When faced with 150 shades of white at the paint store, finding the perfect one seems impossible.
Donald Kaufman, color guru to top designers and architects, has been helping clients navigate this sea of white for over 30 years. “The first mistake to avoid is getting caught up on the name of the color or holding the whites against other colors,” he says. “The eye naturally looks for contrast among hues or materials, and this is the perfect neutral to do the job.” Based on the light, sheen, and surrounding objects, the paint can have a variety of subtle nuances. “Often a second color is not even necessary,” Kaufman says.
And that’s just the whites. Can you imagine the grays? What makes the Donald Kaufman paint line my absolute favorite?
Luminosity. Kaufman’s methods allow minuscule particles of pigment suspended in skeins of paint to exhibit a spectral subtlety – blues and purples peek out of reds and yellows. The effect is one of color luminosity – of light coming from within. Kaufman is devoted to providing a better quality of color in his paints, using proprietary pigment combinations. He avoids the paint industry’s standardized formulation practices and while it is an exacting balance to combine pigment, the right mix of pigment can enliven the light passing through them and make a significant difference in the nuance of color and how it performs with the light in a room.
Some have remarked that the colors he creates do not so much mimic the beautiful colors of nature but instead recreate their effect. Kaufman looks at paint as an artist and for me, after using his paint line for my clients who can afford it (a gallon of paint can cost about $120!) other paint just looks dead. The colors are extraordinary and they have more depth and more subtlety than any other paint line I have used.
One of my favorite pallettes includes a grayish lavendar with soft taupes and whites, perfectly neutral with just enough pigment to look opalescent during the early morning hours. What a great way to wake up, yes?
While finding the perfect color can be daunting to most, the Donald Kaufman paint collection has changed the way I look at color and has given me one more way to differentiate my Fresh Eyes!
