Sherwin-Williams STIR Special Edition 2017

SPECIAL ISSUE 2017

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS®

ALSO INSIDE: A boutique hotel conversion Tools for LEED v4

POP THE CORK ON COLOR Our 2018 color forecast is here.

GLOSS VS. SHEEN Yes, there’s a difference!

We make it simple.

The colorful secret inside these bottles revealed on page 23!

The Sherwin-Williams Company Director, Trade Communications: Tresa Makowski Director of Color Marketing: Sue Wadden

Hanley Wood Marketing Creative Director: Dobby Gibson Editor: Kitty Shea Executive Art Director: Sandy Girard Art Director: Cate Hubbard Content Director: Kate Fisher Assistant Editor: Molly Burke Production Director: Pam Mundstock Production Artists: John Hanka, Karen Wolcenski Project Manager: Julie Ollila Account Director: Martha Capps STIR® magazine is published by Hanley Wood, LLC, on behalf of The Sherwin-Williams Company, for interior designers and architects.

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No Boundaries

bout those magical bottles on the cover: yep, they’re the real deal. They contain a few of the

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thousands of ancient pigments carefully preserved by the Strauss Center at Harvard University. It was so cool to talk to conservation scientist Dr. Narayan

Khandekar (p. 23) and learn more about the ways color connects us to a larger human story.

It’s one of many “a-ha moments” that have inspired me to see color differently. No wonder our Sherwin-Williams color team created such a different kind of forecast (p. 12) for 2018: just three palettes. Hopefully you find it as elegantly simple as it is full of boundless possibilities.

I’m writing this on the plane home from NeoCon, and I can

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confidently report that color is on the move in a big way. Sands,

Please direct correspondence to: Sherwin-Williams STIR magazine Hanley Wood 430 1st Ave. N., Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55401 Phone: (612) 338-8300 Email: contact@swstir.com Website: sherwin-williams.com

dusty pinks and ocean blues were among the hues I saw everywhere:

Printed in the United States, © 2017 Sherwin-Williams

Sincerely,

upholstery, textiles, accents, even modular furnishings. A little retro, a little futuristic: Color has never been so nimble, so nomadic and so open to experiment. So let’s stir it up!

33 30 SUE WADDEN Director of Color Marketing The Sherwin-Williams Company

The trademarks and copyrights of Sherwin-Williams appearing in STIR are protected.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

®

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS® SPECIAL ISSUE 2017 CONTENTS

COLOR CHIPS

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New products and tools to help your designs meet stringent environmental certifications — including LEED v4.

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

LOCAL COLOR

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A muted color palette was key to turning this century-old Minneapolis warehouse into a neighborhood-friendly boutique hotel.

2018 COLOR FORECAST

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Discover our three new 2018 Sherwin-Williams Colormix® Color Forecast palettes: Sincerity, Connectivity and Unity.

RESIDENTIAL FEATURE

WASHED ASHORE

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A beachcombing homeowner looks down and finds color inspiration under her own toes.

COLOR CONVERSATION

CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

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Harvard Art Museums scientist Narayan Khandekar investigates color’s role in our artistic heritage.

STUDENT DESIGN CHALLENGE

#SWStir

Prepare to be impressed by the 2017 winning portfolios, as selected

by Cynthia Rowley, Vern Yip and our own Sue Wadden.

5 COLOR TECHNOLOGY

SHINE ON, SHINE OFF Have a question, comment or idea related to STIR? Just include the hashtag #SWStir when you share in your social channel of choice, and join the conversation!

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Your guide to gloss and sheen — and the outcomes different finishes deliver when all is done and dry.

FINAL TOUCH

PLAYING WITH FIRE

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Expand your palette with shou sugi ban, a rediscovered Japanese technique.

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COLORchips WHAT'S NEW FROM SHERWIN-WILLIAMS

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Introducing EmeraldŽ Urethane Trim Enamel Want to give a project’s trim the silky smooth look and feel of an oil-based enamel without sacrificing the convenience or VOC performance of a water-based formula? Meet Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, ideal for interior and exterior scenarios where cabinets, doors and trim require exceptional hardness, adhesion and durability.

Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel resists yellowing and maintains beautiful color and sheen.

Available in satin, semi-gloss and gloss sheens.

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COLORSNAPÂŽ VISUALIZER: NEW KALEIDOSCOPE FEATURE Narrowing down color choices just got easier, thanks to our new Kaleidoscope feature, available on mobile (including iPad). Zoom into any area on the color wall, then zoom again to see colors in sample scenes. Paint a project photo, match color and more at swcolorsnap.com, or download from your favorite app store.

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COLOR chips

PAINT SHIELD IN THE FIELD ®

WHAT’S THE RIGHT INTERIOR COATINGS SPEC FOR AN ONCOLOGY BED UNIT IN A GROWING HOSPITAL SYSTEM? For the design team behind the recent Northside Hospital expansion in Cumming, Georgia, the answer was Sherwin-Williams Paint Shield® Microbicidal Paint.

“The microbicidal properties were attractive given the compromised immune system of our patient population for [the oncology] floor,” says Tom Doenitz, engineering manager at the hospital.

Paint Shield is the first EPA-registered microbicidal paint and kills greater than 99.9 percent of Staph (Staphylococcus aureus), MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), E. coli (Escherichia coli), VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) and Enterobacter aerogenes within two hours of exposure on the painted surface. It continues to kill 90 percent of these bacteria even after repeated contamination for up to four years when the integrity of the surface is maintained. Visit swpaintshield.com.

4 WAYS WE’RE READYING YOU FOR LEED V4 New products and tools to help your designs meet stringent environmental certifications — including the LEED v4.

Universal Design CEU Now Available Are you ready to design homes that balance accessibility and

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COATINGS: Sherwin-Williams Harmony®, Paint Shield®, Emerald® and ProMar® 200 paints are among an array of coatings we offer that contribute toward satisfying LEED v4 criteria.

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GUIDES: Our Green Programs & VOC Regulated Areas guide and VOC Regulated Locations map help you match products to specific regulations.

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SPECIFICATIONS: Our Finishing Schedules, written in CSI format, make specification cut-and-paste easy.

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LEARNING: The Sherwin-Williams Learning Center now offers a LEED v4 CEU approved by the AIA, IDCEC and GBCI.

Visit swgreenspecs.com to access the above products and tools, and swceulearn.com to access the new LEED v4 CEU.

safety with pleasing aesthetics?

This CEU will give you tips for incorporating independent living strategies into your designs — as well as how to manage “aging in place” conversations with your clients.

Visit swceulearn.com to explore this course and other available CEUs.

LOCAL COLOR A muted color palette was key to turning this century-old Minneapolis warehouse into a neighborhood-friendly boutique hotel.

by KITTY SHEA

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“HEWING,” THE WORD FOR THE PROCESS BY WHICH MILLS CUT LOGS INTO LUMBER, LANDED DIXON A HOTEL NAME, LOGO AND FONT.

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ospitality design has always been about conjuring a sense of place.

That’s even truer today, as cities everywhere are being reshaped by an eat local, shop local movement. For hospitality designers and their clients, “local color” has become a strategy unto itself. Even the big chains are moving some of their portfolios away from the repeatable familiarity of “you could be anywhere,” replacing it with unique, localized properties and experiences.

It’s precisely what led Fe Equus Development in Minneapolis to partner with Aparium Hotel Group of Chicago to convert a 19th-century Minneapolis farm implement warehouse into a trendy boutique hotel. The Hewing Hotel drops a proud, but not too loud, Nordic anchor in downtown Minneapolis’

hip, historic North Loop.

The hotel joins neighbors The Bachelor Farmer (kitchen of last year’s James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest) and GQ-favorite men’s clothing store Askov Finlayson in bringing a Scandinavian-modern vibe to that part of the city. Appropriate, as Minnesota leads the nation in concentration of Scandinavian Americans.

“The first thing I do when I find a building is go to the local historical society and start reading,” says Fe Equus owner Tim Dixon.

Dixon, a onetime carpenter, read up on Minneapolis’ rich history as a lumber market. The city was once home to two of the United States’ four largest mills.

“Hewing,” the word for the process by which mills cut logs into lumber, landed Dixon a hotel name, logo and font.

Hotel guests even get carpenter pencils on their nightstands.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WOOD Guests entering the Hewing Hotel emerge from a steel and glass vestibule into a massive timber lobby. The lobby’s architectural heft opens welcomingly into Tullibee, the hotel’s bar and restaurant, as well as the guest rooms and event spaces beyond.

Visitors are immediately struck by the beauty of the old-growth posts and beams harvested from Minnesota’s own pine forests, raw steel connectors, walls of Cream City brick, and light from the 13-foot-10-inch-tall windows. The structure, with its National Register of Historic Places preservation restrictions, clearly demanded design restraint.

“A lot of hotels right now are using restraint on purpose. They want an old, classically inspired look: a neutral canvas they can build off of over time,” says project design lead Ann Fritz, director of interiors at Elness Swenson Graham

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Architects (ESG) of Minneapolis. “The Hewing had so many historic elements — wood beams, wood ceilings, wood floors — we couldn’t touch, and so much warmth in them and in the brick’s gold tone, that our job was balancing them with clean neutrals — lots of warm white on the walls — and cooler shades.”

The key takeaway in ESG’s proposal — “We want to help you articulate your story” — won over Dixon and won ESG the work. Says Dixon, “Building an experiential hotel is like writing a novel: It has a beginning, the buildup of characters, a climax and a summary.

Guests walk into Hewing and visually start feeling the story. All the other hotels out there are really just nice and pretty; they don’t have that story within them.”

Dixon’s direction to ESG was clear: “I can give you the lines; I need you to fill them in with color.”

COLORING INSIDE THE LINES

VISITORS ARE IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY THE BEAUTY OF THE OLD-GROWTH POSTS AND BEAMS HARVESTED FROM MINNESOTA’S OWN PINE FORESTS, RAW STEEL CONNECTORS, WALLS OF CREAM CITY BRICK, AND LIGHT FROM THE 13-FOOT-10-INCH-TALL WINDOWS.

ESG’s color specs defer to the storied timber frame while echoing its steel.

Public space accents go warmly gray: Roycroft Pewter SW 2848, Passive SW 7064 (236-C1) and Iron Ore SW 7069 (251-C7) lend an industrial tinge to what could risk skewing too roughly lodge.”

The 124 guest room doors similarly refrain from any kitschy lumberjack reflex. Set along Pussywillow SW 7643 (283-C4) corridors, the evergreen four-panel doors could be construed as pine-inspired, but in Rookwood Shutter Green SW 2809, they feel more like pine trees on a moonless night.

The team was looking for a green that felt timeless, a touch cabin-y, but not mimicking forest: more of a historic exterior color representing a guest’s “front” door. Inside the rooms, Westchester Gray SW 2849 reflects back to the lobby’s topography.

Excitement finds expression in furniture, art and other small furnishings, says Fritz, flagging

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deep navy, rusty red and gold as “Minnesota primaries” that really pop. Between the lobby, restaurant and bar standalones and builtins, leather upholstery introduces butterscotch, olive green, black, cognac, gray-brown and chocolate brown: patinas intentionally worn for a comforting look.

Raindrop-shaped bulbs in purple and silver-mirror finishes float down six floors through the lobby atrium, striking stand-out notes. The purple

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is a nod to the pop star Prince. When Foci — Minnesota Center for Glass Arts was in the middle of creating the glass installation, Prince died at Paisley Park, his nearby recording studio and home.

The reference to “Purple Rain” is understated. How perfect that the Hewing Hotel’s color story is all about deference: about knowing how to fit into the woodwork.

Kitty Shea is the editor of STIR’s annual print edition.

COATINGS Majority of Sheetrock walls and ceilings: ProMar® 200 Zero VOC Interior Latex Metal frames and miscellaneous steel: Pro Industrial™ Pre-Catalyzed Epoxy Wood and miscellaneous metal: Pro Industrial™ High Performance Coatings Exterior: Pro Industrial™ High Performance Coatings

CEILINGS

GUEST ROOM WALLS

GUEST ROOM ACCENT AND CORRIDOR

GUEST ROOM DOORS

RESTAURANT CEILINGS

Ceiling Bright White SW 7007 (257-C2)

Westchester Gray SW 2849

Pussywillow SW 7643 (283-C4)

Rookwood Shutter Green SW 2809

Roycroft Pewter SW 2848

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A LOT OF HOTELS RIGHT NOW ARE USING RESTRAINT ON PURPOSE. THEY WANT AN OLD, CLASSICALLY INSPIRED LOOK: A NEUTRAL CANVAS THEY CAN BUILD

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OFF OF OVER TIME.

—Ann Fritz, director of interiors Elness Swenson Graham Architects

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SHERWIN-WILLIAMS. COLORMIX FORECAST 2018

S INC ERIT Y. CO NNECT I VIT Y. UN IT Y. Like blue meeting yellow to make green, every color is a collision of influences — every palette a fresh chance at community.

INFLUENCES:

241-C3 MALABAR SW 9110 FUNCTIONAL GRAY SW 7024

205-C2 SONG THRUSH SW 9112

205-C4 PEARL GRAY SW 0052

238-C7 217-C4 HOMBURG GRAY SW 7622 264-C1 ACACIA HAZE SW 9132 115-C4 SHELL WHITE SW 8917 ROJO DUST SW 9006

Less is more as we’re de-cluttering, moving more possessions into the cloud. Silence is no longer empty, but instead rare and rich with possibility. Our notions of what’s authentic are being complicated. We’re celebrating the unfiltered, yet captivated by the artfully processed. Blending in is the new standing out.

Flaws are treasured. The hushed tones of this score play out in sand, complex grays and hazy botanicals.

LESS BROWN SW 6040

SINCERITY

232-C6 SASHAY SAND SW 6051

194-C2 WHEAT PENNY SW 7705

287-C6 ALLURING WHITE SW 6343

287-C1

Silence Instagram Minimalism Hygge Normcore

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150-C5 BILLOWY BREEZE SW 9055 ORGANIC GREEN SW 6732

173-C2 GRAPE HARVEST SW 6285

190-C6 QUEEN ANNE LILAC SW 0021

171-C4 181-C3 REFLECTING POOL SW 6486 260-C2 WISTERIA SW 6822 252-C7 IBIS WHITE SW 7000 BLACK SWAN SW 6279

136-C4 JAY BLUE SW 6797

168-C7 CAVERN CLAY SW 7701

290-C6

California pop/youth culture Techies Virtual reality Productivity Environmentalism

160-C7 OVERJOY SW 6689

We’re each moving to the beat of our own algorithm. From choosing a dry cleaner to choosing a college, data powers nearly every decision we make.

In Silicon Valley, Austin, Berlin and Beijing, techies are the new hippies, full of breakthrough ideas and utopian ideals. A generation is waving the flag of color freedom, and Instagramming every moment. This high-tech palette is pixelated in orange, violets, digital greens and high-def yellow.

INFLUENCES:

HUNT CLUB SW 6468

CONNECTIVITY

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Optimism persists in the form of boundary-breaking skyscrapers and commercial space travel. Even landlocked cities are becoming global hubs of crafts and gastronomy.

GET COLORMIX COLORS DOWNLOAD

DESIGN

ORDER

EXPLORE

these colors into virtual design tools at swcolor.com.

with these colors using our ColorSnapÂŽ tools at swcolorsnap.com.

a colormix color deck or large-size color samples at myS-W.com.

the forecast and more at swcolormix.com.

INFLUENCES:

172-C7 101-C5 OCEANSIDE SW 6496 101-C1 INDIGO SW 6531 EXUBERANT PINK SW 6840

178-C7 HEARTTHROB SW 6866

134-C4 252-C1 HONEY BEES SW 9018 261-C4 ROCKWEED SW 2735 280-C2 AGED WHITE SW 9180 ADRIFT SW 7608

Nationalism and globalism are in flux, challenging terrestrial boundaries. We’re remapping our sense of community.

Optimism persists in the form of boundary-breaking skyscrapers and commercial space travel. Even landlocked cities are becoming global hubs of crafts and gastronomy.

We crave security and adventure in equal measure. Airbnb, car sharing and e-learning have created a culture of everyday nomadism. The bright folklore of this story is told in memorable pops of peacock color.

TAMARIND SW 7538

UNITY

289-C5 BORSCHT SW 7578

276-C2 IN THE NAVY SW 9178

253-C3 TATAMI TAN SW 6116

291-C5

Roaming Transculturalism Community Artisanal crafts Indigenous patterns

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Washed Ashore

A beachcombing homeowner looks down and finds color inspiration under her own toes.

by JOANN PLOCKOVA

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lways looking for “unique launching points” on projects, architect Laurie Fisher certainly found one when client Janice Myck-Wayne spread a pile of beach pebbles on the kitchen table and declared, “All of these colors need to be in my home.” Myck-Wayne, a professor of education at California State University in Fullerton, and her attorney husband, Paul, commissioned Fisher to build them a new house in the coastal town of Del Mar, California, about 20 miles north of San Diego.

“The thread of those pebbles was constantly in my mind,” says Fisher, who worked side by side with Myck-Wayne on the home’s interior design. “If a client loves light, monochromatic neutrals, then I will pursue a tranquil, clean aesthetic. If the client likes contrast, then they are looking for something more dramatic and energetic.” Fisher makes color part of her first conversation with clients, revealing as it does much about the kinds of spaces in which they will feel at home.

In Myck-Wayne’s case, the playful palette drove the design. “If color is a driving element in the design, then we are consciously creating elements in the design that will showcase colors and have them play off of one another,” Fisher says.

Myck-Wayne had been collecting those pebbles along Del Mar City Beach, a three-mile

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I started collecting the pebbles along the beach in 1998, the first summer I spent in the old house. The cliffs in Del Mar and the rocks that are uncovered in the winter storms are rich and earthy in tones. The colors reflect hues of teal, eggplant, grays, rust and eggshell. They make me feel good, and I wanted to bring those beautiful pebbles

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and stones into the home.

—Janice Myck-Wayne, Homeowner

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stretch of Pacific coastline, for years. Since 1997, the couple has owned the lot, which featured a 780-square-foot circa 1950s bungalow. Then based in Los Angeles, they used the humble “needs work” bungalow as a beach house and summer rental. “We always knew we wanted to build in Del Mar because it’s on the coast.

But building takes stamina,” says Myck-Wayne, “and funds.” When their two sons left the nest, they decided there’s no time like the present and began looking for architects.

A MOVE TOWARD CONTEMPORARY “Conventional beach cottage” was the original plan. However, Fisher noticed that Myck-Wayne kept sending her “contemporary and really cool” images, which eventually led them to a less traditional concept. The single-story home features vaulted ceilings, clerestory windows and an offset sloped roof. “Even though the house is contemporary, it’s anchored in traditional Southern California vernacular,” Fisher says.

Informing the design were challenging space limitations along with San Diego’s year-round gorgeous weather, which inspired a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The area is deemed a 100-year flood plane, so the home, limited to 2,000 square feet and 27 feet of height, is almost 7 feet above the ground. “Because we had to have the livable area at the base flood elevation, we kind of fit the home in that 27 feet,” Fisher says.

The design challenges similarly influenced the color. “Since the house is small and you see almost all the colors at the same time, the whole palette needed to work together,” Fisher says. “[It was about] making sure that both cool and warm colors coordinate, and then finding the right neutral to back it up.”

A warm putty tone that’s not overly dark or abundantly yellow or magenta, Popular Gray SW 6071 (242-C1) flows through the house as a base neutral. Accent walls pop with brights like the boldly rich coral Reynard SW 6348 (125-C5) on doorframes and the wall of the stairwell connecting to the garage. Beachy blues include Raindrop SW 6485 (171-C2) in the mezzanine and guestroom and Lagoon SW 6480 (170-C5) in the great room. The teal in both pull into pendant lights in the kitchen, tiling and a refurbished dresser-turned-vanity in the guest bathroom and bedspread in the

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WHEN THERE’S AN EXCEPTIONALLY BLUE SKY OUTSIDE AND YOU’RE IN THE GREAT ROOM, YOU LOOK UP THROUGH THE CLERESTORY WINDOWS AND YOU SEE THE SKY AND IT’S ALMOST THE SAME COLOR BLUE THAT’S IN THE GUEST ROOM.

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—Laurie Fisher, Architect

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master bedroom, where an eggplant shade, also used in the master bath, is a Sherwin-Williams custom match.

COLOR CONNECTS THE INDOORS TO THE OUT In all of her residential projects, Fisher likes each room to have its own relationship to the outdoors. “So this sequence of spaces and their relationship, it’s kind of like each space has its own little story, its own little color scheme.

And you can probably trace it back to each individual pebble.”

While Myck-Wayne knew overall the colors she wanted in each room, she and Fisher together chose the accents based on “what we wanted to see from where,” according to the architect. “When there’s an exceptionally blue sky outside and you’re in the great room, you look up through the clerestory windows and you see the sky and it’s almost the same color blue that’s in the guest room,” Fisher says. “There’s a lot of fun plays on color, so even when you’re inside you still get that connection to the exterior.”

Thanks to smart design, light streams

through the house and bounces off the colors, connecting Myck-Wayne to the ocean, the cliffs and those inspiring pebbles, which continue to wash new color ashore just down the street.

“It’s a really daunting process, building a house from the ground up. The amount of choices you have to make is amazing,” Myck-Wayne says. “Starting with a handful of pebbles that I found appealing helped narrow some of those choices. I just knew that it was one way to feel good about the colors and achieve a coastal look without the kitsch. You know: without a million starfish and a lobster trap.”

Joann Plockova writes for publications such as The New York Times and Monocle from Prague, where the lack of light has increased her appreciation for color.

WALLS

CEILINGS

Popular Gray SW 6071 (242-C1)

Heron Plume SW 6070 (259-C1)

GUEST BATH

ACCENT COLOR

Perfect Greige SW 6073 (242-C3)

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Reynard SW 6348 (125-C5)

ACCENT COLOR

ACCENT COLOR

Lagoon SW 6480 (170-C5) used in great room

Raindrop SW 6485 (171-C2) used in guest bedroom and half-wall in mezzanine

COLORconversation

Cabinet of Curiosities Harvard Art Museums scientist Narayan Khandekar investigates color’s role in our artistic heritage.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAT PIASECKI

by SUSAN DIETRICH

Harvard Art Museums’ Narayan Khandekar collects and protects the color piece of artistic heritage.

by JOANN PLOCKOVA

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WHERE DO THE WORLD'S PIGMENTS GO ONCE THEY FALL OUT OF EVERYDAY USE? IS THERE SOMEONE WATCHING OVER THEM: PRESERVING THEM, STUDYING THEM, READY TO SHARE THEIR SECRETS? TURNS OUT THE ANSWER IS YES.

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racked apothecary jars, wax-sealed test tubes, flasks with glass stoppers, old labels reading “Mummy.” Special cabinets within the Harvard Art Museums crowd with approximately 3,000 preserved color samples. Below each pigment is shelved the corresponding source material: rocks, shells, roots, insects — even a sample of said mummy. Together, the assembly constitutes the Forbes Pigment Collection, each item of which has a story and a serious place in art history.

As caretaker of this collection and director of Harvard’s Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Narayan Khandekar, with his staff and students, establishes standards for pigment identification that get shared worldwide. At the heart of it all is a scholar with an Aussie accent and infectious enthusiasm.

Which appealed to you first?

The science or the art?

I became fascinated by art galleries while getting my Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Melbourne University. I kept looking for something that wasn’t in my chemistry classes. I hoped that conservation would be my way into the art world, so I got a postgraduate degree in painting conservation from The Courtauld Institute in London and worked as a scientist in galleries around the world.

And you landed at Harvard how?

I came here from the Getty Conservation Institute.

When I tried to break into this business there was no clear path for a scientist to work in an art gallery/museum.

Today, that path exists. At the Straus Center, I helped establish a three-year postdoc program for fellows to gain further experience analyzing and conserving objects in the museums’ collections.

Pigment is what? And how does it differ from paint?

Pigment is a small, colored particle. It’s what gives paint its color. It needs to be mixed with a binding medium that controls the flow properties: brush-ability, drying qualities, and/or matte-ness or gloss.

Tell us about some of your most exotic pigments.

Well, there’s carmine, which comes from ground cochineal beetles that live on cacti in Mexico. Before 1856, Tyrian purple was the only purple and was very expensive, very rare. It took 10,000 murex mollusks to make one gram of pigment. When the synthetic pigment mauve became available in the 1860s, the pent-up desire turned the late Victorian era purple!

Indian yellow was dried urine from a cow fed only special mango leaves. On a research trip to Australia in 2013, we met Aboriginal artists who really value black.

They use manganese dioxide inside dry cell batteries as an additional black pigment.

Which project serves as a telling example of what the center can do?

Our conservators and conservation scientists combine art history with science to better understand the materials, how an artist uses them and how best to conserve them. One of our big public projects was the restoration of John Singer Sargent’s “Triumph of Religion” at the Boston Public Library. It required research into his aesthetic intentions, how he painted the murals, and his experiments with textures, applied surfaces and relief materials.

What can a pigment tell us about a work of art?

The Straus Center’s staff was asked to conserve five faded Mark Rothko paintings from Harvard’s own art collection.

Rothko had used the unstable pigment Lithol Red, PR49, throughout each painting. We determined that the backgrounds were irreversibly faded but not the figures.

Collaborating with Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, we found that the light-sensitive color had a calcium salt and the stable color had a sodium salt. For a 2014 exhibition, we digitally mapped the lost color and projected the missing color over the existing color so visitors could get an impression of what the paintings originally looked like.

Writer Susan Dietrich also practices graphic and product design.

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2017

Designing a Brighter Future Meet the 2017 Sherwin-Williams Student Design Challenge winners.

We received a record number of entries in this year’s Student Design Challenge. And in the eyes of the judges, a record level of great project portfolios.

“I was knocked out,” said Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams. “The level of quality this year was remarkable.

Collectively, this work proves what a huge difference the thoughtful application of color can have on an interior of any kind.”

Joining Wadden on the judging panel were renowned designers Cynthia Rowley and Vern Yip. In each category, first-place winners received a $2,500 cash prize, second-place winners received $1,000, and third-place winners received $500.

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1ST PLACE RESIDENTIAL DESIGNER: Regan Adair SCHOOL: Fashion Institute of Technology

MINDFUL GRAY SW 7016 (244-C2)

EMINENT BRONZE SW 6412 (144-C7)

FORWARD FUCHSIA SW 6842 (102-C7)

CONCEPT: Inspired by a carved Asian lacquered box, this modern residence brings together warm tones from the Middle East, jeweled tones and earth tones to ground the space. The lacquered ceiling opens up to a skylight

MATURE GRAPE SW 6286 (190-C7)

BRICK PAVER SW 7599 (119-C7)

and mimics the carvings on the box.

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1ST PLACE COMMERCIAL DESIGNER: Courtney Christensen SCHOOL: University of Wisconsin – Madison

OBSTINATE ORANGE SW 6884 (116-C2)

SPA SW 6765 (164-C2)

NAVAL SW 6244 (253-C6)

CONCEPT: The goal for the design of the University of Wisconsin Credit Union E-Commerce Center was to transform the building’s second floor into a fun, functional office environment. The use of organic elements, maximization of natural light, and bright colors were key.

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ICE CUBE SW 6252 (257-C3)

SNOWBERRY SW 7140

2ND PLACE Residential

3RD PLACE Residential

DESIGNER: Nia Gibbs SCHOOL: Ringling College of Art & Design

DESIGNER: Sarah Hansen SCHOOL: Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

SILKEN PEACOCK SW 9059 (173-C6)

CORAL REEF SW 6606 (108-C4)

REFLECTING POOL SW 6486 (171-C4)

JAY BLUE SW 6797 (168-C7)

REFLECTION SW 7661 (233-C1)

RAYO DE SOL SW 9020 (134-C6)

OVERT GREEN SW 6718 (149-C5)

EXTRA WHITE SW 7006 (257-C1)

CAYENNE SW 6881 (118-C7)

LOYAL BLUE SW 6510 (175-C7)

QUAINT PECHE SW 6330 (115-C1)

ICE CUBE SW 6252 (257-C3)

2ND PLACE Commercial

3RD PLACE Commercial

DESIGNER: Katherine Sadler SCHOOL: Fanshawe College

DESIGNER: Mariela Ortiz SCHOOL: University of Cincinnati | DAAP

PERFECT PERIWINKLE SW 9065 (179-C5)

GARDEN SPOT SW 6432 (155-C6)

COCOA WHIP SW 9084 (198-C4)

DEEP FOREST BROWN SW 9175 (252-C4)

NAVAL SW 6244 (253-C6)

REPOSE GRAY SW 7015 (244-C1)

TRICORN BLACK SW 6258 (251-C1)

REFLECTION SW 7661 (233-C1)

LARCHMERE SW 6752 (162-C4)

STEELY GRAY SW 7664 (233-C4)

FUN YELLOW SW 6908 (138-C4)

CYBERSPACE SW 7076 (235-C7)

MESCLUN GREEN SW 6724 (151-C4)

HIGH REFLECTIVE WHITE SW 7757 (256-C1)

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COLOR technology

SHINE ON, SHINE OFF Your guide to gloss and sheen — and the outcomes different finishes deliver when all is done and dry. b y TA D S I M O N S

Color’s not everything when selecting paint. Among the characteristics that contribute to the look, feel, texture and durability of a paint specification are gloss and sheen — a.k.a. the finish — which also gives surfaces their distinct luster and overall aesthetic appeal.

Here, Sherwin-Williams color and coatings experts make simple sense of gloss and sheen, so your designs can finish strong

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SEE THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOURSELF.

To the eye, gloss and sheen are very different: Gloss is shiny and crisp.

Sheen looks softer and has more depth and luster. Technically speaking, however, gloss and sheen are two aspects of the same thing: the amount of light reflected off a painted surface, independent of its color.

Glossy surfaces reflect a great deal of light. The sheen of matte or other low-gloss finishes doesn’t reflect as much light or in the same way. While gloss and sheen are separate from color (and measured differently), they nonetheless can profoundly affect how the eye perceives color.

Paint three strips side by side in the same color, but in different glosses/ sheens. Viewed directly from above, the colors should appear close.

Change your angle, however, and the color appears to change, sometimes dramatically, strip to strip.

Straight on, dark glossy finishes tend to look darker than their matte counterparts; light glossy finishes skew brighter and sharper. The intensity and direction of the light source factor in as well. Matte colors tend to look darker viewed from an angle or in low light. They can also look quite flat when viewed straight on, and only seem lustrous from an angle. Likewise, glossy finishes can look lighter or slightly mottled if the surface is rough, uneven or has other imperfections.

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TIP: CONSIDER THE WHERE. Referencing gloss/sheen measurements can help compensate for distortions in color perception.

To achieve the appearance of a uniform color in an area where people will be moving around (say, a hallway), choose a paint with similar reflectance numbers at both 60 and 85 degrees.

These reflect the same amount of light at a wide range of angles.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL WEARING

THIS IS GLOSS. THIS IS SHEEN.

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GLOSS

OUR FINISH CATEGORIES. Within the Sherwin-Williams interior paint family, finishes fall into four basic categories. The sub-categories, in parentheses, provide a clearer mental picture of the paint’s characteristics. While subjective, they attempt to describe the “feel” of the paint as much as its look.

FLAT (FLAT, MATTE): Gloss is measured at a 60° angle

60°

No to very low reflection when dry.

Gloss is measured in units from 0 (no gloss) to 100 (mirror-like), with the measurement taken by reflecting light into the receptor at a 60-degree angle.

EG-SHEL (LOW-GLOSS, EGGSHELL, LOW SHEEN, SATIN, VELVET):

Low to medium reflection when dry.

SEMI-GLOSS (SEMI-GLOSS, PEARL, MEDIUM LUSTER):

Medium to moderate reflection when dry.

SHEEN

GLOSS (GLOSS, HIGH-GLOSS): High reflection when dry.

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS FUN.

85°

Sheen is measured the same, except the light is reflected off the surface at an 85-degree angle, or five degrees from the surface plane.

OUR MEASUREMENTS ARE YOUR FRIENDS. All Sherwin-Williams paints contain numerical measurements for the amount of gloss and/or sheen in the can.

These measurements are taken with a “gloss meter” whose receptor is sensitive to reflected light.

Many paints, particularly eg-shel and satins, contain both a gloss and a sheen number: These qualities combined give such paints their distinctive luster. Thus, a high-gloss paint might have a 60-degree gloss value of 80 or more. A low-gloss or matte finish might have a 60-degree value of 10 or less and an 85-degree sheen value between 20 and 30. The higher the numbers, the glossier the finish.

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DURABILITY HAS THE LAST WORD. Gloss finish or matte? In the past, gloss would have been the more durable option hands down. But technology is a wonderful thing.

“For designers, specifying a flat finish no longer means compromising durability and cleanup ease,” says Rick Watson, Director of Product and Technical Information at Sherwin-Williams.

Sherwin-Williams Emerald® Paints are a best-inclass example. Emerald’s new true-flat paint provides a stain-resistant, washable finish that delivers exceptional color and beauty.

“I have Emerald flat finish on the walls in my own home’s back entry,” Watson says. “When my dogs get the wall muddy, it sponges clean without leaving a trace.”

Chicago-area freelancer Tad Simons writes about technology, art, aesthetics and dogs, roughly in that order.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIMOTHY MURRAY

Sheen is measured at an 85° angle

“In a lot of ways, gloss and sheen can be as important as the color itself to a design, depending on the overall effect you want to create,” says Sue Wadden, Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams.

Using paints with slightly different gloss and sheen values can create subtle shifts in depth and color perception. Contrasting, for example, glossy window and door trim with flat/matte walls, adds depth, definition and texture to architectural features.

FINAL touch

PLAYING with FIRE EXPAND YOUR PALETTE WITH THIS REDISCOVERED JAPANESE TECHNIQUE. Fire is elemental, universal, unmediated.

It destroys, purifies and preserves. And it produces shou sugi ban, the Japanese technique for charring wood that Architect magazine, Dwell and even The Wall Street Journal have touted lately. After a streak of devastating fires in Kyoto, Japan, in the 1700s, designers there discovered that houses constructed of charred cypress beams were more fire-retardant — like a blackened campfire that refuses to reignite.

Shou sugi ban has revealed even more perks, such as naturally repelling bugs and resisting rot. The treatment is eco-friendly, UV-ray resistant — and produces stunning, earthy color.

Co-founders Bill Hilgendorf and Jason Horvath of Uhuru Design in Brooklyn, New York, started charring their minimalist furniture designs five years ago, partly to avoid using toxic sealants and stains. What really sold them was the look, and now Uhuru offers the finish on almost every item.

“We love dark, moody, black-colored wood, so it’s perfect for us," Horvath says.

Traditionalists stand Japanese cypress planks in an upright funnel and allow flames to brush upward, the result appearing matte, raw and earthy. Uhuru designers sub in western red cedar, go at it with a blowtorch, and scrape away the soot to reveal a paper-smooth surface with an ornate wood grain and subtle sheen.

Hilgendorf recently torched 1,500 square feet of reclaimed western red cedar for his cabin in upstate New York and came away amazed. “It leaves a finish unlike any other,” he says. “It can change color from black to silver, depending on light, and there is an iridescent quality when the sun hits the char.”

—Alyssa Ford

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