
Laura Perryman, color consultant and author of the new book, "The Rainbow Home: Over 200 Ideas and Tips for Adding Color to Your Home."
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Alison Stewart
You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart in our what the Hack series where we help you figure out ways to improve your life. Today, we're going to move you gently along the hardware store away from the beige and white swatches and suggest a bolder color for your walls or floors or even ceilings. Maybe a canary yellow or a cornflower blue. Colors are known to have certain beneficial effects on our levels of productivity, relaxation, and even happiness. My next guest thinks we can use color more strategically. Lori Perriman is a color designer and her new book is called the rainbow over 200 ideas and tips for Adding Color to your Home. Laurie is with me now from the UK to take your calls on what the Hack Color Edition. Hi Laura.
Laura Perryman
Hey, thanks so much for having me.
Alison Stewart
So what does the evidence say to us about the effect color can have on our mood and our overall well being?
Laura Perryman
Color is such an incredible tool and it's been studied for centuries through color psychology, but also neuroscience as well. And we're starting to learn lots and lots more about the deep impact of certain colors, even on our behavior, our mood, and even our physical being. We can have colors if they're placed right in the home that even lower our heart rates, relaxes, or even pep us up, you know, and energizers. And that's what's really exciting about color, is that we can use it really well in our homes.
Alison Stewart
Why are we attracted to certain colors over others?
Laura Perryman
I think we are hardwired as human beings to have certain preconceptions about color. So obviously green is an incredibly important color area to us because we see it as a very positive color. Greenness in nature is a very important color because it means safety. It means we can go to a green space and feel relaxed. So we often take those common, common, common connotations along with us in our daily lives. But memory also plays a really, really important part. So how you have had an association with a color through your past life or your childhood, the color of that gorgeous color of the cardigan that your grandmother wore, you know, you kind of take those through into your adult life as well. And so you have these kind of subconscious connections with color that you may or may not always realize until you take a little bit of time to find them out.
Alison Stewart
Listeners, we want to get you in on this conversation. How do you like to decorate or paint your home with color? Are you trying to decide on a new wall color and you need some advice? Call or text us now. 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc Are you someone who likes a lot of color in your home? Do you wish you were bolder with colors but are unsure which colors to pick or where to start? We're we can help you. 212-433-969-2212-4433 wnyc now, if you live in an apartment building that is struggling to find a color scheme for your common era, we want to hear that story as well. 2124-3396-9221-2433-W NYC. My guest is Laura Perryman. She's a color designer. We're discussing her new book, the rainbow home. Over 200 ideas and tips for adding color to your home. It's part of our what the Hack series. So many of our listeners live in smaller spaces. People live outside the city, folks who are in New Jersey and in Connecticut. Let's talk about the apartment. How should color choice change depending on the size of your space?
Laura Perryman
Yeah. So different types of color or levels of color can create different feelings or even moods or even change the perception of your hallway or living room, for instance. So lighter tones always make spaces feel much larger. Whereas if you choose a much more rich, dark, deep, sumptuous color, you're going to make it feel like it's a cocoon, like a smaller environment. And also the way that your apartment or your windows, which way they face, like south facing, north facing, east facing, they can make differences in terms of the quality of light that comes through the apartment. So one of my biggest tips is always to think about where does the light start at the beginning of the day and where does it end and what kind of moods you would like to try and connect with in that time.
Alison Stewart
Well, what is a good selection for a place where there's low light?
Laura Perryman
So any kind of warm base colors are great when you don't have much light because it just brings in a much more kind of warmer, richer, hotter feeling into the space. So that's a really great way to start if you don't have a lot of light. For instance, if you have lots of light and you have very bright spaces, you can use darker tones, you can use more contrasting colors, and you can use cooler colors because they will take the light and you can create a really interesting atmosphere. So blues in light spaces are brilliant. But if you've got a darker space, go for a much more nurturing orange or kind of like a terracotta color.
Alison Stewart
For instance, when you're deciding on a new color for your wall or your front door, it's hard. We all put squashes all over the place.
Caller
What are some questions you recommend we ask ourselves when trying to find the right color?
Laura Perryman
I think it's pairing the colors with the personality of the space. So this might feel a little bit odd at first, but think about, you know, take for instance, your front door. Like, what kind of perception do you want? What's your kind of inner personality? How do you want to express that to the world? How do you want people to feel when they knock on your door? Do you want to give them a sense of joy? Do you want to give them a sense of reassurance? And you can start to pair colors along with some of those moods because that's one way of bringing col color and your personality together.
Caller
For instance, this is interesting. This. This text is follows up a little bit on that. It says, my house is painted with yellow walls from years ago when it was popular. I've been dying to change it, but now yellow is popular again. Do I stay fashionable or change my walls to something more neutral? There's two parts of that. There is the value of the home and then there's what you like.
Laura Perryman
Yeah, definitely. You know, think about how the color is already resonating in the space. Does it feel good? Does it feel good to you? This is really, really key for how we bring this rainbow feel into our home. So this is what the book is based on. It's about you finding your individual preferences and finding how you tune up different colors to how you want the mood of the space to be. Yellows are perfect for creating optimism that energizing. They're very warming and they're great for social interactions. If this is a living space, this is a place where you entertain lots of your family members and people that you love in your life. Yellow is perfect for that. But honestly, if you're trying to sleep and you want to have a less simulating space, other colors are far more better suited. So it's about finding out these activities in your home, aligning those to color preferences.
Caller
Let's take a call. This is Tabby calling us from Brooklyn. Hey, Tabby, thanks for Making the time to call all of it. You're on the air.
Tabby
Hi.
Caller
This is exciting because I am torn.
Torn.
Do I jump right in with my question?
Go right for it.
Laura Perryman
Okay.
Caller
So initially, I'm in an apartment. It's an open concept. Kitchen meets living space. And initially I had a bright green on the wall, because when we move in, I'm like, I would like to walk in and feel happy, but now I'm into dark colors, so I'm looking at d. Dark brown, dark, like burgundy. And I'm wondering, what does that say about where I am now? But also how does it tie in? I am concerned and a bit scared, to be honest, about how to do all the walls. I have one, two, three. Three walls. And then the kitchen. Like, what do I do with, then the kitchen? Although I have no place in the kitchen to paint because it's all covered.
That sort of. That flow from kitchen to living room.
Laura Perryman
Yeah. You know, and, you know, there's so many different things that you can think about also within the space. So do you want to make your kitchen feel separated, or do you want it to create a feeling of integration? And so color can be something that can live on different parts of the room as you go in. So, for instance, you can paint an entire wall, but then you could take that color into a trim color or an accent color, for instance, into another part of the space. This will create this kind of visual consistency. And I hear you about browns. They seem to become very popular at the moment. Obviously, pantone color of the year was a brown, and we were feeling very kind of like we need to be nurtured as well within spaces. So we're kind of leaning a little bit into these kind of warm, nutty, kind of brown, creamy areas, because they just have that sense of quality in them that we kind of find reassuring. But I would definitely encourage you to kind of, like, lean into this, like, burgundy area that you're thinking about as well, because purpley kind of colors, even if they're kind of a bit brownie, purpley, can actually be really kind of invigorating and really energizing as well and good for your kind of mental capacity. So I would definitely kind of ear you on to kind of choosing something that's got a little bit of color in the brownness. So it's not so kind of straightforward and too kind of warm in some ways.
Caller
Talk to Claire, who's calling in from Manhattan. Hey, Claire, you're on the air.
Tabby
Hi. My question is very specific, and I'm not sure if you can help, but I live in an apartment that has a double door in between the front and the back. It's kind of a dark area. There's no window right next to it unless I open the door to a bedroom. And I'm trying to figure out color scheme. Like, I don't know if, you know, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico that has this very vibrant, almost cobalt blue, bright green, and then a strip of red. So I've looked at some colors, and it's very hard for me to figure out how to match in terms of light. You know, I went and picked up some, then more swatches. But how do you know from looking at those pieces of cardboard? I guess you have to buy samples. Do you have any recommendations for how I can complete this project successfully?
Alison Stewart
So the idea is like, helping her figure out what paints to get and what colors to get.
Laura Perryman
Yeah, I definitely think it's worth, you know, if you've got some really nice references for the blue and the reds and those kind of, like, key colors that you can see within the space that you're inspired by. I know exactly the space that you're talking about. It's absolutely beautiful. I would just encourage you to look around, not just that one color that you think it's. It. It is, but take two or three steps either side. So a little bit lighter and a little bit darker. If you can, in tester pots or even just when you go into the paint store, you can see the different tester strips. You can take a strip that's slightly lighter and take a strip that's slightly darker and then hold them up in the space against the level light that you've got and look at how well they bounce off light. Because I think when we have dark spaces, we think that we should have light colors all the time. But actually, if we want a sense of richness and we want to create a really powerful kind of combination and a really powerful mood, sometimes something a little bit darker actually works really well. So if you have some options around that key core color, it can really help you make a decision.
Alison Stewart
You are listening to our what the Heck? Color Edition. We're talking to Laura Perryman. Her book is called the rainbow home. Over 200 ideas and tips for adding color to your home listeners. If you have a question or you'd like to ask Lori a question, Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. We'll have more after a quick break. This is all of it. You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Laura Perryman. She's a color designer, and we're discussing her new book, the rainbow. Over 200 ideas and tips for adding color to your home. And we're taking your calls. How do you like to decorate or paint with combination? Paint your home with color? Are you trying to decide on a new color and you need advice? 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. I wanted to ask about a piece of advice. In your book, Laura, you write about color walks. First of all, what is a color walk and why can it be helpful?
Laura Perryman
So a color walk is basically a big inspiration trip for color. It's a way of collecting color from our natural environment, places which we love, which we maybe walk every day. It's a way of taking a more personal approach to color that isn't necessarily, you know, driven from Instagram or driven from magazines. It's been very in tune with our own brains, our own likes, our own needs, and basically going for a walk somewhere that you really love, like around a lake or down into your the bottom of your garden or in your neighborhood, looking for these cues to color as you go along and recording them, taking photographs, taking notes, bringing that back home so that you can see what you really love.
Alison Stewart
It was really interesting. A part of your book. I love when I could read stuff and I learn new things. And you had a whole section giving definitions of certain words, like, what's the difference between a hue versus a tone?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, for sure. I mean, color science is a really important part of understanding more about color. So in the book really wanted to get that key information across everyone. So a tone is more of a tint of color. So it's something that takes on the darkness or blackness in its in a color. So we can have like a dark, slightly darker or muted purple or a slightly lighter or muted purple. We add more whiteness to it, and that's called a tint. And a tone has got the darker colors in it. And these kind of help us navigate what we kind of want in terms of a color. So we might say we want a darker tone or a lighter tint. And that just helps us find that color a bit easier, I think.
Alison Stewart
What about the chromatic and chromatic tension?
Caller
What do they mean?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, so the chromatic tension relates really to combinations. And a lot of the book is dedicated to once we found these amazing colors that we love. How do we put them into practice? Because I think a lot of people like might love a certain shade, but they don't even really know how to put it together in an actual scheme. And so the chromatic tension is about understanding the relationships between certain colors. The color wheel becomes a really important tool within this. We can create really beautiful bold clash or bold impactful color combinations by playing with the chromatic tension. And so that's colors that exist at either side or opposite sides of the color wheel. This chromatic tension is really important for creating quite powerful and bold combinations. For instance.
Caller
Let's take another call. This is Scott who's calling in from Comec, Long Island. Hi Scott, thanks for taking the time to call all of it. You are on the air.
Scott
Hey, how are you today?
Caller
Doing well.
Scott
Good, good. So I, I work at a paint store, Avops Paint in Comac, Long island, and I was hearing a caller talking about color samples. Color samples are really important, but they're always important to test them out in your lighting in your home. You know, because the lighting at a paint store is not quite like your lighting at home and colors change when they move from room to room. So always test them on white, like a white background. Don't be painting over some kind of pink or something like that. And don't ask the guy behind the counter to match the color from your phone.
Caller
Good advice. Thank you so much for calling. This is a question from Christina in Redding, Connecticut.
Alison Stewart
She writes, we live in a reproduction.
Caller
Colonial home with lots of exposed beams and dark brown wooden trim. Is it still a faux pas to paint trim? We are considering flooding our sitting room with a dark green, but are nervous about it all going in. What are your thoughts, Laura?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, I think definitely paint your trim. I think this creates this kind of feeling of color drenching or kind of full on kind of monochromatic color. This is really important for creating spaces that feel very connected and cocooning. So I would definitely say yes, go for it. I think Bob's question before and statement is very key to this. It's about light levels. So again, testing out the color in the space, observing it throughout the day and seeing how you feel through the light levels in your home before making that big kind of commitment.
Caller
I would say let's talk to Marilyn who's calling in from Manhattan. Hi Marilyn, thanks so much for calling in.
Marilyn
Hi. Hi. I live in an Upper west side pre war building. I've been here since I had it as rent control. Now it's a co op. The rooms are a little Narrow. Big enough. I have two bedrooms, a living room, and I have an extensive collection of original prints. So I have a Frank Stella print. I have an Oldenburg print. Those have color. I have a lot of black and white. My walls have always been what they call antique white, which is a kind of, I'd say the color of a latte with whiter trim. And people keep saying, oh, you should do color. But I'm, of course, nervous about doing color because I think it may not show up the artwork well. So that's my question.
Caller
A color that is good for artwork. What do you think?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, sounds beautiful. I'd love to see your collection of prints and artworks. And I think this makes a really great point because we can be inspired by the objects that we have collected and surround ourselves with. I would love to. To see you take out one or two key colors from those amazing prints and almost reproduce them on the wall. You could have a key color wall, for instance, and make a very kind of striking display, you know, specifically with a very strong color, like a, you know, a bright, vibrant pink or a vibrant yellow or coral color. Anything that has a warm base is a lot more kind of easy for our eyes. So I think if we've got lots of things, warm colors can help really unite a space. So I would go for it with something warm and strong.
Alison Stewart
Faith has a question. Faith is calling in from Manhattan. Hi, Faith, what's your question?
Faith
Hey. I just moved into a very light apartment. The living room faces south, and I have a skylight in my kitchen, and they're kind of a pass through between the two roofs, but everything is painted white. White. This, you know, very bright white. We'd like to make the living room just a little different. Also, the paint job is not very good, and just wondered for suggestions. We are. Our furniture is a lot of. We have a lot of antiques, and we have paintings that are going to go on the wall, which are. And also a lot of very older, you know, antique sort of as well.
Alison Stewart
All right, we've got all white, new place, lots of antiques. What are your suggestions?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, I think, you know, this is also to do with the quality of your light as well. You talk about big south facing level of light, lots of colorful light, flooding. I think, you know, you can really take on a quite a bold color choice. You could take on quite a deep, bold color choice as well, such as a really saturated blue or a saturated orange or even a purple. And you could create a key wall again in a similar kind of way and continue that Key color through trim or even accessories. So you kind of really tie in that key color choice in your book.
Caller
You have all different suggestions for all different rooms in your home.
Alison Stewart
But I want to talk about the home office because more people now are.
Caller
Working from their home or working from their home part time. How can the color that you choose.
Alison Stewart
For your office, whatever you decide to call your office, how can it affect your productivity? And do you have any suggestions?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, I mean, this is a really interesting area. I think as we go forward with hybrid kind of working models, our changing lifestyles, colors that we can spend a long time with and that encourage concentration are very key here. And so that can be kind of light or muted greens. Also blues, very light blues, more muted blues are perfect for ongoing concentration. So I think this is about how you personally prefer to work as well and what kind of space you want to create when you're working. However, things like oranges can be very energizing. And if you need that creative impulse, you need that creative support for your brain, you need that kind of injection of energy. You know, an orange shade or a muted kind of coral shade can be absolutely perfect backdrop for a kind of working space.
Caller
This is a text that says, can you address using dark colors in a small space? There's a myth that dark colors make a space feel smaller, but I believe it's really about using dark colors contrasting in combination with light colors in order to make the space look larger. Am I on the right track?
Laura Perryman
Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think there is a massive myth about this kind of area as well, with darkness. And I think, you know, we want to create mood, dark colors more chromatic. Dark colors help us set moods much more. So again, one way to kind of tackle this feeling of want, you know, having a completely dark environment is by putting a lighter color or a light, a slightly lighter shade at the end or in one of the key feature walls, because then it draws your eye around the space. The rest of space can be quite dark and very kind of chromatic and vibrant and kind of passionate looking. But then if you have this, like, lighter element, either as a trim or as a key feature wall, you kind of draw your eye around and actually it completely changes the way that you perceive the space.
Caller
Let's talk to Jules real quick. Jules, tell us your story.
Jules
Hey. Last summer, I painted my little balcony banister a very particular green to match Monet's water Water Lily Bridge in Giverny. And I might have manifested because I'd never seen it. And I grew up loving Monet and I'm an artist and in about five days I get to see it in real life. So it brings me a lot of joy to look out and see that little nod and it'll bring me a lot of joy to see it in France in a couple of days.
Caller
Safe travels to you, Jules. Thanks for calling in in our last second. Laura, let's say I have a favorite color. Should I paint everything my favorite color?
Laura Perryman
I think you should look at what things are already your favorite color in your home and add specific accents of it. But I would also encourage you to look at the color wheel and choose a color from a different part of the color wheel which complements your favorite color. And there you will have so much more joy and inspiration.
Caller
The name of the book is the rainbow over 200 ideas and tips for adding color to your home. It is our what the heck. The Color edition. Thanks to Laura Perryman for joining us. Thanks, Laura.
Laura Perryman
Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Caller
Coming up next on all of it, Valerie June joins us live in WNYC Studio 5 perform from her latest album, Owls, Omens and Oracles. That's coming up right after the news.
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Alison Stewart
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Laura Perryman
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Caller
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Alison Stewart
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All Of It: How to Add Colors to Your Home (Tastefully) Host: Alison Stewart | Guest: Laura Perryman | Release Date: April 21, 2025
Introduction
In the April 21, 2025 episode of WNYC’s ALL OF IT, host Alison Stewart delves into the vibrant world of color in home decor. Titled "How to Add Colors to Your Home (Tastefully)", the episode features Laura Perryman, a seasoned color designer from the UK and author of The Rainbow Home: Over 200 Ideas and Tips for Adding Color to Your Home. Together, they explore the psychological and aesthetic impacts of color, offering listeners expert advice on choosing and implementing color schemes that enhance living spaces.
The Psychological Impact of Color
Alison Stewart kickstarts the conversation by highlighting the significant role colors play in our lives, not just aesthetically but also psychologically. Laura Perryman emphasizes, "Color is such an incredible tool and it's been studied for centuries through color psychology, but also neuroscience as well. And we're starting to learn lots and lots more about the deep impact of certain colors, even on our behavior, our mood, and even our physical being" (01:39).
Laura explains how colors like canary yellow can boost optimism and energy, while cornflower blue fosters relaxation and concentration. She underscores the importance of strategic color placement to create desired emotional responses, such as lowering heart rates or energizing a space.
Why We Are Attracted to Certain Colors
The conversation shifts to understanding why certain colors appeal to us more than others. Laura Perryman shares insights into the innate and experiential factors that shape our color preferences:
"I think we are hardwired as human beings to have certain preconceptions about color. So obviously green is an incredibly important color area to us because we see it as a very positive color... Memory also plays a really, really important part." (02:17)
She elaborates on how colors associated with nature, like green, are perceived as safe and calming, while personal memories, such as a favorite childhood garment, also influence our subconscious connections to specific hues.
Choosing Colors Based on Space Size and Lighting
One of the critical discussions revolves around selecting colors based on the size of the room and its lighting. Alison Stewart poses a question about decorating small spaces, and Laura Perryman responds with nuanced advice:
"Lighter tones always make spaces feel much larger. Whereas if you choose a much more rich, dark, deep, sumptuous color, you're going to make it feel like it's a cocoon, like a smaller environment." (04:18)
Laura advises that for low-light areas, warm base colors like terracotta or rich browns can add warmth and make spaces feel more inviting. Conversely, brighter rooms can embrace darker and cooler tones, such as blues, to create a balanced and engaging atmosphere.
Practical Tips for Color Selection
Laura Perryman provides actionable tips for listeners contemplating color changes:
"Pairing the colors with the personality of the space is essential. For instance, take your front door—what kind of perception do you want to convey? Do you want to give a sense of joy or reassurance?" (06:08)
She emphasizes aligning color choices with the function of each room. For example, using yellow in social spaces to foster optimism and interaction, while opting for calming tones in bedrooms to enhance relaxation.
Listener Calls: Tailored Color Advice
The episode invites listeners to call in with their color dilemmas, allowing Laura Perryman to offer personalized advice:
Tabby from Brooklyn (08:04)
Scott from Commack, Long Island (16:31)
Christina from Connecticut (17:16)
Marilyn from Manhattan (18:11)
Faith from Manhattan (20:06)
Other Listeners
Color Walks and Understanding Color Theory
Beyond practical tips, Laura Perryman introduces the concept of color walks:
"A color walk is basically a big inspiration trip for color... going for a walk somewhere that you really love... looking for these cues to color as you go along and recording them." (13:51)
This approach encourages individuals to draw inspiration from their natural surroundings, fostering a personal and authentic relationship with color. Additionally, Laura clarifies key color theory terms such as hue, tone, tint, and chromatic tension, aiding listeners in making informed color choices and creating harmonious color schemes.
Conclusion
The episode wraps up with Laura Perryman summarizing the importance of personal preference and thoughtful experimentation in color selection:
"Look at what things are already your favorite color in your home and add specific accents of it. But also consider complementary colors from different parts of the color wheel." (24:19)
ALL OF IT underscores that adding color to a home is not just about aesthetics but also about enhancing the emotional and psychological well-being of its inhabitants. By leveraging expert insights and personalized advice, listeners are empowered to transform their living spaces into vibrant reflections of their personalities and lifestyles.
Notable Quotes
Laura Perryman [01:39]: "Color is such an incredible tool and it's been studied for centuries through color psychology, but also neuroscience as well."
Laura Perryman [02:17]: "We are hardwired as human beings to have certain preconceptions about color."
Laura Perryman [04:18]: "Lighter tones always make spaces feel much larger."
Laura Perryman [06:08]: "Pairing the colors with the personality of the space is essential."
Laura Perryman [13:51]: "A color walk is basically a big inspiration trip for color."
Laura Perryman [22:51]: "There is a massive myth about dark colors making spaces smaller."
Timestamp References
For more insights and tips on adding color to your home, tune into future episodes of ALL OF IT on WNYC with Alison Stewart.