Painting schemes? or is it scheming paint?

I was running through a fan deck from my friends at Sherwin-Williams (www.sherwinwilliams.com) paint this morning in front of a client and she remarked that the whole idea of picking paint colors stupefies and mystifies her. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to it, she said; and then she went on to relate her sense of being overwhelmed by the process.

Well, that's why she has me. There is nothing arbitrary about color theory, though there is a measure of subjectivity that figures into it. But there are rules to color and good design is conscious of them, even if the designer chooses to ignore them. Kind of like good grammar. I just used a sentence fragment, but it's OK for me to do that because I know it's a sentence fragment. So with my authority thus established, let me delve into some basics about color in general and how those basics relate to interior paints in particular.

Individual colors are described as having hue, value, chroma, shade, tone and tint. Put simply, hue is artist-speak for the actual color it is. Value is a description of how light or dark a color is. Chroma is how bright a color is. Shade describes the addition of black, tone describes the addition of gray and tint describes the addition of white.

Color wheels and circles have been around for centuries, and displaying colors in a circle emphasizes that they bleed into one another endlessly. You know; where red stops, orange takes over. Orange gives way to yellow, yellow to green, green to blue, blue to purple and then purple back to red.

The color wheel is also where we get the classical schemes of how to combine colors in a balanced way. Those basic schemes are monochromatic, complimentary, split complimentary, triad and analogous. There are many more named schemes than these five, but they are a good place to start.

A monochomatic color scheme uses tints and shades of the same color. Using a color like taupe on the walls of the room, a lighter tint of the same color on the trim and a darker shade of the same color on the ceiling is a good example of a monchromatic color scheme.

A complimentary color scheme includes to colors that oppose eachother on the color wheel. The red and green of a pointsettia, the Florida Gators' orange and blue and my old High School's colors of purple and yellow (although we called it gold) are all examples of complimentary schemes.



A split compliment combines hues to the left or right of a color's compliment on the color wheel. The purple, yellow and green of Mardi Gras in New Orleans are a split compliment.





A triad uses three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel. In this example, red-orange, yellow-green, and blue-violet make up the triad. When using a triad in a room or in a home; one of the colors will be dominant, another secondary and the third will be an accent color.



Finally, an analogous color scheme uses consecutive colors on the color wheel. In this example, yellow, yellow-orange and orange combine to form an analogous scheme.





So with some terms now defined, we can move on to how this applies to the real world. I can show you examples of a split compliment and use colors that are easy to see when I'm writing a blog, but who wants a bedroom that looks like a New Orleans King Cake? Colors on a fan deck are far more nuanced and varied than what's shown on the simple color wheels here, but the concepts remain the same. And you needn't rely exclusively on paint colors to achieve a balanced color scheme. Upholstery, carpets, flooring, etc. figure into these equations too.

So if I want to use a split compliment in a dining room, I would choose a light sage-y green for the walls, a creamy yellow for the trim and then upholster the chairs in a lilac print. In approaching a room like that I used another guideline of color schemes called the 60-30-10 rule. 60-30-10 is a simple way to achieve a balanced room. The dominant color should cover 60 per cent of the surfaces in a room. The secondary color should cover 30 per cent and the final accent color should round out a balanced scheme.

If you're selecting this stuff on your own, spring for a color wheel and practice these combinations. If you stick to these basics you cannot make a mistake. Well, it's harder to make a mistake anyway.

Hardware: chapitre deux

I was in a really great older home today. It was a Tudor built in 1922 and it's in a historic neighborhood in Tampa. Older homes are great places to do a little research when I'm trying to put together a plan for someone who's building a new home. Although I was in the Tudor to put together a color plan, some of the photos I took this afternoon will be put to use as inspirations for the newer places I work on.

It is no longer 1920 and houses that are built in 2008 shouldn't try to make it seem like it is. So when I see an older home up close, I'm not looking for ways to imitate it in a newer home. Rather, I look to them to see what lessons I can learn from the people who built them. In 1920, architects and builders had a completely different idea about scale and proportion than most of what you see today. There are lessons galore.

So many times, contemporary homes are built with the idea that more is always better. When in doubt; increase the scale, slap on more ornamentation, and lose whatever sense of serenity a structure has in a sea of more crap. Enough already. Most great vintage homes don't do that. Exceptions abound, but for the most part, an older home that feels like a home does so because of the human-ness of its scale and design. When my 1920s Tudor was built, times were simpler in the sense that people had lower expectations and ornament was expensive and beyond the reach of most people. Too, there was a civic modesty people subscribed to and its demise is clearly evident to anyone who passes through the gates of any suburban enclave in the nation.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Scale is not a difficult thing to demand or get. Even in a gated enclave. A house should fit its lot and not frighten passersby. Proportion isn't subjective and it's not subject to the winds of change. It's also not too much to ask. For more information on this and related topics, our friends over at Taunton Press have dedicated a publishing company to the call for more reasonable building practices. Check them out at http://www.taunton.com/ Pay close attention to the books written by an architect named Sarah Susanka. The woman changed my life and she can change yours too.

Now how does any of this relate to door knobs? I'm not quite sure, but let me try to pull off a graceful segue here.

When I was in the 1920s Tudor this afternoon, what struck me more than anything were the door knobs and hinges that were original to the house and were everywhere. They were simple and elegant and beautiful. When that house was built, the hardware for the doors came from a foundry where men toiled in wretched conditions and they cast bronze using the "lost wax" method that you learned about in social studies in grade school.

The hardware you're going to find in your friendly neighborhood home center is going to be mass produced in China under reprehensible conditions. The conditions there are probably worse than they were in a foundry in the US a hundred years ago, and the artisanal qualities are nonexistent. So what you get for that bargain price is poorly designed dreck and increased trade imbalance with China. So what's somebody with a taste for simple elegance and a social conscience to do?

It's easy, log onto the website of Sun Valley Bronze (http://www.svbronze.com/) or Rocky Mountain Hardware (http://www.rockymountainhardware/) and feast your eyes on the offerings of two companies who still cast bronze using the lost wax method. Minus the horrible working conditions. The door hardware to the upper right is from Rocky Mountain and proves that contemporary settings can still benefit immensely from some old world craftsmanship that doesn't look like a cartoon of old world craftsmanship.

To the left and right are the inside and outside faces of a set of door hardware from Sun Valley Bronze. To feel hand cast bronze is to touch the face of God. Bronze has a tactile quality that's unmatched by any other metal. It been popular since, well, the Bronze Age for a very good reason. It looks good and feels better. I even like the way it smells. Who knew that an alloy of copper and tin could bring such joy to the world?

To the left and below slightly is a set of hardware for French doors that whispers odes to your good taste. To the lower right is a lever handle, and each of these sets is from Sun Valley Bronze. Of course, these photos can't begin to do them justice, so do a little research on your own and find some of these things. You'll be happy you did.

Hardware musings

As I sit and write this tonight, there is a small box in the back seat of my car. That small box has a thousand dollars worth of cabinet knobs and pulls in it. There are 44 individual pieces in the box and that averages out to around 22 dollars per piece. $22 for a cabinet knob doesn't strike me as exorbidant, but then again, I do this for a living and I'm used to seeing prices like that. Add it all up though, and a thousand dollars speaks to me very loudly. That's a lot of money. But good hardware isn't cheap and cheap hardware isn't good.

There was a time in my life when I thought buying three dollar handles at Home Depot was all I needed to know about cabinet handles. I thought that the two-for-one packages of Stanley door knobs was all anyone needed. I had a vague idea that there were more expensive options out there, but they struck me as overkill.

If you are someone who still thinks that way and wants to continue doing so, stop reading now.

The terminally perky show hosts on HGTV call things like hardware "house jewelry," an expression I loathe. Loathe it though I do, it's pretty accurate. There is something about good hardware that broadcasts to the world that you thought about the details in your home. Thinking through the small stuff is what sets apart great homes. When I hear that stupid expression, my mind turns to the stuff at the left by Schaub & Company (http://www.schaubandcompany.com/) and I get over my bad reaction to that term and end up embracing it. That hardware over there is made with real black pearls and Swarovski crystals. It runs counter to they types of things I'm drawn to, but I cannot help but admire the craftsmanship. To see it in person is another thing completely. That "Branch Collection" as they call it, is transcendant. Schaub goes on to showcase some really glorious turns on the very idea of a cabinet knob. In the world of cast brass hardware, these guys rule the roost. In the image to the right is their take on sea creatures. That octopus is beautifully cast, perfectly patina-d and still has a sense of whimsy without descending into cute. This designer thanks them for the cuteness avoidance, even if no one else does.

What makes great hardware great and what separates it from the masses out there is a multi-faceted thing and it's difficult to describe very clearly. Price doesn't always guide you to quality, but quality will almost always be expensive. The hardware in the collection below shows a collection that you will have no difficulty finding knock offs of in a Home Center. Other than faint resemblances, the similarities stop there. The hardware from Schaub will cost more and I can almost guarantee that. But it will also weigh more, feel better in your hand, have a finish that will last for a lifetime and will be better designed. When you buy a less-expensive option, it is imitating things like the Charlevoix collection from Schaub and Company. If you're OK with a knock off, then go buy a knock off, but study the expensive thing they're knocking off so that you can buy a better knock off. However, be warned that the knock offs only immitate the good stuff that sells well. If you're looking for something truly distictive like the Black Pearl series I showed above, you are out of luck, they won't do it. Ditto the prismatic chrome series to the left here. This hardware really does look like jewelry and it is buffed to such a shine that the many facets on the surface of the hardware capture and reflect back whatever colors are in front of them. The first time I saw the hardware to the right I was wearing a light blue shirt. When I stood in front of the knob in question, it appeared to have light blue enamel all over the surface, then I moved and could see the taupe walls of the showroom reflecting back and it appeared to be enameled in taupe. What a great effect, and not something you're likely to find a Home Depot.

And it's late. I haven't covered half of what I wanted to write about. So tomorrow it's going to have to be more hardware musings. Tune in tomorrow and I'll go over some quick guidelines on where to put what and why doorknobs are important in the scheme of things. Trust me, they are.

Kitchen shock and awe --built-in refrigeration

Somebody sent me an e-mail this morning about a built-in refrigerator we'd been planning to use in a kitchen I'm designing. It seems that this person had spent yesterday shopping for appliances and had come to the realization that I was speaking the truth when I told her we were talking about a six thousand dollar option to go with a built-in. When these things are just ideas on paper, they are easier to swallow it seems. When confronted with the thing you're going to keep milk and lettuce in, and that thing has a price tag with so many digits it's a different matter. It's a perfectly understandable reaction to have. I can relate completely.

Her e-mail went on to ask what the deal was with built-in refrigeration in the first place, and what options are out there should they decide against the built-in route. Well, I'll tell you. Here's my promised honors track lesson in refrigeration for the home.

A standard refrigerator is usually 36 inches wide, 72 inches tall and about 30 inches deep. It has finished sides and can be built loosely into a niche or left standing on its own. I live in Saint Petersburg, FL and the idea of a built in fridge is a bit cutting edge here so more often than not, I do what I call a fake built in. I build a 30" deep, 90" or 96" tall enclosure for the sides of the appliance and put a 30" deep cabinet above the appliance. The result is a loosely fitting enclosure for a free-standing fridge that makes it appear to the uninitiated as a built in. However, free standing refrigerators need to have air space around them so they don't overheat. So, they need to have a gap left to either side and above them. This photo shows such an arrangement. If you look closely enough, you can see the air space between the appliance and the cabinetry on all sides. This is as convincing an effect as is possible unless you buy a true built in model.

A built-in refrigerator is a beautiful thing and a great idea if you can swing it and it makes sense in your house. They are not cheap. Ever. A built-in refrigerator will start in the neighborhood of six thousand dollars and go up from there pretty quickly. This beauty from Sub Zero is the Pro 48 and when it came onto the market three years ago it carried a sticker price of $14,000 (http://www.subzero.com/). They are not just expensive for the sheer joy of charging you more, at that level they do everything but peel your vegetables for you. In looking at that photo, you can see the thing that makes all built-ins, regardless of their manufacturers, instantly identifiable. That is the vent grill that's on the face of the appliance. That built-ins vent exclusively through their fronts and not a combination of their backs and bottoms is what allows them to be built in in the fist place. Due to that front ventilation, there is no need for the air space around the appliance and you can get them to disappear more easily. Well, maybe not disappear, but at least not stand out so much. A built-in refrigerator doesn't have finished sides, and it has to be enclosed. That's usually done with cabinetry, though sometimes I seem them sink into niches in the wall.

A built-in fridge is taller than a standard and it's also shallower. A built-in fridge will allow you to have stainless steel doors as in the model shown above, or you can panel them. In the photo to the left, I used a 48" built in refrigerator from KitchenAid. The left side of the appliance is the freezer and the right side is the refrigerator. Every appliance in this kitchen was built in, so it made perfect sense to do the same with the fridge.

Once you decide to go with a built-in fridge though, you have a couple more things to decide beside the obvious one of how big. The refrigerators I've shown so far have had stainless steel door panels. I think they look modern and cool, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm for modern and cool unfortunately. A built in can be paneled in one of two ways and it is a specific model that handles each of these panels, no one model can do both.

The first is what's called a framed panel. I'm showing a framed panel to the left. Panels that match the cabinetry in a kitchen fit into grooves and channels on the face of the appliance. This leaves a refrigerator door that framed with steel, hence the distinction "framed." The upper vent grill can also be made to accept a panel in the same way. This will get you half way there so far as I'm concerned.

If you're going to panel a built-in refrigerator, go whole hog I say and do what we call an integrated panel in the parlance of our friends at Sub Zero. A refrigerator (or freezer for that matter) model that can accept an integrated panel dispenses with the grooves and frames on the door, and leaves no trace of how the panel are attached ot the appliance. It's like magic almost. Most times, integrated refrigeration gets disguised as an armoire or other piece of furniture, and is unidentifiable as a fridge until it's opened. In the photo to the left, the Sub Zero model sits quietly and pretends to be a pantry until it's called into use. Pretty slick of you ask me.

So the long and short of built-in refrigeration is that it's pretty simple to explain, expensive to buy, and unless it's in the hands of a professional, a bloody mess to figure out how to install. Fully integrated, built-in refrigeration like the one shown in the photo to the right is not a project for the do-it-yourselfer. I cannot state that enough times. The learning curve on these things is steep, steep, steep and dealing with them is unfit work for dilettantes and the faint of heart.

Microjive talkin' and some notes on ventilation

Like no other appliance that gets so little use in a typical home, the microwave oven gets a huge amount of attention when people are looking at new appliances. Yet a typical homeowner uses a microwave oven to boil water, make popcorn and reheat the occasional leftover.

However, this nearly useless appliance gets slapped up on a wall over the range in an attempt to make it good for something, namely ventilation. So now in addition to making chicken rubbery and unappealing it pushes a few puffs of stale air around. Over-the-range microwave ovens are lousy ventilation systems and placing them so high above the ground makes them uncomfortable to use as a cooking, or reheating, appliance. If you are considering a kitchen renovation in your future, for the love of God don't hang a microwave oven on the wall.

The dirty secret of the appliance world is that the microwave generator of nearly all microwave ovens sold in the US is made by the same company --Sharp Electronics. What this means in practical terms is that the $1100 microwave oven shown here is virtually identical to the $89 one on sale this weekend at Best Buy. At least so far as the microwave oven part of it goes. The $1100 one has an inefficient and ineffective blower motor in it that somehow explains the additional $1000 added to its price.

Any time I have the chance to undo this horrible crime against humanity and good taste (using an over-the-range microwave oven that is), I take the opportunity to bury one as inconspicuosly as I can. My take on kitchen design is that you should concentrate your expenditures on things that work and things you can see. In the photos here, I'm showing you two examples from kitchens I designed. In the kitchen with white, painted cabinets; I put the microwave oven inside the tall cabinet to the right of the range shown. In the cherry kitchen, the microwave is in the tall cabinet to the right of the photo. In each instance, the homeowners were water boilers as are most people. In each case too, we went to an appliance store and bought a counter top microwave oven for under a hundred dollars. At the time of the cabinetry installation, I had the electrician put an outlet inside of the tall cabinet and that was that.

Now, with the microwave oven safely out of the way we could concentrate on actual ventilation over the cooktop in the cherry kitchen and over the Wolf range in the painted kitchen (www.wolfappliance.com). The cherry kitchen has a 36" electric cooktop underneath it and the painted kitchen, a 48" Wolf dual fuel. An electric cook top doesn't generate the kind of radiant heat that gas does, so it doesn't need quite so powerful a blower over it. The primary function of kitchen ventilation is not to remove smoke and grease as you might think. Though they do that, what they are there for is to remove radiant heat from the room while you're cooking. A pro range cranks out a huge number of BTUs that need to go somewhere or they will increase the ambient temperature in your kitchen to the point of discomfort. The hood over the Wolf range in the painted kitchen is by Independent (www.kitchenhood.com) and it has a 1200 cfm blower motor in it. The motor is actually mounted on the roof so that the noise won't deafen anybody. The only sound that large hood makes is the whistle of the air through its grates on its way out of the house. The cherry kitchen has a cooktop, hood, double wall oven and refrigerator, all by Bosch (www.boschusa.com). An electric cooktop doesn't crank out the same heat as a gas one, and in this kitchen the hood has a 600 cfm blower inside of the hood itself. Parenthetically, the power of a ventilation system is measured in cfms, or cubic feet of air per minute moved by the blower motor.

In addition to freeing you from the bondage of looking like you got your kitchen renovation at Home Depot, not using an over-the-range microwave oven opens up a world of possibilities from an aesthetic point of view. The two kitchens I'm using as an example here used stainless steel chimney hoods. The painted kitchen in particular could have just as easily used a wood hood that matched her cabinetry. A cabinetry hood will make your kitchen look less like a professional kitchen, something a lot of people find appealing.

There are a nearly unlimited range of styles of both chimney and island hoods. A less costly option is to use an under-cabinet hood. An under-cabinet range hood like this one from Kitchen Aid has a powerful enough motor to be effective and it tucks up under the wall cabinets above a cooktop or range. Curiously enough, most building codes don't require that cooking appliances be ventilated. The codes kick in only after you decide to use ventilation. There are reams of rules regarding hood placement, so which one to buy and where to put it are decisions best left to a professional.

So the lesson? No more over-the-range microwave ovens! Bury them at any opportunity.