Colour Theory

I first met with Sylvia O'Brien of Colourtheory.net in May of 2004 when I was planning to redecorate my apartment. I had worked in fashion retail and merchandising for some time at that point and had decorated previous apartments with a good bit of knowledge of my own to do with design and colour theory, however, prior to meeting Sylvia in 2004 I was feeling atypically uninspired about how to proceed in choosing colours for my latest apartment. I knew that consumer furnishings and accessories were designed with colour palettes that come and go, and felt that being an industry insider, Sylvia would have better knowledge of what was up and coming. After discussing colours I liked with her, Sylvia came up with a cohesive palette I could repeat throughout my rooms and one that would be "fashion forward" so that I would be able to find accessories that would go well with my room colours in the years to come. As I write this in 2019, I have to say that I am still in love with the colours she chose for the various rooms of my apartment. The most amazing part is that within the last year I found a rug that has just about every single colour from the scheme she developed in just the right shade. It was as if that rug was custom made to match what she created for me over a decade ago. In the years that followed 2004, I was able to find many accessories that went well with my colour scheme. For that reason, I have said and continue to say that the money spent on her consultation were the best design dollars I have ever spent. I should add that beyond providing the latest "trend" that was trend for trend's sake and may not have fit the colours I personally favour, Sylvia was able to give me the best of all worlds: colours I find a joy to live with, and a palette that served me very well over a long period of time. I highly recommend her services.

We've used Sylvia's services twice for major home remodels and have been extremely pleased with the results. Come in under $1000 for each project. She was extremely professional and pleasant to work with. More than just help with choosing wall/trim colours, she helped with finishes, flooring, roofing - all aspects of the job. Efficient and exceeded expectations. It's value that keeps giving long after her work is done. Pictures shown are just one tiny aspect of one of the projects. This work is nearing completion and can share more upon request.

We have worked with Sylvia numerous times over the last 10 years, on projects at home and at work. When my wife first suggested that we hire a colour consultant, I admit that I didn't think it was something we needed. However I soon realized how much value Sylvia brought to our renovation project. She has helped us to work with colours that we would never have chosen on our own, and the results have always been fantastic. She is a real professional, and is always the person we call first when we're thinking about a painting project.

It was great working with Sylvia - she is very professional and easy to work with. Her colour consultation was very thorough and I relied on her years of experience to help me pick new paint colours and fabric samples for my window coverings and dining chairs. I'm thrilled with the results!

I have hired this company 4 times in the past. I have liked the job, the colours are good and Sylvia is great to work with.

I recently decided to completely overhaul the colour scheme in my apartment. I wanted something new, something radically different from what I had. However, I had no idea how to figure out a completely new look that I would be profoundly happy about - I needed help. This is where Sylvia’s magic came in! She started out by asking me what kind of a feeling I wanted from my space. How did I want to feel as I walked into my apartment? As I sat in my favourite reading area? What did I feel now that I wanted to keep, and what did I feel now that I didn’t want to keep? This, along with a colour preference test, became the foundation from which her colour suggestions came from. Her colour choices were right on, as you’d expect, from a colour expert - everything goes together beautifully. But the special part of it all, Sylvia’s true gift, was in giving me, through her colour choices, the exact ‘feeling’ I wanted in my newly designed space. The colours she chose not only look absolutely beautiful, they make me feel wonderful. That is a true feat! Thank you Sylvia for what I now think of not just as colour ‘theory’, but colour ‘therapy’!

Sylvia provides such a comprehensive and personalized service. She is worth every penny and has probably saved me money, by saving me from repainting rooms umpteen times after picking the wrong colors!

We hired Sylvia to help us select the new colours for some rooms in our home. She did such a great job we hired her to help with the exterior of our home as well. She is very organized, efficient, leaves clear instructions and the colours chosen look great.

Sylvia saved my son's condo from disastrous paint decisions made by me! I was helping him redesign his condo and chose a colour that absolutely did not work with the south-facing light, an existing wall colour or the carpet, but this was all actually kind of subtle and we had no idea why our grey walls turned blue in certain light. Sylvia did a thorough exploration with my son on his relationship to colour, carefully researched what colours would work with the things we could not change (like the carpet and a 16 foot high red wall), listened to what we were trying to achieve and gave us wonderful advice. She addressed areas we hadn't considered like restful colours near the sleeping area and encouraged the choice of a deep charcoal I adored but would have been scared to use on my own. The result is a very sharp looking condo, that is both fun and relaxing where it needs to be. Every question was answered and need addressed and Sylvia is great fun to work with. She has answered emergency-from-the-store calls about coordinating colours and explained the paint selection directly to our painter. All this was for a very reasonable fee and had I met Sylvia prior to starting I would have saved incredibly on the paint costs, as repainting is not cheap. I would never paint again without Sylvia's advice.

After considering dozens of swatches while trying to select an alternative combination of colors to replace our red brick/white shutter combination we concluded we were spinning our wheels. Sylvia O'Brien came to our rescue and brought the various elements of our home including the character of our neighborhood into just the right focus with the various elements wonderfully complementing each other. Thank you Sylvia.

My wife and I are redoing the entire exterior of our home - windows, doors, siding, roof, balconies, landscaping etc. Sylvia O'Brien of Colour Theory was the essential consultant in our team - giving us direction on how to unite all of these features in terms of colour, style and material. She was amazing, with a keen eye and a wealth of ideas and experience. The end result was fantastic, we're so happy. We absolutely intend to use her again - next year when we redo the entire interior...

I have been working with Colour Theory for a number of years. They have been a great asset on my residential and commercial projects. Their knowledge, creativity and expert eye has been invaluable. A great company to work with.