Combine equal parts NFL cheerleader, I.M. Pei disciple and rock concert set designer and what do you have? Constance Ramos, the multi-talented host of HGTV's new series, Color Correction. To say that Ramos has lived a little is the understatement of the year. The architect/designer has done everything from cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs and acting in movies to building houses for Barbie and orchestrating extreme home makeovers. And the girl sure knows her color. We caught up with Constance Ramos at her condo in L.A. between shoots.
HGTV.com: Tell us about your colorful new show.
Color Correction is a design show that's so much fun and all about color. We have people who write or call in with a color crisis in their home. Maybe they've chosen the wrong color, inherited a bad color or have a color that is simply not working for them. And they need help!
And you're the color therapist who comes to the rescue?
Yes. Color is very emotional. The way you perceive color is really influenced by your history and culture. It evokes an emotional response that's different for everyone.
Can you explain how you might fix a color problem?
Sometimes people call us in because of the lack of color or because a certain color is getting them down. One client told us that the mint green color in her master bedroom made her feel sick every time she went into it — physically sick!
What we do on the show is correct the color, but not necessarily change it altogether. The color was mint green, but part of the problem was the angles in the ceiling of the room, and the way the light came in through the windows and affected it. The light wasn't bouncing around in a pleasing way. So we corrected the green by using shades in the olive range. We use a lot of color theory, and in this room we tried shaded colors instead of true tints. We left her with a room that made her feel healthy.
What color trends are you noticing?
Pairing a hot or cool color with a deep, rich chocolate. Everybody loves chocolate! If you pair this shade of brown with an icy blue, a bright orange or a fresh green, you've got a color combination that really rocks.
What are the biggest color challenges in interior design?
The biggest challenge in color design is also the greatest excitement: the feeling of color. I have heard people describe what colors they feel are "cozy" in many different ways. To some people "cozy" is a sage green, to others it's a terra-cotta orange and to others, a chocolate brown. The biggest challenge — and the greatest joy of discovering color for people's homes — is in learning their behavioral attachment to certain colors, learning how certain colors make them feel.
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