Healing with Color - Designer Amy Passantino Does a Home Makeover for the Mind, Body, and Spirit

    LOS ANGELES, CA, December 03, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Amy Passantino, CEO of Amy Elizabeth Designs, recently had a client who was going through a transformational time in her life. Marjorie Bernstein had just gone through a messy divorce and was entering the empty nesting stage without a partner while watching both her daughters move out.

Amy recalled, "As I peeked around her dormant home I began noticing scattered artwork along the walls that my client just adored. These pieces literally became the windows into her soul and that's when it hit me, to create a palette for her that could not only heal, but bring this home back to life."

Amy chose to pull colors from the artwork to create a meaningful blend of color that would become the backdrop for Marjorie's home.

"I wanted a combination of colors that would be both calming and invigorating to my client's personality," said Amy. "By selecting furniture to keep in line with a coastal cottage theme, I was able to emulate an inviting retreat that would give her a sense of renewed peace during this next stage."

The color wheel is broken down into three color families: cool colors, warm colors, and neutrals. The cool colors are blue, green, and purple, all of which were chosen for her client's main spaces. The cool colors are ideal for relaxation -- something Marjorie was in desperate need of.

A medium tone blue-green (Benjamin Moore's 620 Key Largo Green) became the main accent wall against a classic fireplace. The blue-green was pulled directly from nature correlating with the ocean and water. This is a cool color known for its calming attributes that bring focus and clarity.

Said Amy, "I chose a mint (BM 850 Reflection) for the remaining walls of her living room and dining area which promoted harmony and growth. Two colors in the purple family, (BM 1371 Plum Perfect & 1369 Luscious) pulled from the flowers in her artwork which were used as the accent colors in the dining room tray ceiling. The ceiling is a great space for drawing your eye upward and perfect for featuring a beautiful light fixture."

The plum perfect and luscious had pink undertones creating a mixture of the cool and warm color attributes. The warm colors are red, orange, and yellow. These are the high-energy colors also known for stimulating the appetite, perfect for the dining areas. By utilizing a tint of the red family, pink, as an undertone of the purple, Amy was able to introduce a color that had some energy to it and was not only invigorating, but still harbored the calming attributes of the cool color family symbolizing prosperity. These colors were then repeated throughout her home.

"It's important to repeat colors within a home to create a harmonious flow throughout," said Amy.

Benjamin Moore's "Linen White" is a cleansing color, introducing the clean slate her client was in need of. The color white was also brought in through the painted wood furniture used to create the coastal cottage feel freshening up the now "alive" home.

"All of these colors came together in a rejuvenating palette that was not only beneficial to my client, but was significant to her self healing entering into this next phase of life."

Referring to the tray ceiling in the dining room: "Her genius has really shown through. Everyone is immediately drawn to the dining room -- it's absolutely spectacular," said Ms. Bernstein.

Amy Elizabeth Interior Design specializes in designing residential homes. Amy began her color career as a color spokesperson for Benjamin Moore & Company working on projects such as Make it Right and speaking at events for House Beautiful Magazine. Her goal is to transform a home with a feeling rather than just a look or style. She intends to push beyond the boundaries of interior design and take aesthetics to the next spiritual level creating spaces that add to her client's lifestyle and well-being.

Amy Elizabeth Interior design specializes in residential design and is located in Los Angeles. Color is the backdrop to all of work. For further info, please contact, Amy Passantino 310-433-2607.

Website: http://www.aepinteriordesign.com

# # #