Kitchen/Bath Designer Help - Color Choices That Don't Scare Clients?

[HumbleChief]

I'm beginning to do more and more Kitchen/Bath designs and RayTraces for presentations and was wondering if the kitchen bath gurus could share what color schemes they use to keep the clients in the game while designing.

I've had a couple of bad reactions to some color choices when there's no real way of knowing their specific tastes. Of course when given the chance I'll ask but many times I'm doing a generic bath or kitchen and the focus of the job (at this stage) is not color choice but would like to choose colors that don't scare the clients.

Is it simply beige, beige, and more beige? With oatmeal (beige) granite? White or beige cabinets? Or is there another scheme that rings true with the majority of clients from your experience?

[dgavin]

Unless they specify a color preference I stay neutral. You can also show them vector with no color so you can discuss design without the color getting in the way.
Another option is to use a shade variant of what is in an adjacent room or hallway. That is often done by designers.

[HumbleChief]

Unless they specify a color preference I stay neutral. You can also show them vector with no color so you can discuss design without the color getting in the way.
Another option is to use a shade variant of what is in an adjacent room or hallway. That is often done by designers.

Great tips Dennis, Thank you.

[Charles Volz]

I have trouble showing them color even if using the paint manufacturer's catalog because the color in a rendered view looks different than the manufacturer's color chart and actual paint. Also, the colors look different on different monitors.

[David J. Potter]

I do what the client wants and if they are unsure, I recommend a licensed Interior Designer who is trained to know what goes with what.
The best remodeling firms I work with do this by default (maybe that is partly why they are the best, you decide).
Otherwise, I just show them black and white line drawings (some of my other remodeling clients specify that, probably for the similar reasons as above).
I mean, you want your client's attention upon the positives of what you do and not off on tangents of "that is not the color I want!" or " why on Earth did you use that material?", good, solid reasons to use your estimation of who you are working with and what they find acceptable and "good", it is a wild variable, person to person.


DJP

[HumbleChief]

I have trouble showing them color even if using the paint manufacturer's catalog because the color in a rendered view looks different than the manufacturer's color chart and actual paint. Also, the colors look different on different monitors.

Yes Yes Yes this is a constant problem and I'm not sure there's a real solution. I told my clients last night to, "Please allow me to get it all wrong as a starting point and then together we will get the details straightened out." No way around those color variances I don't think.

[dgavin]

Give them the same options my Mom used to: Take it or leave it!

[perryh]

if its a problem, show it in grayscale, Colors will never be exact. The color depends on how you view it. Take stucco color, the colors you pick from the standard list are not anything Chief has so that makes the choice non standard and more money. Even so, the list people choose the stucco color from will also be different than the stucco they actually get. I put a disclaimer on every plan.

[lbuttery]

I have trouble showing them color even if using the paint manufacturer's catalog because the color in a rendered view looks different than the manufacturer's color chart and actual paint. Also, the colors look different on different monitors.



Calibration of monitors and printers can cure most of these issues

but even then there is no guarantee and your contact etc should make this clear


if they rely on a screen or printer color and then order furniture or paint there could be suprises - even with calibration

Lew

[joverberg]

Calibration and matching of monitors and output devices is critical but they must be calibrated to a known standard. Panatone is probably the must prevalent in a wide number of fields. You can buy samples, books, charts and everything else you can imagine that should match your monitor and printer exactly. See: http://www.pantone.com/pages/paint/paintselector.aspx
for a good example for paints.

Jeff

[MarkMc]

I no longer use pretty images of their kitchen as a selling tool. I sit down with some rough layouts- what they asked for, what they can do to fix that and get what they want etc. The first perspectives I show them of their kitchen are line drawings. I show them pretty pictures of previous jobs which include variations of colors that the earlier client was choosing from but not usually theirs. If they are leaning toward a specific finish I'll use that but rarely are most of the choices made to get into RT's. Besides the colors can distract them from the issue at hand- designing their kitchen.

My job is to help them solve the layout, flow, storage issues and to select materials and surfaces. It is a long conversation. Ray Traces are a part of that process. I get a retainer before going through all of that but have to give them some kind of pricing and a sense of what we do first. They know all that up front.

As to colors- really got to get around to the calibrating thing since I end up on 4 different monitors. I have an IPS that is pretty good that I use for presentation in the office but still end up tweaking colors looking at a real life sample held up to the monitor often.

[HumbleChief]

I no longer use pretty images of their kitchen as a selling tool. I sit down with some rough layouts- what they asked for, what they can do to fix that and get what they want etc. The first perspectives I show them of their kitchen are line drawings. I show them pretty pictures of previous jobs which include variations of colors that the earlier client was choosing from but not usually theirs. If they are leaning toward a specific finish I'll use that but rarely are most of the choices made to get into RT's. Besides the colors can distract them from the issue at hand- designing their kitchen.

My job is to help them solve the layout, flow, storage issues and to select materials and surfaces. It is a long conversation. Ray Traces are a part of that process. I get a retainer before going through all of that but have to give them some kind of pricing and a sense of what we do first. They know all that up front.

As to colors- really got to get around to the calibrating thing since I end up on 4 different monitors. I have an IPS that is pretty good that I use for presentation in the office but still end up tweaking colors looking at a real life sample held up to the monitor often.

Super helpful Mark. I'm not a kitchen designer per se but sometimes get pretty deep into the process before I know it. I think I may abandon the RT's for initial presentations and stick to line drawing or water color with a line drawing over lay.

[MarkMc]

... but sometimes get pretty deep into the process before I know it.

Aye, and it can be a deep dark hole to fall in

[David J. Potter]

The clients I work with closely, in their home, I point out that the colors (paint, finishes, flooring etc) will be what they pick out where those items are sold. My virtual model contains only approximations of those, so it is the contract and their choices which will go into their home and not what they might see or not see on my laptop. That is usually enough for most people, the others can enjoy back and white line drawings or grey-scale on my PC live.
That is one of the first things I handle with people I start to design with, it is a must.

DJP

[Alaskan Son]

I've started telling people right off the bat that they may love or hate the first designs, either way its fine, its just somewhere to start. This way they they don't feel bad telling me, and they aren't shocked if it looks terrible to them. When you're not sure where to start, even a totally bad design can get the ball rolling in the right direction.