Welcome to Puji’s Colorhouse!
Our President and Chief Color Nerd, Puji Sherer lives on a quiet street nestled in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Every square inch covered in Colorhouse, she layered greys, whites, blues, and greens to create a cozy yet open cottage feel in her 900 sq ft ranch.
Puji chose NOURISH .03 as her all-over hue in the entry, living room, and hallway. The perfect blend of grey and beige, this color creates a comfortable yet sophisticated vibe in interiors.
Design Tip: Paint walls and trim one color to simplify excessive architectural detail and create a more contemporary look. The existing wainscoting at first felt out of character in this midcentury home. But by painting the walls, trim, doors, and wainscoting all one color, the house instantly took on more of a modern feel.
The fireplace acts as the focal point of the house and gathers guests inside. Puji used the fireplace bump out as the transition point in her open floor plan to shift from NOURISH .03 in the living room to BISQUE .02 in the dining room.
Design Tip: Make color changes in an open floor plan at the inside corner of a wall, not the outside. This will eliminate an awkward and all too visible line where the two colors meet.
While Puji is no doubt passionate about color, she chose some of Colorhouse’s tried and true neutrals for her own home. These gentle hues create a non-competitive backdrop for an eclectic mix of new furnishings, repurposed furniture, and lots of texture in textiles and rugs.
Design Tip: Layer various tones of grey, beige, and white to create an interesting and complex interior that gives the illusion of simplicity. Neutral hues don’t have to be boring!
A unique vertical pattern surrounds the hearth made with handmade tiles in various sizes. Puji is good friends with Megan and Jason Coleman, the founders of Clayhaus Ceramics- the glazes on their tiles harmonize beautifully with Colorhouse hues.
A reclaimed bookcase from Salvage Works offers a pop of Puji’s favorite color: THRIVE .05, which just happens to be the same color as Portland’s St. Johns bridge.
Colorful collections of fine art paintings and thrift store finds can be found throughout Puji’s home. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from St. Mary’s College and continuing her education at Oregon College of Art and Craft, Puji likes to combine both art and craft pieces on one shelf.
BISQUE .02 creates a clean and crisp backdrop in the dining room. A vintage dining table from the 1920s takes center stage surrounded by antique chairs, reclaimed wood shelves, and jars of homemade raspberry jam.
Cookbooks stacked neatly in this nook reinforce the transition from the dining room to the kitchen.
Custom wallpaper made on Spoonflower fills in the space between the WATER .06 upper cabinets. Grounded with the dark grey of METAL .05 below, the two-toned cabinets offer another way to get just a little bit more color into a small space.
Design Tip: Add interest to a small kitchen without going overboard by painting the upper and lower cabinets complimentary colors.
If pressed, Puji will admit that she is not the biggest fan of white in interiors. “White can appear unintentional. As a Color Nerd, I want to feel that every color in a home was chosen for a reason, not as an afterthought.” That said, she chose BISQUE .02 for the walls and wainscoting in the dining room and kitchen. The reason? She wanted the colors on her kitchen cabinets to pop!
Puji, her boyfriend Oliver, and fuzzy friend Goose spend time cooking and entertaining friends in their bright, spacious kitchen. An avid craigslist shopper, Oliver found this antique butcher block for sale from a family in NE Portland. It is now one of the favorite pieces in their home.
A tiny guest bath off of the kitchen is painted in WATER .06, the same color as the kitchen cabinets.
Design Tips: Use an accent color as an all over hue in an adjoining room to add continuity to a space.
Serene and soft, WATER .06 is a no brainer for bathroom spaces. It creates a zen, spa-like feeling when painted on walls and trim.
Another relaxing hue, WATER .02 is quite possibly the perfect color for a bedroom. A little bit blue, a little bit green, a little bit grey, this hue is the epitome of calm.
A Pendleton bedspread, family heirloom lamps, and a collection of prints collected over time are the simple decorations in this quiet sleeping space.
Who says you can’t use dark colors in small spaces? Rich and sophisticated, charcoal grey METAL .05 transformed this uninspiring bathroom into a moody retreat.
Use darker colors on walls to frame pictures and curated collections.
In the guest room, Puji lets loose with color. Bright pink PETAL .03 on an antique dresser brings cheer and limited edition posters from past St. Johns’ parades signal a sense of place in this whimsical bedroom.
Muted green GLASS .05 plays nicely with other brights in the guest room like turquoise, pink, and yellow.
Thank you for taking a tour of Puji’s Colorhouse with us! Inspired to create your own? Contact one of Color Nerds to help you create your perfect palette.
Need more inspiration? Check out the Before/After photos of Puji’s house to see the full transformation.
Awesome photography by Shannon Wolf !
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