, Lilac Mist.
The beauty of her colors is that they change with the light, and I mean really change. I have them in my house (Gustavian Grey, Violet, and Amethyst). The Gustavian Grey (It's in my living room) changes from almost white to pale grey, light blue, pale aqua, to lavender depending on the light and time of year.
