Pretty in Paint
By Candace Sheppard

Runner-up Justine Cushing transformed the walls in her small Manhattan apartment, with a cantaloupe strié glaze that changes character with changing light throughout the day.

ROHM AND HAAS EXPLORE NEW WAVES OF PAINT AND DESIGN

Interior designers nationwide participated in the “Prettiest Painted Rooms in America” competition sponsored by the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute. They submitted images of interior designs completed within the last three years.

The contest attracted 400 submissions from 17 states. After judging their creative use of paint, color, and design, the jurors selected Penny Drue Baird, a New York-based designer and founder of Dessins, as the grand-prize winner.

Baird transformed a white media room into a serene, color-rich living space. Wainscoting and beadboard were applied in varying directions and painted in a variety of pale green and turquoise shades.

“The sophistication of color was interesting,” noted judge Louis Gropp, former editor-in-chief of House Beautiful, House & Garden, and Elle Décor magazines. “I loved the horizontal stripes.”

For her seven-year old son's bedroom, runner-up Karen Harris of EFF.ESS Studios, painted the walls in a vibrant rainbow theme, creating a colorful, sophisticated, yet fun space. "I don't necessarily like themes," she said. "I prefer that [a room] reflect [one's] personality. So, I refused to shop for kid products and did something more mature." She found desk lamps with brightly striped lampshades and translated the design into the overall look of the bedroom, using bold shades, stripe patterns, and bright fabrics.

Baird recalls the challenge of endowing the white space with a distinctive style and character. “It was a big square white room, so I used a light color on the ceiling and darker colors on the molding,” said Baird. “It [worked] as a backdrop to the beautiful fabrics.”

Four other designers – Grady Cooley, Grady Cooley Interiors; Justine Cushing, freelance interior designer; Karen Harris, EFF.ESS Studios; and Keita Turner, KT Design Solutions – were selected as runners-up.

The designs presented a diverse range of work. For example, Cooley replicated an 18th-century wall covering by painting a botanical theme on the walls of a spec house.

Turner incorporated muted blues, mocha browns, and fuchsia accents to create a relaxed atmosphere in the award-winning bedroom she designed for the Fall 2005 ESSENCE Showhouse in Harlem.

The “Prettiest Painted Rooms in America” showed that with originality and creativity, design options with paint are limitless.