On the Couch With Jamie Drake

Color Strategy

MyHomeIdeas (MHI): You seem especially comfortable using strong color. Is there a strategy in how you use it?

Jamie Drake (JD): I do love color and utilize two strategies depending on the space. One is to envelop a room in one color: walls, upholstery, curtains, and sometimes even case goods all would be in the same color but with varied tones and textures. It is important to give it some relief, with either light or dark wood pieces or accents in another color in pillows, lamps, or other accessories.

My second strategy involves using shots of color in an otherwise more neutral room. I like to disperse the selected shade throughout a space, so the eye moves from larger items (curtains, chairs) to midsize (pillows, lampshades) down to small (tabletop accessories, a single flower). I often paint the ceiling a pale, pastel shade of the color to bring the eye up.