How to Choose Paint Colors: Video 1 of 2
It’s the new year, are you ready for a fresh start! Paint is the easiest and most economical way to dramatically transform the look and feel of your home interior.
San Francisco interior designer, Kimball Starr, is featured as the paint color expert for home interiors in a guest appearance on the nationally televised series of PBS “Creative Living with Sheryl Borden”. In this 2-part segment, the award winning San Francisco interior design expert, known for her playful and fearless use of color, shares tips on how to pick paint colors for your home interior.
In this first video, Kimball explains the difference between warm and cool colors, and uses a San Francisco residential interior she decorated as an example of how to create color flow and continuity throughout multiple rooms inside a home.
And here’s the second part of How to Choose Paint Colors: Video 2 of 2
Below is the transcript of the video:
♪[music]♪
– [announcer] With your host, Sheryl Borden.
– [Sheryl] Thank you so much for being with us today, Kimball. We’re going to
talk about color, and, you know, a third grader usually learns about color,
the color wheel, and colors opposite, and what it all means. But when you’re
making an investment like we will in our homes, we wanna know what we’re going
to put together, and that we will really feel good about it when it’s done. So
how do you either caution people, or make them feel… sure about it. My
husband would always want white walls. That’s the only things he
would, you know, want to use.
– [Kimball] He’s a minimalist. [laughs]
– A minimalist, I guess that’s it. So, how do ya go about it?
– Well, I’m really excited to be talking about color, because it’s really my
favorite thing in interiors. It just… it’s just fantastic. Color can effect
you physically and psychologically. As you probably know, colors can make you
tired, they can make you happy, they can make you angry…
[laughs] … they can make you depressed, and they can make you feel joyous.
– Uh-huh.
– So, with picking colors, first it’s important to understand the difference
between warm and cool colors. So, we have warm colors on this side, and cool
colors on this.
– Mm-hm.
– So to understand warm colors, think of things such as… attached to the
Earth, or a sunset. So reds, and oranges, and yellows. And these colors make you
feel very energized, and they’re very happy colors.
– Mm-hm.
– And then cool colors are things associated with the sky and the ocean. So your
blues, your dark greens and your purples. And you’ll notice that I have two
greens here, and green can either be warm or cool. If it has more yellow in it,
it tends to be a warm color.
– Oh, or if it has more blue. I see. Yeah.
– That’s right. Whereas this would be a cool color.
– Mm-hm. So the basics, that’s where we need to start.
– That’s right, ‘cuz I didn’t-, I wasn’t as lucky. In third grade I didn’t learn
anything about color. I think it was, like, my 20’s.
– Uh-huh. [laughter]
– Well, that’s probably true.
– So, when you’re choosing color, the important things to think about are the
quality of the natural light in the room, and the artificial light because it
changes throughout the day.
– Mm-hm.
– Also, what mood do you wanna set? And, what are the existing furnishings, ‘cuz
you’re not gonna throw out the sofa just because you painted a color that
doesn’t match.
– Right. Mm-hm.
– You want to-, ideally, choose the paint last, because you’ve already purchased
all your furnishings, and that’s the harder thing to change. Paint-
– And the most expensive.
– That’s right.
– Uh-huh.
– Paint is the easiest thing to change.
– Yeah.
– And then, also think about what are the adjacent spaces that are next to the
room that you’re painting, ‘cuz you want there to be a flow throughout your
house.
– Oh, mm-hm.
– So — and here I have a dining area where I’ve chosen this color. And we’ll
just move these aside —
– Okay.
– … and show you this, kind of, burnt harvest color. And it’s mixed…
– It’s a very warm room.
– Yes, it’s very warm. It’s mixed with this color for the ceiling, and then to
really accent the trim, a bright white.
– Oh, uh-huh.
– And, oranges are great for a dining area. Oranges and reds. They elicit
appetite. As you notice, a lot of fast food places, they always use orange and
reds.
– Uh-huh. Yes, uh-huh.
– And they help with conversation. They can be passionate, so choose your dinner
guests wisely. [laughter] And… they create a feeling of warmth and intimacy.
– Mm-hm.
– So… moving on to- And this is all-
I’m gonna show you a couple rooms that are all within the same space.
– Mm-hm.
– So, actually, if we keep those colors here, we can see how they all flow
together. So we have…
– Oh.
– … the adjacent space
– Uh-huh, the blue.
– That’s right.
– Uh-huh.
– So it links.
– And the white.
– That’s right.
– Yeah.
– So we have oranges on one wall of the room, and then we have this color as the
ceiling and the trim.
– Mm-hm.
– And the linking color between, so there’s the living area, and then this far
wall. So the linking color is this.
– Sort of subtly goes. It goes from one, and blends it into the next.
– That’s right. It links. And then we have the bay window, which it’s accented
with this really dark-
– Um, down on the bottom, uh-huh.
– Now I wouldn’t do a whole wall. In this particular situation, I wouldn’t
do a whole wall on that. That would be very dark.
– Uh-huh.
– Although, that is very chic to do that now. But I don’t think it’s appropriate
for this space.
– Uh-huh.
– So it’s just used in a very small portion right down here.
– Mm-hm. It’s more of an accent.
– That’s right.
– Mm-hm.
– And then for the wall where the office is, we lighten it up and have this
blue.
– Mm-hm.
– And then, I’ll show you the adjoining bedroom, that’s down the hall, and
how… it all flows together.
– Again, it’s going to flow together.
Kimball Starr is an expert paint color consultant who has been featured on television and published in several hardcover design books. The award-winning San Francisco designer showcases work highlighting both bold and subtle paint colors to capture natural light and desired mood.