Paint is More Than Just a Color

With our paint line flying off the shelves I thought it would be fun to share some fun facts about paint and some amazing Segreto colors to inspire for your springtime house refresh!!!

Since the beginning of our history, we have been expressing ourselves with the transformative qualities of paint! Whether you are choosing SP-Santé Fe, a rich orange-brown, for a cozy feel, an SP-Ocean Break a blue-green representing the cool calmness of the water or an SP-Soft Pearl a soft white for simplicity and purity, the tone you surround yourself with affects your mood and impacts your life! I do love my Segreto Paint, but am certainly not the first to set up shop. A 100,000-year-old paint factory was discovered in South Africa where colorful dirt enriched with Iron oxide was grounded with stones into an ocher powder and then blended with mammal-bone marrow and charcoal to act as a binder and form paint. Over history, we have used mummy remains, blood, urine, fat, linseed oil, and egg yolks as binders for pigments found in nature giving them the ability to adorn our walls, art pieces, and bodies!

Binders of today are made of polyester compounds called alkyds for oil-based products, microscopic plastic partials for latex products, and acrylic polymers for our low VOC acrylic products. These new binders allow the paint to dry faster and harden better for more durability.

Did you know with a payment of 500 ducats-Italian gold coins-Michael Angelo painted the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling in 4 years in the 1500s? This would be $1000 in today’s currency. The restoration of the famous works of art took close to 15 years and 3 million dollars to restore in the 80s and 90s.

Photography by Julie Soefer Designer Marie Flanigan

Part of what I love about having our own paint line is seeing how that perfect tone individualized for each client creates personal spaces which truly resonate with them. Color therapy is a real thing! Much like treating ailments with natural herbs has had a positive effect on our health, color therapy is also an alternative medicine based on the use of color. Look how the talented designer Marie Flanigan and her cute kiddos find joy in their own home! Your surroundings and color do matter.

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” - Oscar Wilde

Photography by Wade Blissard

White light is a combination of all colors on the spectrum. When in doubt about what color to use in healing, use white. White invokes the vision of the spiritual light of unconditional love. Who wouldn’t want that? Paint and plaster over brick in Porcelain SF-019 from the Segreto Palette

Photography by Wade Blissard, Designer James Mann and Ashley Radack

White is a true balance of all colors. It is associated with cleanliness, simplicity, and perfection. It purifies and simplifies, giving you hope and clarity. Plaster walls and ceiling in the tone Moonbeam SF-004, paint blended to match.

The White House was initially painted in a white limewash to protect the brick in 1798. When it was recently repainted, 570 gallons of Duron’s Whisper White paint were used at $150 per gallon!! The paint is from Germany and is used to help preserve buildings.

Photography by Wade Blissard

“Renoir said once that nothing was so difficult, and at the same time so exciting, to paint, as white on white”. - Ambroise Vollard, French Contemporary artist, 1866-1939

Plaster walls, ceilings, and hood in the tone Moonbeam SF-004, SegretoStone countertops in the tone Pure White, and Cabinetry painted Castle Gate SF-041 all from our Segreto Palette

The color of nature, green, symbolizes harmony, safety, growth, and health. Surround yourself with shades of green and you will revitalize your soul and be encouraged to be generous, hopeful, and balanced. The Segreto color Granduca in paint and plaster was specially formulated for designer Kara Childress in her re-design of the Alba Restaurant in Houston.

The first known theory of color was developed by Aristotle who believed it was sent by God from heaven through celestial rays of light. He suggested that all colors came from white and black and related them to the four elements – water, air, earth, and fire. Surprisingly his beliefs on color were widely held for over 2,000 years until replaced by those of Newton.

Designer Molly Solich Design

When you think about what color symbolizes, like blue which stands for security, trust, and loyalty, think about how being surrounded by that color affects your well-being. Blue leaves you calm and relaxed while feeling protected and supported. Built-in is painted with our Segreto Paints in a custom color from our Segreto Paints Designer Series

Designer Revival Living Interiors

The positive of being surrounded by blue is that you not only feel at peace and more confident, but are encouraged to be honest and reliable. Blue is the favorite picked color of both men and women!

“I found I could say things with colors that I could not say in any other way, things for which I had no words.” - Georgia O’Keeffe

Photography by Stephen Chen, Designer Ivy Hall Interiors

Gray is the color of compromise and neutrality. It stabilizes your emotions which calms you and relaxes your senses. A true neutral, gray blends well with all tones of the color palette forming a practical and stable feel to your environment. Cabinetry is painted in the color Penthouse SF-044 from our Segreto Palette

Photography by Kerry Kirk, Designer Hollie Lathrop

“In order to find stability in our lives we find first stability within ourselves.” - Tyler J Herbert

This one was done before our colors were named. Walls are plastered and trim painted to match – similar colors from our Segreto Palette are Handsome SF-058, Sterling SF-063, or Gracious Gray SF-064

Designer James Mann

The oldest color in the world, dating back over a billion years, turns out to be pink! Produced from organisms that inhabited a vanished, ancient ocean deep beneath the Sahara, this pigment ranges from dark red to deep purple, but when diluted it turns bright pink! Another fun fact from the 80s is that scientists discovered that painting jail cells with a Pepto-Bismol-like hue calmed aggressive inmates. The shade became known as “Drunk Tank Pink.”

Pinks and blushes have since become more sophisticated like our version of the Perfect Rose! Representing love, compassion, and playfulness this tone calms, nurtures, and encourages sympathy for others. Walls, trim, and wainscot painted in the color The Perfect Rose SF-02I from our Segreto Designer Series

Designer Patti Perrier

Purple was associated with royalty as only aristocrats could afford the expensive pigment. Popular in Roman times, it took the mucus of 4 million Murex snails to create one pound of purple pigment. It has been said that Leonardo da Vinci meditated in a lavender or purple-colored light and that 75 percent of small children choose purple as their favorite color. Walls are painted in Sugar Plum SF-1V from our Segreto Designer Series

The first color wheel has been attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, who in 1706 arranged red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet into a natural progression on a rotating disk. The cool thing is as the disk spins fast, the colors blur together so rapidly that all you see is white. After putting our first deck together I can’t imagine how Sr Isaac came to that realization. Brilliant!! Since ours came out a year ago we already have so many designer series tones to add! We love customizing specific to each individual job!!

Sherwin Williams developed the first tin paint can in 1866 so that paint could be resealed and stored! Thank goodness for that! It is important to store your paint in a temperature-controlled environment to keep it usable over time!

This article was written by Leslie Sinclair from Segreto Finishes.

Meet The Author

Leslie left her corporate job in 1995 to start Segreto Finishes, naming the company after her husband’s family. Segreto, which means secret in Italian, rolls up all of Leslie’s passions — architecture, interior design, art, people, and business– into her idea of the perfect job.

Leslie’s talent for color, bringing innovative products to the marketplace, hiring and training quality staff, and working with people on their individual needs, built Segreto’s reputation.

Check out her Blog, Instagram & Pinterest!