Color Guru Kate Smith to Shed Light on Color

Excited about her first visit to The Woodlands and Houston, Smith, a color stylist and prolific blogger, plans to use her decades of experience and acquired skills in the corporate world and as an independent consultant to help fall show visitors understand how to use color in their lives.

"What I find most interesting about color is the very positive effect it has on mood. It can make you feel relaxed, nurtured or whimsical," Smith said. "It's all about the colors you choose."

Smith hopes to share her passion and knowledge about color and impart more than just painting tips and color scheme ideas, but rather teach residents how to choose and use color themselves and explain why different paints and tints work.

Color Confidence

Using her debut color kit, Color Confidence: Color for Your Home Interior, Smith will peel back the layers to reveal how to design color schemes and create mood during her fall show presentation. The seven-step kit takes consumers on a kaleidoscopic how-to that teaches them to understand their own style and how to read a room and set the mood they want. Smith said the kit is a helpful guide of tricks and tips to increase creative confidence and comprehension of color fundamentals.

"What I basically want to talk about is how to use color to create mood and style. It's the single most important element, something that people are very interested in," she said. "I walk through these color basics so attendees can walk away with some solid information that they can begin using right away."

Harmony in the home

One of Smith's hot topics is color harmony, which many people know as creating flow in the home with thematic hues that form a cohesive statement instead of standalone rooms.

"Even if you use different palettes, there are a lot of little tricks to making those work together," she said. "You don't want it to look choppy. You can have different things going on, but there are things you can do so rooms look like they flow into one another."

Cheer up walls with complex neutrals

A common problem, and a reason so many homeowners' walls remain eggshell white, is fear. Smith said many consumers worry the colors they choose will not work, will clash with the furniture or will simply be applied incorrectly. Smith's solution is complex neutrals.

"These are beautiful neutrals with color in them. They're like communion colors because they work with so many things. Even if a neutral looks bluish or purplish, but you can't quite pin a color on it, that's usually a very complex neutral. Some are greenish bluish gray or golden brownish," Smith said. "It's very difficult to go wrong with a complex neutral. People keep their walls bland because they're afraid of not matching, but using neutrals with cool and warm undertones is a great solution."

The color guru

Smith began her career in product development and marketing, forecasting colors for the mass market. She shifted her focus to consulting in 2001 after predicting a surge in consumer interest in the science of color.

"I started to transition into sharing more information with consumers, and I saw a huge interest in better understanding color, especially in how to decorate with color," Smith said. "I started a little blog that became a Web site, which has garnered so much interest that it has now expanded to include three blogs."

Smith said her debut Houston appearance is another opportunity to educate and inspire.

"My desire is to share what I know because people gain more confidence in themselves with color when they understand it," Smith said. "Color is my passion, but helping you to enjoy it, understand it and use it confidently is my purpose."

Smith's kit will be available for attendees to browse and purchase. The kit is also available at Home Depot and Lowe's. To learn more about Kate Smith and using color, visit her web site, www.sensationalcolor.com.

Color Desk Q&A! Get Face Time with Color Expert, Author and Designer Kate Smith
Saturday,  2 - 5pm and Sunday, 2:30 - 4:30pm

*Get an Autographed Copy of Kate's new Color Confidence Kit!