The Clash of the Undertones

“I always find it helpful to ask what their favorite piece of clothing is,” she said.

“Aagggghhhhh she picked all hot pink clothes for school this year.  I mean ALL hot pink.” I replied.  Considering it took us four coats to cover the hot pink that had been there previously, I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of doing that again, but it was time for a change.

Several years ago I was in a home that made the issue of undertones crystal clear to me.  They wanted to sell their Salem Oregon newer construction home and talked with glee about how they picked out all their cabinets and paint colors.  The problem, as I saw it, was that the kitchen with its nice granite slab counters, cherry cabinets, and tile floors needed to be redone.  The problem: undertones.  The cabinets had a red undertone, the counters yellow, and the walls and flooring blue.  Individually, they all looked good.  Taken together, it was a disaster.  After having viewed the clash of the undertones, I have been extra careful with making sure I am working in the same undertone family when decorating my house.

This year it was time to get rid of my daughter’s nursery colors and get her into a young girl room.  The problem…she likes hot pink and well….I hate pink.  I was convinced that if I gave her a couple of choices with other colors including some pink ones, that she would see the error of her ways and not go pink.  As I looked at paint color after paint color, virtually painting the walls, I decided I needed some help narrowing things down and not coming undertone Hari Kari.

So I did it.  I called the big guns of reasonable cost color coordination here in Salem…Margaret Oscilia.  I told her my dilemma that my daughter loves pink; I hate it.  But it is her room,  and I wanted to respect that…well in theory anyway.  A little manipulation isn’t bad, right?

“Give me some color choices that include pink as well as alternatives, lots of alternatives.” I begged.  That’s when Margaret asked me the dreaded question about her clothes, and I had no choice but to tell her that they were all hot pink.  I could lie and tell her they were all a blissful blue, but then she’d walk in my daughter’s room and see the hot pink jumping out from the closet.

Margaret came out and we talked about what my daughter likes.  She’d paint a rainbow room or tie dye…all walls with different colors if I would let her.  Margaret worked her magic and gave me some virtual choices to share with my daughter including some of the dreaded pink options.

“Come here kiddo.  I want to show you some color choices for your room.” I said.  Her eyes scanned all the choices.  Beads of sweat started to form on my forehead as I was sure I was going to be in pink hell in very short order.  Scrolling up and down on the screen, she thought about it and picked the green and blue choice.  I wanted to throw my arms around and sob with relief for having her save me from the pink beast, but merely stated, “Excellent choice.”   My inner emotional toil was submerged….at least until the next installment of kid induced torture.  Thank you, Margaret.

When in doubt consult it out. If you are working on a house  remodel or just wanting to spruce up your home to make sure that you avoid the clash of the undertones, considering hiring one of our local Salem Oregon home stagers for color consultation.  Color consultation is really inexpensive and can make a huge difference in getting that “Wow that looks great” genuinely, or through a mask of disbelief at your lack of color coordination.

Oh, and because I love my kid…

hot pink accents.