Best Use of Color 2023 Winner

What was previously a sunroom cordoned off by glass doors is now a striking green oasis complemented by the outdoor surroundings seen through wall-spanning windows. “You always had to walk around the doors and it was very limiting,” says Nathan Taylor of Obelisk Home, who designed the Best Use of Color winning renovation. “I said to the owner, ‘Why don’t we remove all of these doors and just make this a huge opening?’”

The space, says Taylor, was a newer addition to the property that had been converted into a sunroom. Taylor aimed to make the room feel like more of a natural fit with the rest of the property. “The homeowner has very good taste,” says Taylor. “She and I worked together and came up with this color palette that would pop with [the rest of the home].” To create this pop, a black and white window covering was used to contrast with the new bright green paint that was partially inspired by the refreshing greenery outside the windows.

Finding the right kind of green was a challenge that required some extra work to look and feel right. “We tried four or five different colors and just couldn’t get the brightness right,” Taylor says. When they found the right shade of green, the brightness was achieved by painting it in multiple layers with a high gloss enamel paint and staining between layers, according to Taylor.

“We ended up with this color, which is I believe Alligator Alley,” Taylor says. “It’s just a beautiful, bright green. And then the high gloss just made it even more amazing.”

The fresh, bright green walls are further accentuated by the vaulted ceiling and golden light fixture. “We wanted to highlight [the vaulted ceiling] with color and have a little bit of glamor,” says Taylor. “Not like a traditional sunroom.”