The Amazing Woman of Color

Eve Ashcraft is widely known in the world of architecture and interiors for her remarkable sense of color.

We first met her nearly 15 years ago through our work with Martha Stewart Living.  Eve was responsible for the development of the original palettes for Martha's Everyday Paint line--still to us one of the greatest tools for introducing color into everyday living.  To this day, we've kept a complete set of the revolutionary sample chips Eve designed, which allow you to pick a color and see an array of colors that work with that choice.  We were fortunate to have Eve design the paint plan for our Bedford home when we first moved here in 1996, which I then photographed for Martha Stewart.

Since then, the colors in our house evolved--and away from her cohesive color scheme.   A few months ago, after not having seen Eve for some time, our paths crossed again on a shoot.  We asked Eve if she'd consider consulting with us again on a big palette change.   Lucky for us, she agreed.  Eve has worked on major projects with some of the best architects and interior designers of our time, and not only developed paints colors for Martha, but also Benjamin Moore and, come next spring, her own line of paints for the prestigious Fine Paints of Europe.  2011 will also see the release of her first book, "The Right Color" being published by ArtisanBooks.  It'll be Eve's year.

Last week, Eve came to our house with her giant color set,  an IPhone, IPad, and notepad.  We told her our we'd like to change from the black floors we've lived with for 14 years, to a light painted floor.  Andrea sums up the vibe we have in mind as "a Swedish beach cottage." 

Over the next few weeks, we'll test colors, move swatches and with Eve decide on a final schedule of paints.  It'll be the biggest change we've made in the house in a long time and we're really excited about the big bang that this relatively inexpensive effort will give us.  We'll share some of the process as we move forward.