There are colorful experiences and memories deeply rooted in our hearts that become colors we unconditionally love and crave. These colors feel like belonging and connection rather than perfection. Self-fulfillment rather than approval or validation. These color influences become the "color baggage" we carry around and use to understand the world and express ourselves.

This makes you the top color influencer of your life.

Imagine a profound makeover paint plan based on this color baggage that takes you to a colorful destination you truly madly and deeply love but better than you imagined, influencing you and your home profoundly and making you feel beautiful, fulfilled, and complete?

Color Baggage® was born from my own journey. When I moved from Portland, Oregon, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, I stood out like a lime green thumb in a world of hunter green. Instead of using trends to fit in, I trusted my colorful experiences and attractions to adapt and thrive in a new and ever-changing environment. Surrounded by a foreign culture and landscape unlike anything I had known, I clung to my internal rainbow of color experiences and painted my walls like a child would color their cardboard box. Then, the real magic happened. My home became a universe of delight and satisfaction. 

It was only a short time before I began to help others turn their cardboard boxes into sanctuaries, oases, and heavens.

Having done over 5,000 colorful makeover paint plans in the last two decades, I've come to believe that people cannot afford to be anyone but themselves. In a world where color trends are mass-produced and fleeting, the beauty of our color memories, experiences, attractions, and connections is that they are bespoke to each of us.

I named my company Color Baggage based on the following paragraph in a book I wrote back in 2006 called Devine Color When Color Sings;

"Growing up in Puerto Rico, I lived with boundless color. Color is timeless in the Caribbean, and it's a place where buildings are hot pink, orange, yellow, ocean blue, and parrot green. Because it's a destination nestled between America and Europe, both influenced the styles and colors of the culture. It was easy to love both the old and the new. This is the color baggage I brought with me to my world, and I was not afraid of it. Quite the contrary!"

When I shared the name Color Baggage with others, the reaction was mixed. Some were curious, and some thought it could be perceived as negative. Others loved it and understood my intent right away. 

That's what art is meant to do. Provoke a reaction not caused by notes, colors, or words but by our experiences. Making the case and point.

My gift is the ability to guide you and help you let go of self-doubt, fear of failure, judgment, or external approval, trust your color baggage, and surrender to your color attractions.

My mission is to help you:

1. Paint a captivating color environment  based on real color attraction and connection.
2. Live Each Day with Profound Self-Fulfillment And Profound Lasting Confidence
3. Never Worry About Trends, Status, or FOMO Again.

It's more sensorial and sensational that way. Beyond a color environment, there is an atmosphere beckoning your soul. Our discussion will lead you to connect with that atmosphere in a solo contemplative state. While I am on Zoom or FaceTime, you can still see me; you are not always looking at me, conscious of my reactions, seeking approval, or otherwise. You can look away from me to ponder, take as long as you want, connect with your environment in a very intimate way, and share your thoughts without feeling you are being rude. Like a great podcast, it's a conversation where your mind focuses on what I'm telling you, your eyes focus on seeing what I am showing you, and your heart reacts without self-judgment.

In the first 20 minutes, I will unpack your color baggage, dive into your space's unique features, from hard surfaces to fabrics and art, and explore the color dynamics of your surroundings, discussing how different hues work together (or don't!) to create an epic harmonic color resonance that will shake you to your core, reshape the way you live with color, and have everyone else humming to the vibration. The remainder of your time will be spent developing a color palette and placement suggestions to help you bring everything together seamlessly. Once we have agreed on your amazing paint path and destination, I send you a short recap after. I will continue to answer any questions you after the appointment. If new circumstances or conditions require a new color direction, or you need help coordinating other color projects, she bills in 30-minute time blocks.

* If you are in the middle of a color crisis, please contact me (Gretchen) directly.

We live in a world of manufactured color trends that create a high level of insecurity, fear of missing out, shallow connections, and massive environmental waste. I live by the motto, "Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Paper." In my work, people's colorful journeys are just as impressive, wondrous, and exciting as their destinations, which are all very personal and rich with memories and experiences. Due to everyone's unique quest to paint color atmospheres that satisfy their self-fulfillment needs, they should focus on their work and success.

As far as walls are concerned, most people use white out of fear, avoidance, or restraint—as in apartment conditions forbidding them to paint.

There's a difference between using white and loving white.

I should know. I grew up

around glistening crystal white walls in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
I deeply, madly, and genuinely love white and use it as a compelling accent to contrast and energize other colors.

We will know if you do too, as soon as I virtually come in through your front door.

I created four perfect limestone whites based on the ancient forts and lime-washed buildings I grew up with in old San Juan.

I consider the rest of my colors "off-whites" that reflect the energy and emotion of light, expanding how spaces feel beyond their cardboard box walls.

PS. White is not a color; it's a reflection of light, just like black is not a color; it's a reflection of shadow.

Please feel free to reach out and discuss. Contact me (Gretchen) directly.

My paint formulas and their sheens are exclusive; my highly pigmented color mixes set my paint formulas apart. I created and synchronized every single color, shook them in the can, and tested them on walls myself. I don't sell paint; I sell paint love affairs that last a lifetime. I

No other paint company can say that.

Good To Know

My CB Matte formulas are so rich and thick, like yogurt, mayo, ketchup, or mustard, separation will occur, and water will rise to the top. You must stir very well before brushing or rolling.

My CB Satin formulas are so smooth and buttery; make sure you use a great brush or a smooth roller to glaze your surfaces and watch the colors melt.

A little goes a long way.

After you paint, store your paint in smaller containers to keep it air-tight. Think canning and store paint in canning jars like canned fruits. Don't leave a lot of air at the top, and seal well.

Think Professional Manicure.

Surface preparation is always a must. Walls need to be clean, dry, and able to have paint adhere. One dense color coat will cover the surface. Two coats will blanket the surface perfectly even, making the color look twice as rich and, logically, protecting the wall with the paint product itself, making it twice as durable. A third coat, while not necessary, acts like a top coat.

More about other paint finishes and products under

PAINT FAQs.

My signature CB SEASHELL-MATTE, the most glorious touchy-feely limestone matte finish, invisible seamless touch-up, airy light radiance, and sundry-fast ability!

I named it Seashell after the inside of a Bainbridge, Washington, clam I picked up on a family beach trip in 2019. The shell's interior was the softest, smoothest, dense talcum white. It reflected the light from the sky in the middle of a gray rocky beach like a lighthouse. This shell echoed in my bones. I thought about my childhood, visiting the shores of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, for the day with my grandparents and bringing seashells home. I even thought of the one we named Ramon. There were stories about Ramon sneaking out late at night, hitting the tavern down the street, and coming home. There was proof because we sometimes found him lying on his back, just like that Bainbridge clam shell. I brought that shell and several others home with me.

When it came time to make my new paint formulations, I knew what I wanted. I wanted that rich calcium, bone, limestone, marble, seashell spark of light in the middle of of a gray sky and shore to be the inspiration. This required a new recipe to make it super soft and smooth while super strong and durable. I named my paint formula the "Spark" inside my Seashell.

My "Spark" formula in Seashell-Matte makes my wall colors look like they came from the shallow shores of the Caribbean Ocean, perfectly honed over time.

Email gretchen@colorbaggage.com