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This Capitol Hill Paint Shop is Crazy About Customized Colors

Whip up custom colors for your home at this Instagram-worthy paint boutique.

paint-lab

This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

After playing with the idea of a special paint line for almost a decade, interior designer Rocky Rochon made his musing a reality with The Paint Laboratory (Capitol Hill, 2405 10th Ave. E; 206.557.4737). The Instagram-worthy luxury boutique shop on Capitol Hill exclusively sells Rocky Rochon Paint—a dreamy collection of highly pigmented, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) shades that range from luscious strawberry reds to soft cerulean blues. “I love my work. I’m a problem seeker and a problem solver,” says Rochon, who launched Rocky Rochon Design in 1991.The designer started developing his paint line in 2013 and opened the doors of The Paint Laboratory in 2014, introducing Seattle to a boutique paint shop experience where employees, or colorists, help customers uncover custom paint shades that complement a room in every applicable lighting scenario from daylight to nightfall. “I use imagery with my clients…I have them tag anything they love, not necessarily the color,” explains Rochon. They’re sent home with a few color options to test. From there, the tweaking process begins and continues until the perfect color is found. What could be more personal than that?

 

A San Juan Island Home for All Seasons

A San Juan Island Home for All Seasons

With an eye toward the future, Prentiss + Balance + Wickline helped two Seattle professionals design a house perfect for weekend getaways now—and permanent living during their post-retirement years.

It was early 2017 when a Seattle-based empty-nester couple started searching for a property in the San Juan Islands. They still had jobs in the city, but were nearing retirement and wanted a home they could use on weekends, and eventually settle in after they left the workforce. Initially, the two weren’t planning on a…

Can Alaska Kelp Help Washington Crops Beat the Heat?

Can Alaska Kelp Help Washington Crops Beat the Heat?

A Ketchikan company is working with WSU researchers to see whether its kelp-based biostimulant can help grapes and berries withstand environmental stress.

From the floatplane, reddish-brown kelp traces the edges of the small islands between Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island like brushstrokes on the surface of the water. Up close, on a rare 70-degree July day in Alaska, the kelp is glossy and beautiful, though the wind coming off the water makes it nearly impossible to…

PlantCon Is Coming for Seattle’s Windowsills

PlantCon Is Coming for Seattle’s Windowsills

The nation’s largest gathering for houseplant lovers makes its Pacific Northwest debut this August with 200 booths, hands-on workshops, and a DJ.

My house is full of plants, enough that I’ve lost count. Houseplants have the same suspicious math as tattoos: One is rarely the final number. I propagate cuttings in jars of water, regularly rearrange corners of the house in pursuit of better light, and like to imagine the entire collection is improving the air. That…

Noir Lux Lights Up Fourth Avenue

Noir Lux Lights Up Fourth Avenue

The Seattle candle brand’s new two-level pop-up brings workshops and community gatherings downtown through September.

It’s often said that good things come in threes, and for Colina Bruce, founder of the lifestyle and home fragrance brand Noir Lux, that’s certainly proving true. With a flagship shop in Belltown and an outpost in Ballard, Bruce is rounding out a Noir Lux trio with the opening of the Noir Lux Collective on…