I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was working with a client who loves color. At our first meeting she told me she loved red, black and purple. She definitely wanted the trim on this 5,000 square-feet new construction white (and there is a lot of trim), and she definitely wanted purple in her dressing area. But other than that, she was very open to how we used color. I was so excited! Nobody ever wants color like that.

This home has a very open floor plan, so it was very important that it flowed. For example, from the front door, you can see the living room, dining room, library and kitchen. You can’t see the rooms in their entirety, but you can see bits of them, so the colors had to work together.

Inspiration came from Royal Doulton Floradora Green heirloom China that she knew she wanted to display prominently, as well as signed prints she owns from the artist Itzchak Tarkay, noted for his use of vivid colors. His paintings and watercolors are reminiscent of the French Deco period.

She told me she was bringing me in because she wanted to use color and have it make sense, not look thrown together like a patchwork quilt.

The size of the home was the biggest challenge to the task. Fortunately, the build was at the point where I could walk through; I didn’t have to rely on the blueprint alone, though I spent a lot of time pouring over it to make sure the colors flowed from room to room. I spent five hours on the paint plan itself — just typing it out, checking and rechecking to make sure everything was correct before it was handed off to the painters.

This client is really a couple of years ahead of the color trends. Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter, a gray, became our neutral, and I believe it will be the “new neutral” as they say, a few years from now. We are using that color in every room in some way. On the China cabinet in the dining room, we’re using it as a high gloss. It is now one of my favorites, as are some of the other colors we are using with it.

Stay tuned for an update on other colors and combos we selected, as well as progress once we get the colors on the walls!