Vancouver Colour Consultant; How to choose the right Beige

Call me. I know, I sound like a total self promoter, but here is the thing; my client (in this house below I’m about to show you) spent months knowing there was something wrong with the colour in her kitchen/great room, and as soon as I pointed it out, she saw it and now she is happy.


And I want everyone to walk into their home and be filled with happiness because you KNOW that your colour is right. This is the entry [above] to her home with the fall colours of her landscaping!


This house is in West Vancouver and has the most stunning view, I wish I could have shown it to you. Here are her gorgeous flower pots right outside the front door!
We started the consult in the actual living room--as is usually the case. This is generally the room that sets the tone and the flow for the entire house, we usually spend the most time here because sometimes accent colours need to be chosen and many times (certainly if the room is empty) we need to do some space planning. Can’t buy furniture until you know which pieces and where to put it.

Some people go for years without living room furniture because they don’t want to make a mistake. And what do people do when they don’t know and don’t want to make a mistake? Same as me, nothing.
Anyways, this living room did not require my help, I loved the way the toss cushions tied in the artwork! The entire house was painted Bleeker Beige HC-80. She was re-painting a few rooms so I was there to make sure that if we were leaving this colour anywhere it’s because it was the right one.


After running through a few options, it became clear that she did have the right colour in her living room, entry, and hallways. This photo [above] was taken by my client towards the end of the day so it’s darker in the room, but you can still see that the colour works nicely with her sofa in addition to the fact that her fireplace tile was also a greeny beige which tied in with the colour there as well.


Here is her kitchen. This was also taken at night so it’s [the colour] not as obvious as it would have been otherwise (when I was there during the day there was work being done nearby so the counters were dusty, etc).


Here is the great room attached to the kitchen. My client had bought this beautiful sectional, and the fabric which was a tweed; close up looked yellowy brown but overall the read of the fabric dictated that the wall colour have a pink [red] undertone. You can easily see in the above photo that the beige on the walls (still the Bleeker Beige) was too green. The solution?


On the screen it certainly doesn’t look right and I wish I had a photo of the large sample sitting behind the sofa but you’ll have to trust me that it was perfect. And such a happy coincidence that this same colour tied in with the kitchen cabinets. Currently the green undertone simply made the cabinets look pinker than they needed to. Red and green are complementary colours so green next to pink makes it look even more pink.
Pinky beige is not always bad by the way (anyone reading this blog knows it’s not my favourite colour) mochas are warm and a lot of people love them. It’s all context with colour and in this house, it was the perfect colour to tie everything together.
When I work with clients that have been reading my blog, it’s really great because they immediately understand my lingo when I start talking about the undertones of beige. People feel like they already know me before I get to their house. It makes the consultation that much more fun (well for me anyways).
Email me (or call me if you are local) for more information if you are interested in an on-line or in-person consultation.

Question in the comments: You didn't tell us how to choose a beige? The answer; it takes years of colour specifying (or at the very least, a course with me) to be able to see all the undertones of beige. That's why I said 'call me' when I started this post. Bottom line, we think beige is boring when it clashes with other beige colours in the room. You cannot mix different undertones of beige and as another commenter said, they are the hardest to get right.

Related posts:
What Everyone should know About Beige
The Difference between an experienced Colourist and a Novice
The only time to use a Personal Colour Viewer
5 Designer secrets that will Make or Break your Paint Colours
Should you pay for a room to be re-painted if you Chose the Colour?