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THE GARDEN ISLAND
Friday, February 23, 2024 • B3
Darker paints create a cozy, more welcoming room Kim Cook ASSOCIATED PRESS Dark hues have a bad rap as gloomy and depressing. More likely, they’re bringing home the good vibes, all year long. One weekend when I had the house to myself, I painted our family room Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal, a deep, earthy gray. I waited till I had two days alone to do it because it looked pretty shocking when I got started on the trim and rolled the walls. Was it going to veer into Goth Teen Bedroom territory? Or maybe a villainous, albeit stylish, lair? But when I’d finished, it looked amazing. The rich color, along with white trim and comfy furnishings, gave the room way more character, and felt much homier than the basic beige had. When the weekenders returned, the response was as I’d hoped; everyone loved it. That was in 2018, and it’s the only room I haven’t repainted twice since, so there you go. Turns out I’m not a loony outlier when it comes to loving dark paint. For Apartment Therapy’s 2024 State of Home Design report, editors tallied 131 design experts who said “moodiness” will be one of the year’s hot vibes. Pros say darker hues are more likely to create resonant atmospheres like cozi-
harmonize around them,” she says. Try it yourself, Nozawa says, by holding a moody color swatch next to different woods and metals. “The swatch will complement in a way that’s warm and comforting, not gloomy or heavy,” she says. Tasked with choosing BlueStar’s 2023 Color of the Year for their appliance collection, she went with a deep, fruity Wine Red, which pairs well with different finishes and might remind you of a cozy evening sharing a glass with friends.
where a color shifts slightly depending on the light, is what you’re after, he says. Besides dove gray, Spalding favors deep russet and dark forest hues. “They can glow in the sun, or create a cozy envelope when it’s gray outside.” Jennifer Verruto of Blythe Interiors in San Diego likes how these hues make a space feel settled and warm. “Forget the idea that dark colors turn rooms into caves of doom. It’s time to embrace the moody vibes! They have an energy. A room wrapped in a dark, dramatic color can actually provide an uplifting, invigorating feeling,” she says.
a “jewel box” space. “By taking a moody hue and color-drenching the walls, drapery, even the ceiling, you get this cocoon-like feel,” he says. A study, dining room or den in a larger home can, when made darker, work well as an intimate social space, or a retreat for some quiet “me” time, he says. Creative paint names
Some of the imaginative names for these paint colors are as much fun as the hues themselves. Dock Blue, Basalt, Goblin, Adventurer and Jewel BeeLifting the mood tle are all to be found at “Here in the Pacific British paint maker Little Northwest, about two Greene, which has thirds of our days are branched into the North moody,” says Peter SpaldAmerican market now. Balancing light Backdrop’s founder Naing of the interior furnishand dark ings marketplace Daniel talie Ebel says she wants to She advises counterbalHouse Club in Portland, Orevoke a place or a feeling egon. ancing any potential heavi- with the paint names. Mas“To cope, we drink a lot ness. Position mirrors to terpiece Theater is their of coffee and buy tactical bounce light around. Bring first brown, with olive and a gear instead of fancy dress,” in lighter furniture, rugs and little yellow in it. he laughs. “You’d think décor. Use warm woods and “It’s a color that really SENCREATIVE / LAUREN ANDERSEN VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS brightly colored interiors nature-inspired motifs for a lends an atmosphere to a would be sure-fire medicine comforting, organic vibe. space, like a period drama This San Francisco family room was painted with Bentoo, but actually some of Some of her favorite paints: for your walls,” she says. jamin Moore’s Autumn Purple. the coziest interiors I’ve Sherwin-Williams’ Iron Ore, Backdrop has even develdone here have been in Gale Force and Pewter ness, stylish ambiance and Going with everything oped an accompanying moody greens, blues and Green. She thinks people don’t even a little drama to keep playlist, which includes grays.” Deep blue could remind give dark hues enough things interesting. Rooms some Verdi, Rossini, Bizet He’s not a fan of cool you of an oceanside vacacredit for their versatility, with these colors aren’t and Hans Zimmer. grays, especially in the and points out how well boring, nor are they Their warm-purple red tion. Mossy greens might Northwest’s dreary light. they go with different over-stimulating. They encalled Lobby Scene was inevoke a favorite woodland “But a warm French gray hike. Mineral hues like ciwoods, metals and brighter velop and embrace. spired by Wes Anderson’s is another thing entirely. It’s trine, garnet, iron and cophues. “Moody hues are more movie “The Grand Budasort of creamy, with green “I often like to use them than just visual,” says deper also have that earthy pest Hotel.” And a deep olundertones, and creates a as a grounding point — connection. signer Noz Nozawa. ive green is among the cocoon that no one wants they anchor a room, and Brad Ramsey, who has “They’re storytellers, company’s most popular to leave,” Spalding says. his own interior design firm paints. Its name: Night on deeply evocative, emotional then all the other textures That chameleon quality, and elements in a space can in Nashville, loves to create Earth. and often very nostalgic.”
30-year mortgage rate increases again Alex Veiga AP BUSINESS WRITER LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week for the third time in as many weeks, driving up home loan borrowing costs in just as the spring homebuying season ramps up. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.90 percent from 6.77 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.5 percent. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week, pushing the average rate to 6.29 percent from 6.12 percent last week. A year ago it averaged 5.76 percent, Freddie Mac said. The latest increase in rates reflects recent moves in the 10year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. Stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the overall economy have stoked worries among bond investors the Federal Reserve will have to wait longer before beginning to cut interest rates. Investors’ expectations for future inflation, global demand for U.S. Treasurys and what the Fed does with interest rates can influence rates on home loans. “Strong incoming economic and inflation data has caused the market to re-evaluate the path of monetary policy, leading to higher mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac economist. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates two or three years ago from selling. The average rate on a 30year mortgage remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.89 percent. The cost of financing a home has come down from its most recent peak in late October, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 7.79 percent, the highest level since late 2000.