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 planning to use terracotta color ceramic tiles in my bathroom and am having a had time trying to find a color for my sink, tub and toilet. White seems just to white and bone/linen colors do not seem to match. My grout is also going to be a terracotta color. Can you make any suggestions?
Answer Hi Donna
First, when you say "match" you mean either match (same hue) the terracotta or do you mean coordinate? You CAN have colored fixtures to either match or contrast: check this article by Kohler- http://www.us.kohler.com/planning/detail.jsp?aid=1126632964787
For coordinating with other colors, terracotta is very, very versatile. Use Mexican-Latin-Moorish design as inspiration. If you live in a geographic location where there is not a lot of terracotta design ideas, try the library, looking up "Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine" or "Tucson Home" magazines to start. Another excellent inspiration is a book called "Mexicolor" (On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mexicolor-Spirit-Mexican-Tony-Cohan/dp/0811818934)
You will notice that in Mexico, Spain and countries bordering the Mediterranean , terracotta tiles and the color is treated as a neutral foil of many other colors. This is typical in the Southwest US as well, so look for inspiration in Santa Fe design as well.
I hope this helps!
Rebecca
