I was riding the Metro yesterday, catching up on my magazine reading (I can barely keep up with Domino), and something in the December ’08 issue of Metropolitan Home caught my attention.
In a recurring side article called, “What the Pros Know,” Miami designer (and Met Home’s Miami City editor) Nisi Berryman says this:
“It’s a challenge to live with color and not feel like you’re in a cartoon….When you have strong, saturated colors, it’s important to tone it down with some whites, neutrals, and metallic touches….With paint, if it doesn’t work, it’s so easy to do it over.”
Then she says that it’s the VALUE (intensity, saturation) of the color that’s important: “When it gets too deep, the color just starts to recede.”
The larger article, entitled, “Tickled Pink,” has some pretty amazing pictures of Ms. Berryman’s color-infused house. It’s an interesting case study for those who like strong colors but aren’t sure how to use them.
It’s worth noting that it took Ms. Berryman several tries to get her dining room color right. (She finally settled on a bright purple.)
Gee, what designer worth her salt would have trouble with her own paint colors? I have absolutely no idea…
If you happen to be in Miami, visit Ms. Berryman’s store, NIBA, at 39 NE 39th Street. I’ve been there, and it gives you an even better sense of her work with color. Picture note: the Met Home cover is from January ’09, not December ’08, where the “Tickled Pink” article appears.