Authentic Home’s paint bar is a shop of a different color

When I moved into my townhouse, I had my bedroom painted what I thought would be a very muted salmon. And with seriously dimmed lights, my bedroom is a very muted salmon. But in the light of day, my walls more closely resemble an unfortunate South Beach coral. It was with this painting error in mind that I approached Authentic Home Color Paint Bar in West Seattle to select a paint color for my master bathroom.

Authentic Home was developed by interior designer and color consultant Kathy Banak, and it includes design services and a retail location. Last fall, after launching a line of home paint colors, Banak moved shop from one end of California Avenue to the other and added a paint bar where patrons can belly up and converse with a paint bartender to place the perfect paint order.

Instead of a typical color-wheel approach to showcasing paint shades, Authentic Home presents 60 hues in three categories meant to evoke a particular mood or feeling: Elegant, Playful and Serene. The offerings are selectively chosen, helping would-be decorators to avoid the aforementioned South Beach coral debacle. There is also a decidedly feminine approach to the way the paint colors are showcased (think retro '50s kitchen) and the names of the colors (Champagne on Ice, Parisian Blue, Milk Chocolate), which means that women feel more at home than they might at traditional paint stores.

Gallons are $43.95, quarts are $24.95 and two-ounce 'taste' cups, which provide just enough paint to cover two picture frames, are $4.25. All shades come with a green option, a solvent-free, low-odor paint with zero Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), the not-great-for-you organic gases that are emitted from standard paints and solvents. The green version sells for $46.95 per gallon.

Authentic Home products are available at the retail store and online at www.authentic-home.com. The company offers UPS ground and local delivery in the Puget Sound area, and orders of five or more gallons receive complimentary delivery within King County.

Authentic Home is at 4151 California Ave. S.W.; 206-937-3070. Visit the store online at www.authentic-home.com.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company