Sunday, June 27, 2010

Color Consulting making a small space seem larger.


I was asked by a friend to assess her newly acquired leased office space. It was a great find having 5 inch crown molding, three offices, a conference room, storage/breakfast room, and a fabulous reception area capped in granite. We were a little claustrophobic due to the color combination the former tenants had selected. They chose burgundy crown and pea brown walls. YUCK! They may have utilized left over paint from a prior job; they were in construction. But to service the environment of which you work daily, try not to cheap out 100%

We played with a color combination coming from the granite. The granite highlighted natural earth tones. In this case, salmon, grays, persimmon, black, and cream.

We primed the molding and walls. The walls were painted in a soft creamy peach accentuated with a satin cream on the molding. The walls behind the reception demands a bit of drama, therefore, the area was given a texture with a skip-pool trowel finish, color washed with peaches, butterscotch, and cream, then glazed with an umber/sienna glaze. The area underneath the reception area had raised 1970s panels. We primed and painted the panels in a complimenting color to the color wash behind the reception area. I took a plum bob and chalk lined diamonds painting them alternating colors, glazed the diamonds with the same glaze utilized on the reception fauxed wall and added architectural accents in the middle of the cross hairs.

Conference room: I skip-pool troweled the conference room and added colors of purple, burgundy, plum, green, blue, and golds. After blending all of the colors, glazed the wall with an umber glaze. The remaining walls in the conference area were painted a mushroom color.

The little offices were painted a cream paint with one accent wall. One office had a soft airy blue and the other a sage green. These are tiny offices that will accommodate one person and their computer, desk, and an opposing chair.

My friend's office: I pool troweled the walls, sanded, primed, and painted two coats of a soft airy blue/gray. Once the paint cured, I added a metallic dry brush application followed by an umber glaze. The room shimmered but was subdued due to the umber glaze. Behind her desk, I installed a checkerboard pattern utilizing 1x1 square luan tiles painted in opposing sheens of blue/gray and silver all glazed.

The storage/breakfast area was given a couple of coats of cheery sherbet orange. The cabinets are white which offers a clean and upbeat area for retrieving copies, collations, coffee, etc....

Just a bit of color, innovation, and elbow-grease and you can transform a mundane environment into one of which you are eager to enter daily. I will post pictures this week.

Happy painting!

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