For Nashville-based culinary garden specialist Sara Gasbarra, color is vital, whether she’s working on a garden for a client or painting the walls of her bedroom. Below, Sara discusses how color can impact any space, whether indoors or out, and why the earth tones in the ColorSnap® Color ID Naturalist palette from Sherwin-Williams® were essential to creating her own perfect habitat.
This content was produced for Sherwin-Williams by the foundry @ Meredith Corp. Real Simple editorial staff was not involved in its creation or production.
Discovering My Organic Palette
Though working with color in my garden designs has always come naturally, incorporating color into my home isn't as straightforward. When it comes to decorating, my color palette is very serene and muted. When I was determining the aesthetic for my new house in Nashville, I turned to the Color ID quiz from Sherwin-Williams for a little inspiration. The quiz was simple; after answering a few questions, I was matched with the Color ID Naturalist palette, which actually contains many essential colors that I encounter in my work every day.
Each shade is very representative of the components of a garden: there are shades of tan and brown that represent the soil, greens which serve as the vegetation, and darker blues that look like water. The 16 hues in this palette can be mixed and matched, and they blend together seamlessly. With the Color ID quiz from Sherwin-Williams, the process of incorporating color into my home felt natural and enjoyable, and the colors I chose from my palette really brought my project to life.
Just as I gravitate toward paint colors inspired by nature, I also tend to opt for décor that looks more natural. And, of course, I need to have plants in every room. If I didn’t, the room would feel incomplete! I think plants can add texture to any space, and they can complement the paint color on the walls and vice versa.
Creating a Space
to Flourish
It’s critical for my bedroom to be a calming place where I can retreat. The bedroom is where you start and end your day, so it’s important to encourage the right mindset. Color can change the entire mood of a room. I chose Shiitake SW 9173 for the walls of my bedroom and Creamy SW 7012 for the baseboards, the ceiling, and the trim on the doorways. The colors evoke a warm and cozy ambience, which is precisely how a bedroom should make you feel. I always want to linger in bed in the mornings!
Natural light also is very important to me, and I love how light filters in and out in the room since Shiitake is a neutral color.
To find your palette personality, take the Color ID quiz from Sherwin-Williams at swcolorid.com.
