Meeting Darryl Carter

First off, a huge thank you to Lauren of Pure Style Home for letting me tag along with her to meet Darryl Carter and have our well-worn copies of The New Traditional signed. Here's a pic of her w/Darryl. (I would show you mine but will you understand if I said I was having a bad hair day...) Darryl couldn't have been more generous with his time or more enjoyable to talk to. It was really a highlight to meet him!

He recently joined Jura Koncius and Terri Sapienza of The Washington Post for their Home Front Q & A. Two things that impressed me so much: his willingness to give specific paint color suggestions and local design sources. Be sure to check out the complete discussion here. Here's just a bit of the advice from this talented designer:

- In response to a question about what to paint a repro Duncan Phyfe dining table: "Try Benjamin Moore Pashmina… Gesso the table white and then apply – probably will need a protective coat of matte finish to preserve for use. Ask the paint specialist how best to execute. Try a few colors in this family to execute to your taste."

- Request for a blue for a front door: "Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray or Gravel Gray - high gloss or satin finish."

- "My go to paint color is Benjamin Moore’s Moonlight White. It’s a white tone that is very rich with a good deal of depth. Being in an attached dwelling with limited natural light, Moonlight White will open the spaces and allow light to move with ease from the front of the home to the back and vice versa… The other unique aspect of this color is that it takes on different color tonality at different times of the day."

- Local Sources: Strasburg Emporium in Strasburg, VA; Deleplane Store & Antique Center, Deleplane, VA; Red Schoolhouse/Scottish Connection Antiques in Millwood, VA; US Marble & Granite in Beltsville, MD; Timothy Paul on 14th St. DC

If you're interested in more, Sonu Mathew, Sr. Interior Designer with Benjamin Moore & Co. has some great video interviews with Darryl posted on her blog, Living in Color with Sonu. The above paint picks are some of his favorite go-to colors via her blog.

I hope you have a great long weekend. I'll leave you with these beautiful, serene images of Darryl Carter's work.