Devine Color's Blog

What makes a paint color "tailor-made?"

I will admit (and so will others) that when it comes to color, I am very picky. I will custom tailor wall color choices to fit so perfectly in a room that it keeps people from repainting for years. My clients always say, "Gretchen, I still love my colors!" The best and quickest advice I can give you about choosing wall color is to ask yourself this: “would you wear that wall colored shirt with those pants?” What are the pants? Your wood, natural stone, and other non-negotiable surfaces are your pants!   

Above is a picture of a beautiful room, but the lavender on the walls is not a shirt color you would wear with this particular wood-color pair of pants! This is a kind of lavender you would see on a sales rack with spring colors, cool grays, and fresh whites, not with the earthy rich straw golden hues you see in the warm natural wood.

 Below is a warm version of a purple color that looks like it is tailor made to go with caramel…I would deem it Devine!

I have been called an avid color chess player, one that can anticipate what a wall color ahead of time and prevent an ill fit. The wrong wall color, while easily correctable, can sour a design experience. At the end of the day, this is what drove me to craft artistic paint palettes that honor my desire for strong and healthy color relationships that are predictable and perfect. For a color like this see Devine Bavarian and Devine Twilight.

 

 

Art in Portlandia

I had a fun date night with my husband the other night. We went to an art show and had dinner at The Nines, where we sat at the bar next to Silas Weir Mitchell, the werewolf from "Grimm." When I asked him if Grimm had been picked up for a second seasn he said, "it's up to the 'suits'." It's that kind of town. Portland has drawn much of our nation's attention with shows like Grimm, Leverage, and the ever-so-clever Portlandia.  By now everyone knows that in Portland we like to "put a bird on it" and call it art, we can pickle anything, and young people come here to retire. Here are a few snapshots of the night to give you a feel that the dream of the 90's is still alive in Portland.

The Nines Hotel, in the old Meir and Frank building, pays homage to its retail past with nude mannequins.

The Urban Farmer Restaurant in The Nines shows off with pickling pride.

I bird Portland!


We color walls to see art better...

We have a way more "love" than hate relationship with rain.

This is why I love this paper raincoat...

Bbert Goo had a lot to say with words.



While Kendra Binney didn't have to use words at all....

What can you expect from a town who had Bud Clark as mayor.  He commuted to work by bicycle, and was known for his distinctive cry of "Whoop, Whoop!" Outside of Portland, Clark is perhaps best known as the raincoat-wearing model for a 1978 poster titled "Expose Yourself to Art", in which he appeared to expose himself to a nude female public statue, Kvinneakt, in downtown Portland.

Nothing says Welcome to Portland like this!

 

 

You had me at Mauve

What I love about this colorful environment is the how mauve comes across as a strong, bold, unapologetic extrovert color. While Americans can’t get passed their association of mauve with 1980’s pastels, or how it was coupled with baby blue in tiny floral wallpaper patterns, here it is shown as a contemporary warm neutral that allows other colors to rest and relax. Berry, wine, and chocolates melt in your eyes. Pops of turquoise look like pools of water. Check our Devine Pebble, Devine Canyon and Devine Brick, my trend-proof versions of mauve.

Thank you Captivated By Image for giving me a picture I can put words to!

For more mauve inspiration, read Devine Color Magazine VOL 2 under Color Wisdom

Also, check out what Porter House Design has to say....

 

Color Destination: You had me at Qigong

I recently did a clients home and she mentioned that a room she had downstairs was a Qigong room. I said, "are you kidding, Qigong?...I love Qigong." I felt like I was Jennifer Aniston in Office Space when she says she loves Kung Fu.  Yes, I do Qigong and love it. I do color and love it. This was new construction. I will be posting "after" pictures later. In the meantime, here is how the color story goes...

At the end of the day, she was beside herself with great Chi.

Devine Color Monthly Magazine: Vol 2 2012

 

I was utterly inspired by the idea that we are marching ahead in 2012 with colors that embrace a desire for making our dreams come true and turning our disadvantages into opportunities. We want to be light enough to fly and bright enough to shine. As we head into spring, trend is floral,  tangerine, tribal, not as much trivial as it is light-hearted. For more go to Devine Color Magazine.

Still in love with Devine, after 11 years

 I got a new camera and I have been going a bit crazy with it. I am trying to learn as much as I can about it so I can record the Devine experience for you. I have been lucky to have a couple of clients (and now friends) to let me record their Devine experience. What flabbergasted me was that they were some of the first clients I had worked with and had used my paint, and I had forgotten why we had chosen the colors and HOW LONG AGO IT WAS….I still think of myself as 40!

 

Here are the fantastic pictures of the rest of the home done in Devine Shell, her master bedroom and bathroom in Devine Mocha & Date. The video will show you how 11 years ago I walked into her home when she was in the middle of a color crisis, and has never had one ever since. (Except when we did her exterior last summer and she and her husband Rich could not agree on a color, she won).

 

Ceiling, ceiling on top...who is the fairest?

My dear friend Michelle De Courcy (yes, the Michelle who designs beautiful clothing for stars and clients) recently painted her fireplace Devine Buffalo at the suggestion of her besty friend, Melanie Sessions (yes, that Melanie who's home was voted "people's fave" at the 2011 Portland's Street of Dreams.). Melanie knew it was the perfect color to give the fireplace the attention it needed. But then, we all need attention. Perfect as the room is, with a sunken living space, seating arrangement that hosts lots of colorful conversations and lots of colorful art (I should have taking a picture of her kitchen: white marble, white cabinets, 2kill4), I took the liberty to take it one step further and imagine color on the ceiling. Not just a light shade to keep things light but a rich color to give the room the attention it's begging for, so I went for it. After all it's only a suggestion, and as they say, "it's only paint."  But Devine colors are so much more than only paint...

I'm Peachy Keen, Thanks For Asking!

 

My husband loves the color "peach". He fondly remembers it being the color du jour at the Four Seasons Hotels for many years. I was not surprised to still find the color peach is alive and well at the Four Seasons, and continues to survive through renovations and trends. Devine has the kind of peach colors that transcend time and make your mouth water with rich flavor.

Color Advice 101: When white needs light and dark needs color!

Look at this picture: white walls with dark rich furniture and floors. I hear this all the time, "Because everything is already dark, shouldn't my walls be light"?

 

The difference between beautiful white walls paired up with dark colors but ending up with cold impersonal white walls is lighting and balance. Unless you toss in lots of light and white hues among your deep right belongings to balance lights and darks, white walls will seem divorced from your environment. Unless you have exceptional lighting, walls look dingy--like you smoked a lot. This was a huge problem in for Northwest (with it's gray skies nine months out of the year) until Devine came along. Devine colorizes light through artistic palettes and exclusive sheens that balance our interior design dreams with color.

 

Here is the deal: The fact that one buys a lot of dark rich things leads me to believe that they LOVE dark rich things....so the answer to their wall color dilemma is always color--not fearing the dark!

These are the Devine solutions I came up with for this client. It left her with a smile on her face and the confidence to plunge ahead into deeper waters.

 

Her Devine Palette A: Devine Glass, Fescue, Moss, Steamer, Georgette, Rain, Ginger, Sarsaparilla,

Her Devine Palette B: Devine Latte, Sumatra, Macadamia, Bison, Denim, Roast, Ginger, Spice

Great thing about Devine is that she can mix and match any of my suggestions to create an artist palette of her own. Here is if she used Devine Gator for trim...now that would be fearless but stunning, wouldn't it?

Red, Wise, and Blue

A house of blues of a different kind: Some will say that blues are aloof, and cold but blues can be warm, and hospitable. Blue walls can allow you sprinkle many colors together, like confetti, to liven up a space. Whether it's with a mix of current trend colors (in pillows), or old traditionals (see rug), "having the blues" can be a reason to party while leaving the pity out.

Colors below are Devine Truffle on the cabinets, Devine Saffron on the soffit, and Devine Pool on the walls.