Showing your true colors

Once Gretchen Schauffler starts talking about color, she quickly finds her way into your head.

The founder of the paint line Devine Color can convince even the most purple-averse person that the color is beautiful.

Look at sunsets, she starts.

"Anybody can look at a sunset, even if you hate purple," she said. "You would never take it out. There's a level of acceptance when the relationship is right."

Schauffler, who lives in Lake Oswego, Ore., was in Seattle recently to promote her new book "Devine Color: When Color Sings" (Inkwater Press, $14.95). Schauffler's book doesn't include pictures because, she said, the point is that color works in relationships. Instead of following trends, people should find colors that speak to them personally. Schauffler, for example, uses chartreuse and tangerine because they resonate with her from childhood days in Puerto Rico.

People recognize when color fits. Schauffler believes anyone can incorporate personal colors into their homes and make them look seamless.

"Do you want the Royal Hawaiian (Hotel) to be anything but pink?" she asked.

Drawn to color

Schauffler, 45, studied graphic design in college, but her artistic side didn't grow a professional voice until years later, when she left a career in pharmaceutical sales to raise her children. She made collages — even showing once at the Bellevue Art Museum — before moving on to faux wall finishes.

From there, she started a color-consulting business and several years ago approached Miller Paint about developing a paint line.

Now, Devine Color is carried in more than 400 stores nationally and in Canada and Ireland (a gallon of Devine paint starts at $32.50.)

Color relationships

Schauffler reminds clients that the rainbow has just six colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. All colors are built on these basic six, even taupe, which always includes a hue like green, red or blue.

Looking at a color by itself can be tricky, Schauffler says. But "put it next to something else, it will go yellow or green," she said. "You have to find the relationship, call it the names. Proportion and placement [are] a huge part of color."

And people's tastes can change when a color relationship is right.

Her grandmother, for example, disliked the color purple, until she found that a purple shirt complemented the undertone in her skin.

"That purple makes her look crisp and rosy like you wouldn't believe," Schauffler said. "It's total surrender to what looks beautiful."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com