Question

Topic: Customer Behavior

Wall Color For Healthy Retail Food Establishment

Posted by Anonymous on 5/19/2009 at 4:53 PM ET 250 Points
Hello! I am opening a specialty retail food establishment in 3 months, and need some help selecting a wall color. The floors will be polished gray concrete. The ceiling is exposed, with black pipework and ductwork. The sales counter is stainless steel. There will be one exposed brick (red) wall. There is a slightly industrial feel to the space. The colors of my logo and marketing materials are cobalt blue and chartreuse green. I would like to use those as accents throughout the space, but need a complementary color for the other three walls. Please note that we are retail only - we will be selling pre-packaged, portioned meals based on a specific dietary plan. We are environmentally friendly, and are located in a trendy and wealthy area of the city. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 5/19/2009 at 5:29 PM Accepted
    Dear Ashley,

    Colour (I spell colour like this because I'm British), colour dear heart is highly subjective and no matter what direction you go in, your result is going to depend on:

    1. the direction of the natural light and how it falls
    throughout the day, (north, south; shadows from adjacent buildings, etc.,)
    2. the sizes of your windows, doors, and skylights
    3. the temperature* of your overhead and directional lighting,
    4. and the paint charts you're using.

    * www.mediacollege.com/lighting/colour/colour-temperature.html

    With the outline of your stainless steel counter and your corporate colours, I'm tempted to suggest plain white: goes with everything and makes a superb backdrop for large pieces of artwork.

    Your corporate colours' opposites are violet red (ish) for chartreuse, and orange red (ish) for cobalt, so you could go down the burnt umber road, but in all honesty, it's a colour that will date like cargo pants. But white? White is the wall equivalent of the little black dress: it never goes out of fashion.

    To test (which is the key here) go to any art or stationery shop and get several large sheets of foamcore (foam board, it's the same stuff), and paint those pieces with whatever colours you pick.

    Then, place said sheets around your space and live with them for a week or two, to see what takes your fancy. Then pick your main colour from there.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA


  • Posted on 5/20/2009 at 8:49 AM Member
    I would suggest a neutral color, perhaps something that matches the color of the grout in between the bricks of your brick wall.

    Good luck.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/20/2009 at 9:07 AM Member
    Go to your local paint store (the kind that mixes custom paint colors) and bring them swatches, photos, and ask them your questions. Ideally, might even get a color consultant to visit your space and help you out.
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