Jacquie Severs

My sister is painting her house. She has wisely hired a professional to do it - with some wide open spaces and....oh, nevermind. I was going to explain why hiring a professional for difficult spaces is a good idea, but really, it's always a good idea to hire professional painters if you've got the cash. They really do the best work. And if you are going to be doing dramatic colours or have colours meeting eachother on the same wall (say, at a corner) then it's probably for the best, because the tiny details can make all the difference.

I've been helping her consider some colour changes in her home and in conversation she asked me if I thought she could go with a deep cool teal green in her dining room, which is opposite, and open to, her yellow kitchen. I definitely think this can work - but the yellow in her kitchen is a bit too sunny - like a Hansa Yellow on the colour wheel below. Because a deep blue green like Aegean Teal by Benjamin Moore has what I like to call a "muddy" tone, I think her yellow will need one as well.

What do I mean by "muddy"? Well, all colours are combinations of dyes and natural elements. Colours aren't always warm or always cool. There are even cool reds! While yellow is warm, by conventional wisdom, it can also have cool variations. As you can see on the colour wheel at left, yellow sits between green and orange. If the yellow leans more to the orange side, it is warm, and if it leans the green direction, it's cool.  The combination I'm talking about in this post is in the ballpark of the Phthalo Blue and Cadmium Yellow shown on the wheel.

You have to be sure to pick a warm, orange based yellow against green/blue, or the yellow will look even more green and acidic.  Cold colours and warm colours can mix in a lovely, dynamic way and because my sister already has beiges and rusty reds as accents, keeping that antique tone to all her colours will really make it work. In essence, with a yellow beige base, she is adding primary colours: yellow, red, blue. In the primary palette, there are two warm colours and one cool. In her house, she would be doing the same thing, though with muddy (think velvet curtains in a castle,  not kindergarten playground) tones of these colours. Her red is just an accent in this scenario, limited to a chair and some wall art. The whole area - the dining room and kitchen - have white cabinets and fire surround, so the colour won't be too overwhelming.

Whichever way she decides to go, I'm now totally inspired by the mustard yellow and muddy teal combination and I made the below moodboard to work it out a bit more in my mind.

(click to see full size)

White always sets off yellow in such a lovely, clean way. The teal against the golden tones looks fresh and modern.  I really love this combination!