Let's Talk (paint) Color

Think about the skills needed to create a paint color which matches a cat's fur coat. Now think about those needed to  transform the look of a big city transit hub. That describes the color chops of Architectural Color Consultant, Eve Ashcraft. She came to NYC after attending RISD and with her unique color skills became the creator of Martha Stewart's original paint line as well as the color-guru of Moynihan Train Hall in NYC. Through the decades, her prowess in the field and her client base grew to include esteemed commercial clients and countless residential home owners. Meet Eve and hear about her journey through the world of color.

What do Barbra Streisand, The LA Dodgers and Larry David have in common with one of America's most revered companies? Did you guess? They were all born in Brooklyn! In 1883 The Moore Brothers released their first coatings product and the paint world hasn't been the same since.  Benjamin Moore's products and colors are perceived as the pinnacle of good taste and quality.  Their color lines have expanded over the years to include almost 3500 colors adding a world of choice which delights and sometimes  overwhelms. My guest today is Andrea Magno, the Director of Color Marketing and Design at Benjamin Moore and it was my great pleasure to be able to go straight to the source to ask those questions we designers have been itching to. It's a free-wheeling and fun conversation which covers many topics all related to their fabulous range of paint hues.

While this episode began as an interview based on a book about kitchens, it became something much more -  A treatise about how we live in our homes, how to make a kitchen your own in ways which acknowledge who you are, how you live and what you love.  Sophie Donelson is a former Editor-in- Chief of House Beautiful Magazine. She is a design journalist, speaker, and strategist whose work celebrates the connection between people and their homes. Her 2023 book Uncommon Kitchens: A Revolutionary Approach to the Most Popular Room in the House is where our conversation starts. Sophie's humanistic and forgiving approach to design resonates. Packed with helpful ideas about how to consider your kitchen design she showcases tens of unique kitchens created by designers for themselves and their clients and by others as well.  When a conversation veers towards describing some colors as "the squeeze of lemon on a fishy pasta", compares matching  upper and lower kitchen cabinets to attaching one's blouse to their underwear and compares the size of some kitchen islands to Escalades you know you're in for a ride.

Think about  jazz, communism,  Dracula and wallpaper. Any commonalities? Tune into this episode to hear how they all converge.  My guest is Stefan Ormenisan, the founder and creative director of one of the most unique lifestyle brands, Mind the Gap. Conceived in Transylvania and sold all over the world, MTG offers wallpapers and textile patterns spun from tales of folklore and global cultures. Their products are a color lover's dream. Learn how this amazing company got off the ground and became who they are today. When a company's leader talks about connecting with people's souls, you know you're onto a stunningly singular business ethos. 

Ever walk into an art museum and find yourself just as mesmerized and transported by the color of the exhibition walls as you were by the art? Well, that wouldn't have been the ultimate goal of the exhibit designers but it does speak to the power of wall paint color, even in a museum setting.  My guest in this episode is Kathleen Morris, the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA and the Curator of Decorative Arts there, as well. Kathy shares her decades of experience helming a team of staff and freelance professionals whose jobs it is to create the ultimate museum experience. One of her most powerful tools is wall color. Learn what factors they consider when choosing wall colors for an exihibit, what colors often work well with which kind of art and hear how the public reacts to their choices.  It's a fascinating conversation and one which should send you high tailing it to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

Ever walk into an art museum and find yourself just as mesmerized and transported by the color of the exhibition walls as you were by the art? Well, that wouldn't have been the ultimate goal of the exhibit designers but it does speak to the power of wall paint color, even in a museum setting.  My guest in this episode is Kathleen Morris, the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA and the Curator of Decorative Arts there, as well. Kathy shares her decades of experience helming a team of staff and freelance professionals whose jobs it is to create the ultimate museum experience. One of her most powerful tools is wall color. Learn what factors they consider when choosing wall colors for an exihibit, what colors often work well with which kind of art and hear how the public reacts to their choices.  It's a fascinating conversation and one which should send you high tailing it to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

Think there's nothing more to a color than whether it's blue, red or green? If so, hold onto your hat.  On this, the first episode of our new interview based format, Architectural Color Consultant Amy Krane introduces our listeners to trained Color Consultant and Interior Designer,  Ellen Divers, who has spent the better part of the last decade studying how humans perceive color. Her findings  will change the way you choose colors for your space forever.

There are so many functional and aesthetic factors to consider when designing color for non-residential interiors. Your color choices must support a range of branding, comfort, productivity, and /or way finding goals, to name a few. Tens, hundreds or thousands of people may be users of this space and the color decision makers can be a plurality of people. Done well you can soothe an anxious patient, inspire a creative maker or focus a leader. The list goes on... All achieved by the thoughtful and educated application of good color. 

Is the modern farmhouse style exterior a trend or is it more entrenched in our collective mind as the epitome of what "home" is now? What are the architectural elements that define the modern farmhouse? Why did it come about and can we use those elements on other exterior house styles? We discuss this and more. The modern farmhouse. Are you yay or nay?

Join Amy Woolf & Amy Krane ( and our dogs) begin an engaging conversation which will span multiple episodes about bringing color into your decor. We never stray too far from wall color which rears its head in almost every facet of the conversation. Should your wall and decor color tie into the architectural style of your home? Should you repeat an interior color on the exterior? How about how different should each room be? We cover all of this and more! Tune in.