Designer's Qulitative Method for Infusing Room Hues: Simplicity Defined

Color-Infused Simplicity: This Designer's Secret Method for Swathing a Space in Hue

Rewritten Article:

Austin's very own Avery Cox shares her take on the alluring world of color. For her, it's all about transforming a room with a fresh hue, giving it a splash of life, and making a new normal for the space. She's not a fan of color being associated with chaos; instead, she champions rooms drenched in color from walls and trim to ceiling and millwork. "Embrace the bold," she says, "My best designs lean into color, embracing vividness that feels immersive and otherworldly."

As color enthusiasts, we can't get enough of Avery's fearless use of hues. We chatted about getting started, her method of getting color to flow throughout a home, and her go-to color combos. Here's what we learned about color-washing and more.

Avery Cox

She's a fearless designer who isn't afraid to let color take the lead. If painting isn't an option, she recommends something equally impactful like a rug or full drapes.

How to Dive into the Color DeeperEnd?

For Avery, it all starts with the architecture. Smaller rooms tend to work better with darker tones, while larger, airy rooms are suited to brighter colors. She also finds inspiration in art often. Her ever-growing art library serves as a wellspring of ideas, and she keeps a close eye on how artists create palettes, with Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard, Milton Avery, and Hockney being a few of her favorites.

Picking the Perfect Pigment

Finding the ideal shade is crucial, and Avery advises trying samples in your own space for the most accurate representation. She suggests testing not only the chosen shades but also a light and darker version. It's essential not to judge the shade based on what's currently on the walls. By blocking out the existing wall color, she believes you can make a more informed decision.

Avery's Secret Weapon: Tonality

A key component of her design process is tonality, or using colors close to each other on the color wheel. She favors the look of a room bathed in a single, bold hue, be it blue, green, or pink. This approach provides an easy introduction to the world of color and allows for harmonious transitions between different rooms.

Keeping Color in the Family

Transitioning colors from one room to the next can sometimes be a challenge. Avery suggests using tonality to maintain a smooth transition, such as starting with hunter green and moving towards olive or a bluer shade. The goal is to test out different combinations to ensure that the transition doesn't feel jarring.

Lighting the Way: The Power of a Lampshade

A lampshade elegantly adds a dash of color and can serve as a game-changer. Defaulting to a boring white shade can throw off an entire color scheme, so opt for a custom, colorful lampshade instead.

Avery's Favorite Color Conundrums

When it comes to combinations, Avery is a fan of earthy and classic pairings like rust and hunter green or verdigris and cherry. To ensure balance and prevent a Christmas-like effect, she suggests pairing brighter hues with neutrals such as taupe or gray.

Avery's Top Paint Picks

Sherwin Williams Greek Villa: This warm, creamy white is the perfect neutral for bright spaces, radiating the feel of morning sunlight all day long.
Benjamin Moore Ivy League: A muddy green that's rich and versatile, Ivy League has proved itself time and time again and serves as an ideal backdrop for brighter, jewel-toned hues.
Farrow & Ball Babouche: A bright, beautiful yellow with depth and zest, Babouche captures the essence of a sunflower field. This color is at home in entryways and bedrooms alike, serving as both a dominant hue and an accent.

Avery Cox, a designer from Austin, advocates for using color to transform spaces, especially walls, trim, ceiling, and millwork, believing that bold colors create immersive and otherworldly designs.
When selecting paint colors, Avery recommends testing samples in your space for an accurate representation, suggesting to try not only the chosen shades but also lighter and darker versions, and to block out the existing wall color to make informed decisions.
To maintain a smooth transition of colors from one room to another, Avery advises using tonality, or colors close to each other on the color wheel, and experimenting with different combinations to prevent a jarring transition, such as starting with hunter green and moving towards olive or a bluer shade.