The client and her toothbrush

It’s something that artists find hard to accept but it’s true – people choose artwork because of its color. Of course, the subject matters but the color does too. Our tiny apartment uses earth tones and any art coming in to hang on my walls has to complement those colors. This is one of the reasons we don’t insist on matting and framing our artwork – we like to give you the choice.

Many artists do insist on determining the mat and the frame but we believe that it’s your home, your decision. I was thinking about this today and remembered an incident from many years ago when I was an interior designer in the UK. A lady came into the studio looking for a complete bathroom remodel. Everything, every fixture, all the tile work. even the window frame, was going. She was starting completely from scratch.

We chatted for a while and then got talking about color scheme. She opened her purse and took out her toothbrush of all things. It had three colors. “That’s my color palette” she said.

Now I know that sounds like an interior designer’s joke or fable but that’s exactly what happened and that’s exactly what we did. We created a wonderful bathroom for her using the colors of her toothbrush as a lead. And it’s not remotely crazy. I have a vase in my house that has all the colors in my palette. And yes, if I was going shopping for accessories, I’d take it with me. You’ve probably seen the ad on TV when a client does almost the exact thing with an architect – she takes a gorgeous tap out of her purse and says ‘design me a house around that’.

A piece of artwork can perform the same function. Use the search box on this site to look for ‘palette’ and you’ll find some examples. Start with something you love and work from it – even if it’s your toothbrush