Purple in the Kitchen

I wanted to add these pics to the Decorating With Purple files for added inspiration for those of you flirting wth purple. Purple in the kitchen in not common place but I do like the above sleek and modern kitchen with it's ever so pale purple walls. (via HGTV) Below purple hits the cabinets in high gloss. (via google images)


And last is a fun and creative kitchen in purple, blues and greens. Via MirrorMirror

Purple Wins

There are some of you out there thinking of adding purple to your color scheme. It's a great color and on trend right now. If painting the walls, I prefer grayed down purples for adult rooms and love lavender for a little girls room. If your room gets a lot of light the color you pick will get washed out a bit so you can go a bit deeper or brighter. Just sample your colors and be sure to view the colors not just during the day but at night too. One great way to sample color is not just on the wall but to paint a 3-d object, like a cardboard box and leave it in the middle of the room. This way you get a better feel for the color and how the lighting in your room will alter the color at different times. The transition from day to evening shouldn't be jolting, unless that's what you're going for!

If you want to paint with purple the first thing you need to decide is if you want a warm purple or a cool purple. Purples on the cool side have more blue and on the warm side, more red. You need to think about how you want to feel when you're in the room and also consider what is in the room that is definitely staying. When you pick warm or cool be sure that one or the other takes a larger percentage and it's not 50/50 cool and warm.


Color schemes with purple include using it's complementary color yellow, which will give a big impact or for a subtler look try using purple with grays and silvers. Purple with green is also pretty, think of beautiful Irises and pansies.

Nature knows color best so try picking your palette from nature. I love the virbrant purples in the Iris watercolor by Jana.
You could get your whole palette from this painting. I might suggest the lighter purples to white with a hint of purple for the walls and adding some yellow, green and deeper purple accents.





If you're going with a light and neutral wall color then you can really have a field day with your accessories and add some brighter purples that you wouldn't necessarily want on the walls.

Below are some purples I like from Benjamin Moore-





Below is a room with Pratt and Lambert's color 'Admiral' and trimmed with 'Seed Pearl' both from their muted colors collections.


Here is the same room in Pratt and Lambert's ' Coronation' and trimmed with 'Balsa"

Decorating with Purple

Purple came into favor again during 2007 and continues into 2008. I love the look of some of these rooms found on flickr.com.
Exciting Red and tranquil blue come together to make this color which can denote spirituality, sensuality and even royalty. Purple that has been muted with the addition of gray becomes sophisticated and the softer side of purple, lavendar, can have a very refined and delicate feel.

Pantone selected blue iris 18-3943 as the color of the year 2008, saying the following abut their choice.

"From a color forecasting perspective, we have chosen PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris as the color of the year, as it best represents color direction in 2008 for fashion, cosmetics and home products," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "As a reflection of the times, Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspect of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast. Emotionally, it is anchoring and meditative with a touch of magic. Look for it artfully combined with deeper plums, red-browns, yellow-greens, grapes and grays."

Blue Iris is also one of the 3,000 colors available in Pantone’s line of superior-quality, eco-friendly paint. PANTONE PAINTS combine the accuracy of PANTONE Colors with the beauty of high-performance Dutch paints. Painting a wall in Blue Iris will add an elegant level of composure with a touch of dynamism to any room."






For a color consultation in the San Francisco Bay area contact Jill Clarkson Color + Design. jill.clarkson@comcast.net