Color and design: A meeting of the minds at LFB Color and Dan Alan Design

Greetings, color enthusiasts the world over!

I hope that this finds you well. Let’s launch into the color and design discussion today with my colleague and interior designer friend, Dan Pederson of DAN ALAN DESIGN. Dan and I first met when he contacted me to specify interior paint color and review a few surface elements on a four-story townhouse in the University Place neighborhood of Houston, Texas.

In case you didn’t know, LFB Color Consulting is hired by residential homeowners, land developers, property managers, realty professionals, home builders, architects AND designers to specify colors, materials and finishes on interiors, exteriors, residential projects and commercial spaces. We consult on a myriad of projects and know when to outsource TRUE design work to interior design specialists such as DAN ALAN DESIGN!

Dan and I sat down recently to discuss partnering on future projects with him at the design helm and LFB Color bringing his vision to life with proper colors, materials and finishes. We are two entrepreneurs who love collaborating and ensuring the very best color and design experience for our clientele.

When asked about the vital role of color in the design process, here’s what Dan had to say:

Creating a color palette for any space serves as the foundation for the room's mood. It literally gives the space a specific vibe and personality whether all neutral or varied color. The architecture of a home and amount of natural light (or lack of) many times drives how we approach an overall color scheme from paint to soft furnishings. Obviously functionality and client input in the process are integral as well.  —Dan Pederson, DAN ALAN DESIGN

Let’s have a look at the BEFORE and AFTER of the focal point, the living area, of our four-level University Place project. We opted for a creamy ivory hue by Benjamin Moore and painted the paneling in the sitting area. It brought the entire space to life indeed!

As Dan and I began work on this project, we realized that budgets wouldn’t permit an entire gutting or remodel. We would be incorporating many of the existing elements of the home into the new color and design scheme.

Many variables come into play when designing a space. If we are working with existing hard finishes that we must use, that serves as the jumping ground in making sure to carefully balance existing with new. This provides a newly created and updated direction in design. If from scratch we have complete creative freedom to truly embrace a color palette of choice and design theme tailored to each client. —Dan Pederson, DAN ALAN DESIGN

I did ask Dan how he would describe his design style if he WERE to start a project from scratch with carte blanche and unlimited budgets. His response: California Coastal. I love it! We both agreed that very few projects afford us that total freedom, though, as we still have budgets and clients’ preferences to honor.

Let’s take a look at more of our finished project below.

I genuinely appreciate hearing interior designers discuss color and how they convince their clients to embrace it. For Dan and me, color is always top of mind, and we both try to coax the “color affiction” out of our clients, even in small doses. Dan’s perspective on introducing color in his projects is found below:

When introducing color to "color fearful" clients I make sure to study which colors they gravitate towards (and ones to certainly avoid, too). Colors absolutely evoke an emotion, direct or indirect, and they set the mood—so they are critical in the process. Clients many times are too fearful to embrace color other than neutrals in their home, particularly in the all neutral trend that we are currently experiencing. However, these color adverse clients are always pleased and delighted when we are able to take them beyond their comfort zone into the world of color. I always tell clients that even if they aren't “maximalists,” if they remain flexible and open minded in the design process, they, too, could have some color in their lives! 

Dan Pederson, DAN ALAN DESIGN

Friends, we’d like to thank Dan for his participation and insights on today’s color blog. It was a colorful JOY to collaborate with DAN ALAN DESIGN on the University Place project.

As always, please let us know what you think in the comment section below.

My most colorful regards,

Lauren Battistini