Photos & Reviews

We often receive wonderful emails with feedback and photos from our paint customers. Please find below some of these we'd like to share!

"I really can't begin to explain how the room radiates 'energy' --even in low light, no light situations. The cats and I just sit in it and 'zone out' (in a good way!)-- relaxing, soothing, comforting."

- Denise in Ohio

("Camelhair" walls on left in both photos, with "Gustavian Grey" walls in room beyond created by Color Consultant Lori Sawaya)

"As a Color Consultant, I specify a lot of paint colors. I depend on Full Spectrum Paints by Ellen Kennon to help me customize environments and create unique atmospheres.  Unfortunately, I regularly encounter people trying to “match” her full spectrum colors.

For a recent project, I specified one of her stock colors, Slate, and a custom full spectrum mix she created of Sherwin Williams' (SW) Relic Bronze.  My client’s painter guaranteed them that between the technology available to the paint store staff and his experience, “any color could be matched”.  They were not successful in matching Slate or Ellen’s full spectrum version of Relic Bronze. 

Their version of Slate is more of a turquoise; it is missing that refined, muted edge that makes Slate so sophisticated.  Their version of full spectrum Relic Bronze is totally off and the most problematic.  It does not even match the SW Relic Bronze color chip.  Multiple gallons of attempted color matches, a store manager and a local paint rep later, they were still not able to get a spot-on match to the full spectrum swatches.  Apparently, they thought their final attempts were close enough and it did not matter. Well, it matters. The miss on the color matches is obvious.  To top it off, the product they felt matched the custom Relic best made a streaky mess of the walls.  Because of their lack of understanding of how full spectrum color is mixed, two of the colors painted in my client’s home are not what I nor my client expected. 

A repaint will be scheduled and the full spectrum paint colors I originally specified will be used. Clients are disappointed to say the least. Their painter "guaranteed" that he could match anything and they made the mistake of trusting him when it came to custom, designer color. Even though he is an in-demand, experienced, and quality-oriented crafts man, his lack of advanced color knowledge left my client with two rooms that need to be repainted. After having their whole house in paint-chaos for a week, they are not looking forward to starting over in those rooms.

The initial cost to purchase the full spectrum colors as specified would have been a fraction of the losses in material and labor accumulated in the effort to copy them."

-Lori Sawaya, Color Consultant, Color Strategies

("Camelhair" walls left & right with "Lilac Mist" specified by Color Consultant Lori Sawaya)

("Classic Cream" ceiling and Custom Color walls created for Color Consultant Lori Sawaya)

(Lori Sawaya's photo of "Pumice" Walls)

(Lori's "Wedgewood" walls & "Aqua" ceiling)

(Custom "Pappas Bronze" ceiling for Lori Sawaya)

(Lori's photo of one of her projects shows "Mushroom's" chameleon-like qualities)

("Mushroom" walls, "White Opal" trim with "Citrine" walls in room beyond)

("Aqua" walls)

("Edgewood Green", although a color, is the perfect neutral. See how it coordinates with many colors in the photos that follow):

("Edgewood Green" with "Slate" in the room beyond)

("Berry Red" on left with "Edgewood Green" & "Chartreuse" beyond )

("Greige" in foreground with "Edgewood Green"& "Peridot" in rooms beyond)

("Edgewood Green" with "Seaglass" in bedroom beyond)

("Edgewood Green" with "Shell Pink" in Bedroom beyond)

("Edgewood Green" with "Sky" in Bedroom beyond)

("Chartreuse" walls)

("Citrine" walls with "Edgewood Green" millwork, shown in Pitot House Museum Bedroom)

("Ruby" walls with "Edgewood Green" ceiling & millwork - Pitot House Museum)

("Mushroom" walls)

("Rainbow Fog" walls in both photos above)

("Lavender Mist" on walls above)

("Lilac" walls above)

"So love my office now. Paint is everything & yours is the best!"

-Amy Churgin, Sr. V.P. Conde' Nast (former Architectural Digest V.P. & Publisher)

"We LOVE the colors you helped us choose. The Camelhair absolutely fascinates me. The Lavender Mist is so incredibly and beautifully subtle in my daughter's room. My son's Ashen Green bedroom is exactly what he wanted. The Mushroom in our bedroom is so tranquil, but not boring or blah. We'll be using the Ruby on our dining room walls soon and the living room is going to look as fabulous as the entryway and stairwells as soon as we get the Camelhair on the walls."

(Barbara's "Magnolia" walls left, "Citrine" walls right)

(Barbara's "Magnolia" cabinets with "Old Brick", "Bronze" & "Magnolia" used to accent the window & bring the outdoors in)

" I thought you would find my window treatment rather interesting. It actually looks a bit like I matted and framed the window. The treatment and the colors add a bit of whimsy to my kitchen, which is quite fun. I am attaching a couple photos of the Magnolia cupboards, which I really do love.
My kitchen feels like it has had a $30,000 remodel, and all I did was let a few gallons of your paint work their magic!"

-Barbara Drake, Arlington, Virginia

-Marc Charbonnet, MECA Productions, NY, NY

("Classic Cream " foreground with "White Opal" Millwork, photos above & below)

(Detail of above two photos-"White Opal" & "Classic Cream")

("Seafoam" & "White Opal" Millwork above)

("Seafoam" walls)

("Emerald" walls)

("Sunshine" walls, photos above & below)

("Pueblo" walls)

("Berry Red" walls)

("Albania Mango" door, left, "Coral" walls & door, right)

("Coral" Walls)

("Del Sol" Walls)

("Giverny Blue" walls)

("Shrimp" walls, photos above & below)

("Giverny Green" walls)

("Tuscan Sun" walls, photo above)

(Custom Color "Albania Mango" on the walls of this Plantation Parlor above & below in NYC Loft)

("Mustard Seed" walls)

("Mustard Seed" walls with Oak Trim)

("Mustard Seed" walls)

("Citrine" walls)

("Citrine" walls)

("Ashen Green" walls above & below)

("Berry Red" walls with "White Opal" trim)

"We purchased Ellen Kennon's Full Spectrum Paints to cover most of the walls of our new home (a few walls will receive a faux finish). Ellen came through for us in a big way. She dropped everything (on a Saturday morning), patiently helped us decide on three of her colors, and got the formulas to a local paint supply for us to pick up within an hour. In contrast to our disenchantment at the thought of settling for the best possible Benjamin Moore colors, we are truly thrilled to dress our walls with Ellen's. She has far fewer colors to choose from, but it was a breeze to find the right (actually PERFECT) ones. It is so difficult to describe nuances of color. Now that we see large patches of painted surfaces beside each other on site, I can say this; the Full Spectrum Paint has remarkably more depth and richness (compared with the closest Benjamin Moore color match), and is much more responsive to nearby colors and light. I just can't think of better words to describe it. In direct contrast, the Benjamin Moore paint appears flat, one dimensional, and static. It's not just me. The effect has won over my sceptical husband, our painters, our builder and even our architect. Ellen was great to work with; a savvy color consultant very generous with her time. I didn't expect to be this excited about house paint."

(Above: "Pumpkin Spice" walls with "White Opal" millwork)

("Chestnut" walls )

("Olive" walls in foreground with "Sage" trim & "Gustavian Grey" ceilings. "Chestnut" in rear bathroom.)

("Chestnut" walls)

\

("Cognac" walls & ceiling)

("Cognac" walls)

("Parchment" Walls)

("Wheat" Walls, both left and right)

("Bone" walls)

("Azure" walls)

("Spring Green" on walls in both rooms above)

("Adobe" walls with "Edgewood Green" trim & cabinetry)

("Green Apple" walls with "Gustavian Grey" ceilings in this Tween's Room)

("Edgewood Green" walls )

("Adobe" Walls)

("Aqua" walls & ceiling)

("Gustavian Grey" right, custom "Sherwood Green" left for Color Consultant Amy Woolf)

(Amy's Living Room, above, in her custom "Sherwood Green)

(Amy's "Classic Cream" Kitchen)

(Amy's Kitchen with "Mustard Seed" accent wall)

("Honeysuckle" wall left meets "Tuscan Sun" wall right)

("Moutarde" walls )

("Oasis" walls with "White Opal" trim)

("Olive" walls, "Sage" crown & "Gustavian Grey" ceilings -window trim not yet painted)

("Peridot" walls)

(left to right: "Peridot", "Old Brick" & "Pumpkin Spice")

("Pumpkin Spice")

("Old Brick" wall)

("Shrimp" walls, "White Opal" beaded board & trim)

("Tulip Leaves", like all warm greens, complements woodtones)

("Buttercream" walls, "Edgewood Green" trim)

("Kennon Ivy" solid stain on body and opaque stain on doors & trim weathers into the landscape quite well!)

("Before" photo of house clients intended to flip as they hated the busy lines and pink-purple brick.)

("Moss Green" paint on left and right is transforming this work in progress! "Forest Black"
shutters & vents)

(Above: Close up of completed project. Colors: "Moss Green" body with ""Forest Black" shutters. Clients love is so much, they've decided to stay put!)

And, now. . . For some of our more vibrant colors from our Magical Gem & 2007 Summer Brights Palettes; the photos below are all from the recent show at the Ogden Museum in New Orleans:

Hunt Slonem: Artist & Collector

(Above: "Mykonos Blue")

(Above L to R: "Mykonos Blue", "Carnelian" & "Giverny Blue")

(Above: "Amethyst")

(Above: "Amethyst" far left, "Mykonos Blue" right)

(Above: "Carnelian" & "Amethyst")

(Above L to R: "Carnelian", "Giverny Blue", "Amethyst" & "Mykonos Blue")

(Above L to R: "Carnelian", "Giverny Blue", "Del Sol" & "Giverny Blue")

(Above L to R: "Mykonos Blue", "Del Sol", "Giverny Blue", "Del Sol" & "Sapphire" far right inset)

(Above L to R: "Del Sol", "Mykonos Blue", "Monteverde" & "Del Sol")

"I had previously painted my kitchen in Benjamin Moore's Creme Yellow (above chair rail) and Soft Fern (below chair rail). I wanted to weigh in on the fuss about full spectrum paints, so I picked the most similar Ellen Kennon colors to repaint, choosing Buttercream and Lichen in velvet sheen finish, which is a matte washable. I also selected White Opal in semigloss for trim. Here is my rambling, unscientific opinion:

I realize why people say the color seems alive. There is a depth to the colors that makes BM paints seem like a coating, while EK paints "become" part of the wall. You know how faux leather never looks quite like real leather? Or how true Asian lacquer (I have only seen it in museums, mind you) is miles apart from modern lacquer? In the same way, EK paints seem to have a 3D quality. I have heard some people call it a "glow". I see it as a 3D softness, the way you can tell a sweater is precious cashmere without ever touching. The color does indeed shift with the angle and the lighting. Lichen looks bluer, greener, grayer, depending on the time of day and where I am standing. In one moment, Buttercream looks pale yellow, then beige, then almost gold where a streak of morning sunlight is shining. I find this delightful. BM paints do this to an extent (as all paints) but EK paints change more dramatically. For this reason, it is my strong recommendation that anyone selecting EK paints BUY the paint pots and do the posterboard test. The color changes will be amazing, and you want to make sure you like all of them! That everyone's environment is different has never been so true as with EK paints. I compare it to the way the same perfume can smell completely different on two people.

When the ICI sales clerk saw me, he told me he had to call the main office, as he had never heard of all these pigments and could not believe it was legit, and was told that the office gets a call at least once a week wondering about it. He said 'do you realize with all these pigments that the color will change with the light?' As for the W hite Opal, he said that he could not even compare it to anything they had in the store, that he had never seen a white like it. I felt so. . . sophisticated. Speaking of sophistication, I feel that EK paints took my previous color selections and cleaned 'em up Pretty Woman style (80's movie reference). The BM Creme Yellow that I had thought was so soft and pretty, now looks banana yellow. And hard. Weird, I know, but so true. I guess a true test would be to have Ellen take Creme Yellow and Soft Fern and make them full spectrum, and compare apples to apples. . . but like I said, this is my unscientific opinion and I am just another ecstatic EK customer. As a parting thought, you know how realtors are always chanting 'Paint White for Resale?' I had always rolled my eyes at the idea. . . I guess because I got sick of all the white and beige houses that I looked at during my house shopping stint. But I think with full spectrum paints, that painting everything with the offwhites would look splendid, as EK colors lack flatness. There is a warmth and richness to her paints that makes an ordinary wall suddenly more special. A halo sensation that feels like home. A gallon of her paint costs less than a steak dinner for two, and the effect is lasting."

Also, Chasing Matisse, by James Morgan is finally out! It's getting rave reviews and is a wonderful escape following Jim & Beth's travels through France visiting the places where Matisse lived and painted. Who does the author quote on color therapy? Ellen Kennon!