Pinks That Will Make You Blush.

This week I had two very different clients who both painted their rooms the same color. One room was a nursery for a baby girl, and the other room was an office for an adult woman. They both wanted to paint their rooms a soft, blushy pink, but they had no idea how to achieve the color they were looking for. So they called the Paint Diva to save the day. (That would be me. :)

They both wanted a soft pink, which, in the past

 I have referred to as either a "blushy pink" or a "Ballet pink".

 Most recently this color has come to be known as "Millenial Pink". 

Knowing what to call it isn't the hard part, knowing how to achieve it is.

I had to give both clients a color lesson. So for today's blog,

 we'll talk about pink and I will share the Millienial Pink color lesson with you.

For the first house it was pretty easy. The baby had a closet full of tiny little dresses in a whole array of pink shades. I pulled out a blush pink dress, and a very pink dress. 

Next I opened up my fan deck and showed her the two different sections of pink. The first section is the very pink "bubble gum" section. I showed her that even the lightest shade of pink on the strip will still appear very pink.

Next I showed her the blush pink section. To the untrained eye these colors look beigey, or grayish. They look seemingly too muted. My client made a "yuck" face.

But then when I held up the blush pink paint chip to the blush pink dress, she exclaimed "Ooh! That's pretty!" Same color!

So your color lesson for today is how to achieve a soft, blush pink. Pink is toned down not by going lighter, or by adding white (which can't be done anyway) it's done by adding beige. To explain, when paint is mixed, you start with a can of white paint. Then you add red tint, which is pretty intense. 

Even if you only use a tiny drop of red,

 the resulting pink will still be what I call a "clear, bright" pink.

 In order to tone it down, you need to create a "muddy' pink. In order to do that, you need to add a bit of a muddy color like beige.

When you're choosing colors and you're looking at color chips, it doesn't help to look at the paint chips against the existing color on the wall. When I showed the colors to my client I first held the blush pink up against the existing blue-green wall and I knew she would make the "yuck" face. (Because I have done this hundreds of times.) The colors looked too bland to her.

Then I walked over to the white door and held the color up against the white, and it looked totally different. 

Then she made the "OH, I'm starting to get it!" face. Then when I held up the blush dress next to it, she was delighted. She realized that maybe I did know what I was doing. ;)

So follow my lead here. When sampling colors be sure to visually block out the old color of the walls because it will mess with your mind. First, hold the chips up against something white like a door. Then when it's time to paint a sample,either paint primer over the old color and then paint the sample over the white primer, (and do this next to the white door and trim), or paint on a large piece of white paper or poster board, leaving the edges white, and hold it up in front of the white door. Then you'll get a better idea of what the color will look like.

If you're not sure which shade of pink you'll like, then find something to look at for inspiration, like we used the dress as a reference. Find a shade of pink that you like and then hold up paint chips next to it. 

We chose Mellow Pink 2094-70 by Benjamin Moore for the little girl's room.

The next day I went to see the other client who was painting her office and since she is the only female in a household of boys, she wanted one room to be all her own and feminine. She wanted pink, so I explained to her the difference between "little girl pink" and "grown up" pink, and suggested that she use a soft blushy pink. This time I had no little dresses to use for a reference, but she just trusted me and went with whatever color I suggested. (I love clients like her!) Yep, you guessed it. I picked Mellow Pink. Hey, it works. 

"

Now, what about girls between the age of 2 and 22? What kind of pinks do they like? What was I talking about when I said "little girl pink"? Well, most girls from the age of 3-6 usually love pink, and by pink I mean PINK! Like, Pepto pink! The pinkest pink they can get away with!

 I thought when I first went to work in the paint store that it would be split down the middle with girls liking either pink or purple equally. But I was wrong. 95% if not, 99.9% of the time girls this age wanted pink! 

I have googled the theories as to why girls like pink so much, but nobody seems to really know. But the point here is, the girl wants true pink and not some wishy-washy wimpy blush. So give the girl pink.

When girls get older many tend to grow out of the pink stage. I originally saw the flip happen at about 8 or 9 years old. Girls started to want blue, lime green or turquoise. As they reach the pre-teen stage it's like they biologically begin to change and they are saying "I'm not a baby anymore and I don't want my pink room anymore either!"

 I'm starting to see the flip happen earlier now though. Around the age of 7 girls seem to grow out of pink. I'm guessing that it's because they see their older siblings or cousins with blue rooms and they want to be more grown up too and want to switch to a blue room. 

However, some girls still love pink even as they get older. If they do, they either still like their Pepto pink, or they like it even deeper and stronger! Something happens to these girls as they hit pre-teen stage and they love strong colors! If they could tie-dye their rooms I think they would!

As they get older, Teenagers seem to like either a deep raspberry pink or if they're more sophisticated they like the softer Millenial pink. (Which looks great with gray by the way. Read my previous blog to choose the right gray).

 If you're looking for a definite pink,whether you're a man, woman, child or adult, then simply go to the pink section and pick whichever one floats your boat. Pretty much all the pinks are pink. You just need to choose either a warmer pink (slightly peachy) or cooler pink. But if you want that soft blushy, ballet, Millenial pink, then go to the blushy section. 

Lastly I'll say that pink doesn't always work. If you're going to use it in the Living Room be careful. Don't use it if you have old, dated furniture. Then your pink will be interpreted as '80's mauve!

 Only use it if you have new, cool, hip furniture otherwise it will look like you haven't painted the place in over 40 years! 

Someone may ask "So when are you finally going to paint this place?" 

and then you'll really BLUSH.  

Cindy Gelormini AKA "The Paint Diva" is a Color Consultant and Benjamin Moore Color Expert, Stager and Realtor. Follow her on Instagram as "The Paint Diva", and on Facebook as "The Paint Diva of NJ".

Disclaimer: Several photos were found on Pinterest. Others are from my camera, and some were taken by my sister who is a professional photographer, Christen Holly Photography.