Beige Is Out, Fedora Is In
Americans want a house of a different color
In the course of their careers, Dave and Sharon Van Daele have moved six times over nearly 30 years, and at each new home, they have faced the same dilemma: "What are we going to do with these dull beige walls?"
It's a simple question with an intimidating number of answers--especially now, when beige is no longer the rage; when white comes in more shades than the Inuit have names for snow; and when consumers have been emboldened by the broad and sophisticated palette shown in home decor magazines and TV shows.
And that is just the tip of the paintbrush. Benjamin Moore & Co. offers approximately 3,500 hues. The Fine Paints of Europe, a premium "boutique" company, boasts a spectrum of about double that. Add in the "designer collections" developed by the likes of Ralph Lauren, color guru Donald Kaufman, and Martha Stewart. And if none of those choices appeal, you can order a custom blend.
The colors of the moment depend, in part, on whom you ask. A peachy-tangerine orange is ICI Paints' "Color of the Year." For 2006, Barbara Richardson, ICI's director of color marketing, sees yellow as a major color. The Color Marketing Group--an organization of 1,300 color designers--gives a broader forecast of "warm, clear, and bright colors" for the year ahead. The group's palette includes nature- and ocean-based greens and blues, burnished yellows and golds, sophisticated gray neutrals, and soft shades that foster "bliss." And then there is the movement toward "rejuvenating new whites," as Debbie Zimmer, color expert for the Paint Quality Institute, calls them--"warmed up with a bit of brown or pink, something to take the glare off."
If your head has begun to spin in Technicolor, you are not alone. Emphasizing "in" colors is akin to fashion's efforts "to get you to buy something new every year," believes Stephen Glassman, an architect in New Oxford, Pa. "It's an attempt to build in obsolescence psychologically."
New elite. He has a point. Home interiors and exteriors account for $8.8 billion of the $18.5 billion paint industry, and the industry has grown 3 to 4 percent each year over the past decade. Although consolidation and globalization have reduced the more than 1,800 paint manufacturers in the United States to only 300, "niche" companies are emerging, with higher-grade ingredients as well as higher prices.
But John Lahey, founder of Fine Paints of Europe in Woodstock, Vt., says you might not end up paying more in the long run buying boutique paint. The average U.S. paint manufacturer gears its products to last four years, about the average time Americans live in a house. Lahey imports paint from the Netherlands, where people stay in their homes about 18 years. And that's how long his paint is made to last. Lahey suggests that consumers worried about the cost ($90 to $100 for a 2 1/2)-liter can, double or more that of most paints) annualize the total bill, about 90 percent of which will go to pay the painters. "If it costs you 15 percent more but looks twice as good and lasts two to three times as long," he says, "some people may call that a bargain."
At another high-end boutique, Citron Paint in Tucson, Ariz., founder and owner C J Volk started manufacturing paint in 2001 when she was working as an interior designer and could not find the colors she wanted for her clients. While most paints include two or three pigments, she says, her colors contain between eight and 15; and she does not add in black or gray, as many others do, because they absorb rather than reflect light and turn colors "muddy." Her paints also cost more: 27 cents for two coats per square foot of Citron, she estimates, versus 22 cents for other high-quality paint. But the funky names--fedora, steamy romance, bubble bath, pickle delight--are free.
No matter what you pay, you still have to pick a color. For do-it-yourself colorists, paint companies like Benjamin Moore, Glidden, and Behr offer free online viewers. Select a room, then mix and match tints. Paint the living room rich Bordeaux red or subdued antique white? Would violet trim clash? Do we dare try a ceiling in soft peach? Benjamin Moore also sells a more advanced program, Personal Color Viewer 2.0, for $15 at its stores and website. Pop in digital photos of your home, and the hue is up to you.
Big chips. Still stumped? Several companies--Citron among them--sell 5-by-2-inch paint chips, as opposed to thumbnail size. And swatches from Citron and others are of the paint itself--not the more common colored ink reproductions. In addition, companies large (Benjamin Moore) and small (Citron and Fine Paints of Europe) sell cosmetic-jar-size samples for a wall test.
Help is available--for a fee. After consulting boutique paint manufacturer Volk, who charges $275 for a two-hour consultation and a color plan, the Van Daeles chose 13 colors--in subtle shades of yellow, red, tan, and green--to grace their new home in Tucson.
A consultant may begin by asking clients to fill out a questionnaire and compile a folder of favorite colors, including photos, ads, and descriptions of what they've admired in other homes. Juliana Catlin, president of Catlin Design in Jacksonville, Fla., listens for lifestyle clues. When one man said he collected classic jazz posters, their sepia tones became the key to his color scheme. Stephen Glassman asks clients to go to their closets because "your wardrobe truly reflects your personality" --and color preferences.
And if you hate the shade once it's on the wall? One thing about the paint business hasn't changed: You can always slap on a different color.
This story appears in the May 9, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.