I know it sounds like I think I’m a rock star or something, but I am pretty excited about this tour. I mean, I only finished this room seven months ago, but back then I was carrying a 700 lb baby in my belly and couldn’t muster the strength to really show you around the place. I also couldn’t tie my own shoes, however that’s another story.

Fast forward half a year and I’m down to my pre pregnancy weight, we just did sleep training and the dude is not keeping me up all night (don’t judge — he’s still keeping me up most of the night), and occasionally I even leave the house to do photoshoots and decorating consults. Like a regular person. By myself. I’d say I pretty much own the world. Let’s celebrate in living color.

This teeny tiny room was used as the formal dining room by the previous owners. Behold:

Yes, it is the same room. Scary indeed. As you can see a full size oval dining table doesn’t even fit lengthwise, so we decided to repurpose this room and use the dinette as our primary dining space. That space is fraught with its own issues, but we’ll deal with them another time since I promised no kitchen talk today… (but look, you can see the kitchen from here).

Ultimately we would like this room to function as an office, but for now it’s actually a playroom. I moved the big wheels out of the picture just for you.

I was kind of going for an old school library look, so Sanders helped me choose some mega dark paint (Benjamin Moore Dark Harbor). Then I added flanking shelves in matching glossy paint, swing arm sconces, and of course my crazy lady painting.

I love her.

Somehow this room has become the repository for all the weird antique things I own. Grab a drink and get cozy, because for some reason I thought you might want to see every single item on my shelves.

On the other side of the room you can maybe kinda almost see my new hall wallpaper…

The styling looks like a dirt sandwich because I’m too afraid to hang anything on the paper. Maybe my new print?

My cat is obsessed with that chair, therefore it is always littered with leaves. I would love to reupholster our vintage rosewood couch and chair someday, but I will probably let the kids and pets totally destroy it first.

This room is great grandmother approved. I hope you enjoyed it, too.

What do you say: should I post more tours?

They take a long time to work up so pretty please leave a comment if you want to see more of this kind of stuff.

Or maybe you just want to talk kitchens?

I just want you to love me. Let me make you happy.

[all images copyright ERIN WILLIAMSON]

Yesterday I had dreams of meticulously cataloging our bedroom with my camera. To that end I hid all the extra pillows required to comfort a huge pregnant belly to sleep. I stuffed the cardboard boxes full of maternity clothes into the bathroom (I patently refuse to integrate that disgusting crap into my actual wardrobe). I made up the bed. And then… I was tired. Exhausted, actually. Apparently I only have about 30 good minutes left in a day before I start getting shaky and weird.

But I am a warrior, so I took a few pictures anyway — just not as many (or as mind bendingly awesome) as I had hoped for. But pictures, nonetheless. Let’s do this.

First of all, THANK YOU SANDERS! for enduring sample harvest 2012, in which I set out to try every Benjamin Moore color ever made. I’m actually really happy with Dior Gray. Sometimes it’s purple, sometimes bluish, sometimes just gray. Always soothing and comforting.

So, this is not the ultimate configuration for our tiny bedroom… the rocker will probably get switched out and I need new lampshades and I did not style the space at all.

But you know what? I don’t like a lot of shit cluttering up my space. It makes me nervous. And while I’ve been in a mad rush to acquire big basic pieces before baby arrives, I do believe in slowly collecting only accessories that you really really love. So it will all get there. Someday.

But let’s talk about that ho-tastic bedding. You know, I don’t buy a lot of brand spanking new stuff. I like vintage, thrift, antiques. But I draw the line at undies and bedding. I mean, if you want to get crabs and bedbugs that’s your decision. Me, I like the delicious feeling of unconquered territory when I lay me down to sleep.

That meant new bedding, because my old linens were looking pretty haggard. I’m not sure how I feel about those crazy coral sheets — I did order a new set in “blush,” hoping they might be a little less HEY STRIPPER!. And then there is the giant faux lynx blankie. Practical? Yes. It will hide a multitude of sins, like leaves and maybe even baby vomit.

But maybe I like it better without?

Or with? I’m on the fence. It’s twin size so I could always use it to cover Ike’s new big boy bed or a sofa.

Anyway, that’s what I have going on so far. I didn’t really buy anything except for paint, Ikea linen curtains and bedding, so it wasn’t an exorbitant makeover. I painted the frame around the Pop Chalee print… I think that’s it. Minimal effort sans the endless repainting.

Ok, so maybe not minimal effort.

In case you’re wondering, all the bedding came from Overstock and it was super cheap. I think I got a bedskirt, sheets, new pillows and the fur blanket for $200. Not bad.

What’s bad is that our bed looked like this for five minutes before Ike came in and tore everything up in a mad frenzy of trampoline inspired gymnastics.

And that’s why I can’t have anything extra nice. So this will have to do.

I’m off to cut mats and other unfun stuff.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

*** UPDATE ***

I forgot to include a before pic…

My eyes!

I really, truly appreciated all your thoughtful comments and feedback on my last post. Leopard rug is scheduled to arrive Monday, so more updates on that soon. In the meantime, so many of you asked for the paint color I used in the front room that I thought I should repost it with the name of the color.

It’s Benjamin Moore Dark Harbor, mixed 25% darker.

Let me just take a minute to say that I am a picky mofo. I can tear perfection into a million imperfect pieces. That’s why Sanders is such a gem. In case you just started reading or don’t remember, Sanders is the paint genius who manages my local Benjamin Moore — he’s also the brains behind the Ask Sanders column. Without him I would I have hideous turquoise walls that make me cry angry tears of anger.

If you live in Austin or thereabouts (one reader drove up from San Antonio just to meet with Sanders!), go see him before he starts his own paint consulting empire and starts charging for his advice. He’s that good.

Plus look at his sweet little face! I love me some Sanders.

 Moving on: more Dark Harbor pictures. Wish I’d thought to shoot this with a color card so it would be truly accurate, but I think this is close. It goes from navy to almost billiard green, and everything in between.

Can’t believe I am posting this horrible picture, but it’s been raining forever so I haven’t had a chance to reshoot without all the toys. I think I took one picture of this side of the room and gave up because it is a pita to shoot without off camera lighting. Anyway, you can see that DH does go a lot lighter when faced with direct sun.

While we’re all staring at this dumb picture, let’s talk about built in shelving. The front room is teeny tiny, so to save space I really wanted to build a nook around the sofa, kind of like this:

But with far less beige… Anyway, there are two problems. First, the chair rail. Yes, we can remove it, but blending in the texture is going to be a job x infinity. Second, I don’t know if we have enough depth on that side of the doorway — it’s about 12.” Any advice on how to handle this? Ideas?

Once again I am depending on you to solve all of my problems.

Why not get busy with world peace while you’re at it?

If you are a paint snob like moi you know all about full spectrum paint — paint that uses double the number of pigments and no black to project a magic crystalline rainbow upon your walls. On countless blogs I have heard acolytes preach the holy gospel of Donald Kaufman and Ellen Kennon, but I attend the church of Sanders P. Gibbs III and that meant no fancy full spectrum paint for me… until Monday.

Custom mixed Donald Kaufman color on the walls.

Yes, you busters are probably wondering where your paint update is, because that bizness should already be underway, right? Wrong. Sanders called Monday morning telling me not to panic, but Benjamin Moore just released their line of full spectrum paints, called Color Stories.

Holy $%^$&^*! More choices!!! Well of course I panicked (duh). And then I ordered up a billion samples to complete the crazy quilt that is my living room wall situation.

Verdict: complete and utter obsession. I’m not sure if I just like the colors better, or if I was smitten (once again) with the Aura paint base, or if there truly is something magical and sparkly amazing about full spectrum paints, but I must have it in my life. Must. Have. It.

Here’s the color I settled on… no really, I’m sure.

Sander’s cut it to a 50% formula for me (by HAND because he doesn’t trust the computer!) since it went dark on my walls. At 50%, it’s light and airy — a little orangey, a little pink. Totally peachy keen.

Paintocalypse it scheduled for Thursday. Stay tuned for updates.

I went to visit Sanders yesterday so he could pick the perfect paint color for me, and when I told him I had a north facing, shady room with high ceilings, this is what he chose to go with my flooring sample:

It’s called Pashmina, and it’s a medium gray/brown. Pretty, but not exactly the white I was hoping for.

Here it is in another room I ran on the color analyzer thingamajig doohickeywopper.

It’s nice, right? But maybe too dark? Maybe not?

When I told Sanders I wanted white, he shook his head in the wrong direction… he did give me a few lighter samples, but they all looked like dingy shitballs when I held them up to the walls at New House. Here is the best of the light samples he gave me:

It’s called Deep in Thought, and I am deeply thinking it looks better in these rooms than it will in mine.

What do you think? Whiteish or medium greige?

I’m going back to visit Sanders again today, but I’ll tell you now that he’s pretty much always right.

Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s Sanders! Austinites from all over the city regularly travel down south to meet with Sanders, the super skilled, superhero of paint. Readers of this very blog have even benefited from his knowledge by taking advantage of Sanders’ expertise in our Ask Sanders column. And today this interview I conducted with him near the start of our working relationship is being featured over here by Benjamin Moore.

That’s because Sanders is the man.

Karly and I have worked with Sanders for years, and without his super help, I’m not sure either of us would have ever painted a single wall. But just look how awesome our houses turned out:

Karly’s nursery — a symphony in Harbor Gray (and lots of other colors).

My house — painted with Abalone gray and BM’s gold metallic paint.

You can check out the rest of our houses here and here to see some of Sanders’ other perfect paint choices. That’s right. I said the P word.

Did I mention that Sanders is also a nice guy and fun to hang out with?

Here he is with Ike when Ike was just a little shrimp. Sanders has two kids of his own, including a six month old, so he never gets mad when Ike won’t stop messing with the water dispenser at the store.

If you don’t live in Austin — well you’re missing out on Sanders’ charm, that’s for sure. But you can still write in with your questions, which we will review for inclusion in our ongoing Ask Sanders column. Just drop us a line at hollaback@design-crisis.com and we’ll see what we can do.

See? Sanders transcends space and time. He really is a superhero.

The paint problem has reached fever pitch. I awoke to about 500 sample swatches painted all over Ike’s walls and had a major WTF?! moment this morning. Should I pick light Stonington Gray and just dewit, or should I pick a medium gray and hope that it will balance out the jumble of white and mahogany furniture I have amassed? Or should I go with the sample Sanders sent home with me yesterday, as seen in a very fancy Austin home featured in House Beautiful:

Oooooo, the dark! (and eeeeeewww, that bedskirt!)

Sanders gave me a pint of Wolf by Pratt and Lambert (they sell P&L paints over at his store) and it’s gorgeous. But dark. Verrrrrrry dark. Too dark for a nursery/playroom? Too dark for what may be the best lit room in the house? Too dark for my tiny cojones? I just don’t know. But I like it.

Meanwhile, Karly is all like, why are you painting over the blue? I like the blue. And I’m like… duuuurrrrr… I don’t know. I’m so tired of a toddler trying to climb up the ladder behind me and rub his tiny grabby hands in paint (he has succeeded only once) that I am wondering the very same thing myself.

Except that, I don’t actually like blue. The hormones made do it. The second I found out I was having a boy, I was all BLUE ROOM!!!!

Gross. Not that there’s nothing actually wrong with blue, since it’s the most adored color in the world — there’s something wrong with me. (it’s not you, it’s me. promise.)

Anyway, I need to take the day to reassess my motives. Light and kid friendly, dark and brooding, light with a dark accent wall (sounds very noncommittal at this point, which is somewhat appealing but also annoying), or some kind of medium neutral gray.

All advice and support is appreciated. You guys are the bestest support group for painting freaks ever.

Not that you are a freak or anything… but our tagline does say that Design Crisis is the fix for your creative compulsions.

So there you have it.

Our house looks like an earthquake hit — you couldn’t find any survivors in here if you tore up the house with a crane. Perhaps I am waxing a little heartless and cruel (what with all the natural disasters going around of late) but I think you catch my drift. It’s rully messy in here.

Why, you ask? Because after a record shattering eight glorious hours of sleep, I decided in a fit spastic energy that we should convert our guest bedroom/Ike’s nursery to Ike’s nursery/playroom.

Doesn’t it look like a kid lives here? No? You obviously get more sleep than me.

The whole conversion thing is really a pretty easy leap to make (unless you are very very tired), but it did involve lots of moving. And throwing away. And then… I decided to ditch the old cloying Smoke color and repaint the entire room. And now the sleep buzz has worn off but the mess is still here.

I am a walking natural disaster.

Anyway, finding the perfect gray is like finding your soulmate: get as close you can and then compromise on the rest. Sorry, HB, I’m just saying that a good relationship takes effort. I still like you.

Most of my house is painted Benjamin Moore’s Abalone Gray:

So I thought to myself, slam dunk! This is going to be MF awesome. But, no. Gray is a bitch. She is a hooker by night and a puritan by day — a chameleon in gekko’s clothing. Who knows what that’s supposed to mean, but I think you catch my drift. Maybe.

While lovely in no less than five other rooms of my home, Abalone looks like lavender crap in Ike’s room. So today I’m going to visit Sanders again and pray that the god of paint (that would be Sanders) can help me solve this riddle wrapped in an enigmatic conundrum of a cookie. Or however that hackneyed phrase goes that I can’t even properly recall. Guess it’s not that hackneyed after all…

To sum it up: my house is a mess. I am busy. Please, occupy yourselves with the AMAZING transformative properties of paint, as evinced by Christiane Lemieux, the creative director behind Dwell Studio:

One room, three Benjamin Moore colors: Wrought Iron, Gentleman’s Gray, Winter Orchard. I am completely totally obsessed with all three colors. The plan was always to do three of Ike’s walls in Abalone, but since it sucks I’m hoping Winter Orchard will take the gold medal here. One focal wall will be in Wrought Iron (I think. Or I could change my mind entirely…). I would KILL to paint the entire room in Gentleman’s Gray (or perhaps that Major Tom wallpaper I keep kissing when I think HB isn’t watching?), which is oh so close to the ever popular Farrow and Ball Hague Blue:

Miles Redd kills it.

But it’s really too dark and just doesn’t make sense for this house. Next house. Promise.

Ok, now it’s time to get busy and work my everloving ass off. See you when the rubble clears.

If you catch my drift.

It’s time for another installment in our Ask Sanders series, wherein some lucky reader has their decorating dilemma solved by our resident paint guru, Sanders Gibbs. It’s a dream come true, because in case you don’t already know, Sanders is a badass. But don’t take our word for it — if you live in Austin, go visit Benjamin Moore Hill Country Paints, where Sanders puts his talents to the test as store manager. Not in Austin? Catch up by reading this interview with Sanders here.

Without further ado, here’s reader Rossana’s question:

“My husband and I are in the process of painting the nursery. We have differing ideas about what this should look like, but we have at least found a nice compromise with the Ben Moore pear green. The gender is a surprise! The room is about a 10 x 12 room with lots and lots of windows and the one wall that is solid will be the one that we put the crib on, and this is the wall that we will paint Pear Green. Question is: what other color would be nice with PG?”

First of all, great choice! Pear Green is a bright and versatile shade that pairs (ahem) well with many colors. Sanders gave us a broad selection of gender neutral choices to pick from, and many can be mixed and matched to different effect.

Amp up the drama by mixing pear green with bold brights.

Or tone it down with neutrals. It works well either way.

For a baby’s room, you could play it sophisticated by painting the crib wall pear green, the other walls off white (Sanders gave us Mountain Peak White), and then adding in other colors through accessories and bedding. Or you could funk it up by painting the other three walls a jazzier color, and then using accessories in more neutral shades. Let’s take a look at some rooms with pear green and see how Sanders’ choices work in them.

This playroom in the home of Avocado and Papaya’s Jackie Kersh features a cute, classic palette of green, red and blue.

Here’s Sanders’ palette, which would work well in a gender neutral nursery: Pear Green with Chili Pepper Red and Peacock Blue.

Another playroom, via Cupcake Wishes and Unicorn Dreams.

And Sanders’ corresponding choices are Pear Green with Stardust and Violet Stone.

I know it’s not a kid’s room, but the color palette in this kitchen would be fab in a nursery.

Pear Green with Banana Yellow and Florida Keys Blue.

And then there’s this hotness — who cares if the Pear Green is on a couch and not a wall? Use your imagination goggles to see that this color combo is off the chain… Loves it.

Pear Green, Mountain Peak White and Silver Dollar. DRAMA. Add a dash of black here and there and you’ve got a winner for all ages.

And here are a couple more pretty palettes, just because I made them up all nice in photoshop:

The bold and the beautiful: Tequila Lime, Juneau Spring, Banana Yellow, Tangy Orange, and Pear Green.

Oh so quiet and sophisticated: Mountain Peak White (loving this white!), Silver Dollar, Taos Taupe and Light Khaki. Brilliant.

That’s it for this edition of Ask Sanders. Rossana, I hope there’s some helpful information here, and hey — maybe we inspired some of y’all out there to repaint. Or perhaps even have a baby… After all, what better excuse could there be to redecorate?

I’m leaving you with this picture of Ike and Sanders. Ike LOVES loves him some Uncle Sanders, mostly because Ike is obsessed with Sanders’ nametag, but also because Ike has good taste in people.

If any of you out there would like some professional advice regarding your painting dilemmas, send in a request and we’ll forward it to Sanders.

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Sanders!

In remodeling my home I’ve come to realize that you make good friends with the people who help you then, once your project is over, you don’t get to see your redecorating buddies too much anymore.  This is why we invented the ask Sander’s column:  even though most of my house is painted, I still have an excuse to stop on by Benjamin Moore (Hill Country Paint to you South Austinites) any time I want (insert maniacal laugh here).  So, when Jason wrote us with an email lovingly titled “dumb dude needs help” I was more than happy to pay a visit to the King of Paint.

Jason recently purchased this ranch and is experiencing something my husband would never dare to dream of:  his wife has handed him decorating carte blanche.  From what I’ve heard about his plans for the inside, hello Cole & Son wallpaper, he’s doing a bang-up job.  The outside, as you can see, needed serious consultation.  Jason asked Sanders to present him with 2 options:  1. Trim, accent, and door paint leaving the brick as-is, and 2. A palette for painting the whole kitten-kaboodle, brick and all.  We’ll start with the former.

Sander’s first suggestion is to use Benjamin Moore Brandy Cream on for the trim, Dellwood Sand for the accent (the piece of wood that runs below the roof) and a pop of Tarrytown Green for the front door.  I like that this selection updates the home while simultaneously blending with the preexisting brick.  One of the major problems with the house right now is that the trim is just way too dark brown.  Lightening it up and letting the front door provide the contrast will clean up the look lickety-split.  

Next.

Another option for Jason that doesn’t involve the laborious task of painting the brick: a nice light trim in Cloud White, an accent in Sag Harbor Gray and a Cromwell Gray Door.  I like that sanders kept the door fairly neutral with this combo, letting the cloud white do the talking.  The white would really pop against the brick, but in a really fantastic way, unlike what the brown is doing now.

If Jason decides to paint the brick, which I 10000% support, here is an option for him:  Body paint in Louisburg Green, trim & accent in Hazy Skies and a door in Duxbury Gray.  Who can go wrong with Gray and Green with a nice, light accent?  I think this palette will modernize the home without conflicting with the ranch style.

I have to admit that I’m a pretty big fan of this option:  Body in Tucson Winds, trim and accent in Ashen Tan and Door in good ole Gray.  I love a light house, I think it would really pop in that gigantic yard.  Like the last option, it’s a nice update without trying too hard.

Finally, we have my favorite option.  Ok, I’m a sucker for gray, with the Granite painted brick you could probably make the trim neon green and hot pink and I’d still love it, but I like what Sanders has chosen even more:  Steam trim and accent with Mysterious for the door.  I think this palette is the most sophisticated and I am BEGGING Jason to please please paint his house this color and send us some pictures.

I tried to find homes online painted similarly but wasn’t able to find the right combination, so instead I did a crappy photoshop mock-up of Jason’s house.  Hopefully my elementary rendering won’t scare him out of the project:

Jason, bear in mind that there will be much more depth in reality, it won’t look like a gray play-doh fortress if given the treatment in real life.  Squint your eyes and look at it (god, I’ve never had to say that about a design project) see, isn’t it grand?

Best of luck, dumb dude!  Be sure to send us pictures when you’re done.

For anyone in Austin who is looking for a walking-talking color encyclopedia be sure to visit Sanders at Hill Country Paint: 5501 South Congress / 78745

In Thursday’s installment of Ask Sanders, I promised help for Kristin’s bedroom. She asked our opinion on Kelly Green as a choice for bedroom paint, and Sanders was more than happy to oblige with a paint palette of greens in hues that range from shocking to sophisticated:

And a few darker, more traditional greens:

Personally, I have found that green can be a difficult color to work with, because it requires a sense of confidence that many more soothing shades do not. But when done right, green really sings. And I love the idea of using green and blue (blue in Kristin’s bathroom) as a base for a household palette, since blue and green can mix and match in so many interesting ways.

John Paul Urizar

You’ll need a pair to go all out kelly green on four walls, floor to ceiling. But this spare little bedroom courtesy of The Sweet Line gets it right with simple furnishings and accents. In a small room with strong color, paint is the star and everything else plays a supporting role.

I’m thinking that Kelly Wearstler may have kicked off the kelly green movement in a moment of vanity (hello, kelly – kelly?), but love her or hate her, the lady is not afraid of color. This bathroom shows how slick classic green (looks like Rainforest Foliage to me), black, white and chrome can be.

This tiny kelly green kitchen from Domino can cook. A very restricted palette with lots of white keeps the color from overwhelming.

In this room from House to Home, forest green goes a little too country for my taste, but with more streamlined shapes, the color could be fresh. Imagine Danish teak instead of these tradtional furnishings. Throw in lots of white linens and a black pillow or two and you’ve got modern classic.

If all out green seems too heavy for you, you can break the color up in several ways.

Hidden in France

Patterned kelly green and gold wallpaper keeps the color light. If wallpaper isn’t an option (renters, I’m talking to you), try stretching fabric over a a wooden frame, or wallpaper a large piece of masonite and frame with cheap, painted quarter round. Beep beep, beep beep, yeah.

House to Home

Homes with lots of molding and windows can handle the color because it covers less surface area. With deep greens, black, white and brown rocks.

Per Ranung

If you don’t have glorious architecture and the bones to prove it, consider painting a feature wall in deep green; keep the rest of the room bright and light.

James Merrell

Maybe kelly green isn’t for you, but Stokes Forest Green is looking mighty fine. Pair it with lots of neutrals and blood orange for a pop of unexpected color. Lighter colors need less white to balance them out.

Brave souls may spring for chartreuse, like this Benjamin Moore Pear Green featured in Domino.

Boring picture, but the color is divine. And Designer’s Brew shows how blue and chartreuse make magic. For a bedroom, maybe just a feature wall or nook would do.

Fear of commitment? No problem — we all get cold feet sometimes. Consider green accents or furnishings instead.

Fawn Galli’s boho-glam apartment uses bright green curtains and upholstery to funk up her space.

Gaelle le Boulicaut

Use that kelly green paint to spiff up a set of chairs in an otherwise neutral room. The wall paint in the photo looks a lot like my office paint — Silver Fox by BM. It’s a lovely, medium deep neutral.

Living Etc.

Even a simple emerald throw adds depth to this dark and cozy bedroom.

Or maybe instead of feeling green at the gills by all this color, you’re green with envy. If you’re feeling emboldened by the power of green, don’t hold back.

Apartment Therapy

Try mixing and matching several shades in one room, like this Moroccan guest house. Lots of white space helps forest green, stokes forest green, and a pear green, go together like peas and… peas.

That’s it for this installment of Ask Sanders. Hopefully you and Kristin got some new ideas and inspiration on ways to green up your space. For me, suddenly chartreuse is sounding like a fabulous nursery color…

If you would like to have your home featured on Ask Sanders, need help matching colors you may have spied in magazines, or just want advice on what paint colors could possibly make those peach wall tiles in your bathroom look like you MEANT to do that, email us at hollaback@design-crisis.com to ask Sanders, our resident Paint Guru, for help.

Thanks, Sanders!

Here at Design Crisis, we’re a little obsessed with paint. What else can completely transform a room for just a few bucks and some elbow grease? Sadly, adventures in painting can go horribly awry — the golden yellow you hoped for goes macaroni and cheese, the perfect shade of crimson you envisioned turns into a bloody nightmare, or the warm gray you yearned for reads as icy blue instead. These domestic disasters happen everyday, but our resident Paint Guru, Sander Gibbs, is here to provide all the expert help you need to ditch the heartache and pick the perfect shade the first time around.

For our first installment of the Ask Sanders column, DC reader Kristin writes with an urgent dilemma — what shade of blue to paint the bathroom in her rental apartment? Since Kristin is planning to cover her existing flooring with peel and stick white tiles (I’ve seen these in action, and they’re not a bad option for renters), she could choose from a multitude of colors. She says:

“I’m looking for a super-saturated shade of blue. I had originally hoped for a Vermeer/Dutch blue… Anywho, my perfect shade would be not too deep, and very refreshing. Let me know what you think! I’d also move over towards something more tropical and punchy.”

The particular shade on the walls of this room in the Gramercy Park Hotel is what inspired her to ask for a color match in the first place, so I sent the image over to Sanders for inspiration:

Judging by the image and his own experience with blues that woo the eye, Sanders put together this saturated blue palette for Kristin:

While the top colors are Benjamin Moore shades, the bottom pics are from Pratt and Lambert. Sanders informed me that P&L is actually a Sherwin Williams brand, but SW doesn’t carry it in their stores. In Austin, Benjamin Moore is the only store that carries P&L, so if Kristin (or you) would like to try one of the P&L shades, check out the nearest Benjamin Moore for their selection.

Sanders picks look pretty close to the top picture to me, especially Clearest Ocean Blue and Paradise Lost, but as Sanders always says, “Buy a sample and make sure you paint on two coats! Two coats!” Paint shades can look totally different depending on lighting conditions, so even though you might think you’re wasting your money on a sample, you could be wasting a lot more on unwanted gallons of paint. Always sample first!

I also asked Sanders to put together a palette of blues he likes, just in case his color matches don’t quite hit the spot. Many of his picks are more muted, but still punchy yet versatile:

Top choices are Benjamin Moore colors, bottom row is from Pratt and Lambert’s palette (and Sanders’ cute lil’ face).

And now I think we need some eye candy to see how fresh the ever popular blue really can be when paired with the right environment. For Kristin’s sake, many of my picks feature shades of blue in bathrooms, but blue is a flexible shade for many rooms (except kitchens, in my opinion).

Living Etc

Blue gets paired with glossy chocolate leather and a sleek mirrored cube in this minimalist treatment.

Annie Schlecter

In the olden days, blue was a highly prized, very expensive pigment due to its relative instability and difficulty to manufacture, so it was only seen in special circumstances, like the Virgin Mary’s robes. These cool blue walls and door highlight the red and green robes of a saint who must have been a little low on the totem pole.

Domino

Multiple shades of blue work together in this eclectic bathroom. I’m really thinking someone should make colorful toilets…

Per Ranung

Sky blue tile mixes with chartreuse, indigo and royal purple, in this otherwise spare bathroom. A healthy dose of white keeps things from going utterly schizophrenic.

Living Etc

Monochromatic tile makes this bathroom feel spacious. Sexy skylights and minimal fixtures don’t hurt, either.

Paul Costello

A sun filled living room mixes aqua with oregano and mimosa yellow for a fun, but sophisticated palette. Chocolate, white and gold, keep the color from getting out of control.

Marie Claire Maison

I have no freaking clue how this bathroom is constructed, but I’d love to have a cerulean aquatic labyrinth of my very own. The green window frames add subtle contrast to an otherwise all over color scheme where form and texture rule.

Living Etc

If that much color scares the Scandi pants off you, paint can always freshen up an old treasure and add a jolt of unexpected color. I myself wouldn’t be unhappy with this bathroom in the least.

Domino

A soft, green based blue highlights the architecture of this traditional bathroom, bringing a little piece of the sky indoors.

Annie Schlecter

Moody blue covers wall and woodwork in this spare but funky bedroom. I love the little punches of yellow and pink.

Blues of varying intensity and sheen create depth in this tiny bathroom. Blue toilet set: yes or no?

Kristin, we’d love to feature before and after pictures of your bathroom here on DC, so I really hope that Sanders’ suggestions inspired you to take the plunge and get to painting! I myself am feeling so serene and relaxed from this azure haze that I think I’ll present Part II of this (very special, of course) inaugural Ask Sanders column next Monday. Tune in Monday and see Sanders’ expert advice for Kristin’s bedroom: To kelly green, or not to kelly green? That is the question.

In the meantime, feel free to send your own paint queries for Sanders to our email address: hollback@design-crisis.com. Depending on demand, we’d like to feature picks from Sanders on a monthly basis, so don’t go sending us any problems that need to be solved yesterday! Sanders is good, but he can’t turn back time. Not even Cher can do that.