Last year when I was working as a Color and Design Consultant,  I referred all my clients (looking for earth friendly paints) to Portland’s Powell Paint Center, owned by third generation brothers Bob and Jim Stephens.

Throughout the years of consulting for clients on color, and purchasing paint at many of the different locations around town and before that in Los Angeles, CA, I had never experienced such a positive, passionate and knowledgeable group of people as the employees at PPC.  More details on the Resource Hotlist page.

Brent Eggleston, Director of Marketing, was the one who educated me on the difference between low and no vocs (vocs are volatile organic compounds that cause harm to humans and the environment) and its increased values when adding pigment.

One day Brent took me into the back area where paints were mixed and showed me how it all worked.  At the time, I was using Yolo Paints a local paint company, with fabulous color choices and marketed as having no vocs.

I often used Yolo’s color palette and in educating my clients I mistakenly informed them that the product had no vocs. I later learned that the product itself on the shelf contained no vocs, but once pigment was added to make a darker color, the voc count increased, ending up at a low voc count that averaged around 150. That’s better than times past when voc counts got into the 700’s or higher, yet I felt upset that Yolo and (others like them) were misleading the public by not exposing the truth about the voc count. I appreciated the honesty and integrity of PPC in helping me to understand the subject.

I also learned that the lowest voc paint line on the market was Benjamin Moore’s Aura line. That was until recently when BM came out with no voc brand interior paint line Natura, (shown at left) which is perfect for those sensitive to even the slightest chemical. According to Brent, “Aura has its own earth based formula and regardless of the color (even black), it maxes out at 50 vocs.” That’s extremely low. I’ve used it and it outperforms any other brand, imho. I also happen to be in love with the colors. I have yet to use Natura which will be my next paint purchase. Brent shared that even if the color is dark, the paint will still remain at zero vocs. That means right now it is the most earth-friendly paint on the market (even among the darker colors). So far, I’ve heard very good things and I’m excited to try it out.

I am forever grateful to my friends at Powell Paint Center for educating me on such things like vocs and keeping me up-to-date on what’s new and sustainable. For example, Krud Kutter, a sustainable brand of cleaning agents like paint and stain remover and eco-friendly paint thinner, Green Envy by Sunnyside Quality Products are also available at PPC.

By the way, if you have a color question you can ask me here or visit Powell Paint Center in person on a Saturday (at their 5205 SE Powell location) from 11:00am to 2:00pm where one of 60 rotating professional Color Consultants will help you make the best color choices for absolutely no charge. That means free. So bring your fabrics and pictures. Call (503)775-3642 or click here to reserve your complimentary session.

It’s that time of the year again. I’m changing and shifting internally and I’m expressing it by painting my living room and fireplace a new color. (After photo shown at left.)

Fall is almost here and the changing of seasons makes me want to start thinking ‘cozy.’ This time, it’s back to warm chocolate ‘Hasbrouk Brown’, from earth friendly (and my favorite) Benjamin Moore’s Aura line of paints that I purchased from the wonderful folks at Powell Paint Center. I’m so in love with the color, I want to eat it. Before I started, I set the intention of releasing anything old and not serving me to allow growth and new opportunities to take their place.

Prior to painting, I set intentions by writing positive affirmations and symbols on the walls and above my fireplace. What a difference. The space now feels much more aligned with where I am at in my life and I love it! I highly recommend painting a room to shift the energy in a space. It’s easy and cost effective.

Question: What do you think about painting the ceiling in a room the same color as the walls?

L.D. –Los Angeles, CA

CJ: Thank-you for your question. Here are my thoughts. If you are dealing with a room with angled ceilings (like the one shown to the right) I always suggest painting the entire room the same color. Angles can disrupt energy flow and cause an imbalance in the space. Painting the ceilings and the walls the same color (in this case) assist in creating balance and harmony, making it feel whole. In other words, you don’t want to draw attention to this type of ceiling.  If the room is small and square with lower ceilings and you opt for a darker color on the walls, then I suggest painting the ceiling a lighter color which will lift the energy above you and suggest a higher ceiling. If the room is bigger and has a higher ceiling you might try painting the ceiling a darker color to (energetically) bring down. We humans like to get cozy and big rooms with high ceilings tend to feel more like museums and are a big offputting for cozy living. One last thing. Don’t be afraid to paint your ceilings the same color as your walls. Experiment and see how it feels. Remember you can always contact a professional color consultant in your area who can assist you. Let me know how it goes. –Cheryl

Ooohhh, let’s do the happy dance; Home Depot is finally carrying a line of no voc paints by ICI, called Fresh Air. Remember those volatile organic compounds that smell icky and are really bad for us and the environment? As more of us are saying no to voc’s, manufacturers are responding in healthy ways.

Visit the website to view the 65 colors to choose from. I’ll post back after I try it out.

When my client called me, she complained of a living room and dining room she never used. Six months earlier, on a whim and after a bad breakup, she decided to paint her living room and dining room a bright red, (as shown in the before photo above to the right.) About a month later, after recovering from a bad flu, she took one look at her walls and hated the color. Since then she avoided those areas of her home. “Not a good sign,” I thought. One thing about red. It’s all about fire energy and is challenging to live with for long periods of time. So we chose earth friendly low voc Yolo Colorhouse Air 05, and it seriously changed her life. She now loves her living room and now finds herself spending most of her time there. Color is the quickest and most economical way to change the energy in a space. You can feel the difference (as shown in the after photo above to the left.) The room changed from heavy imposing energy to a light and calm breeze. When I walked in there the second time, I couldn’t believe the difference.

Got a color question, just ask.