The “Perfect Purple” Paint Color Ina Garten Used In Her Living Room (She Tried Over 100 Shades!)
Ina Garten has always been known for her light, bright, and minimalist kitchens. The white cabinets, countertops, and even dishware help the food she makes speak for itself. But her Upper East Side apartment shows a different side of Garten’s design personality. Her jewel-toned library is on display on the cover of House Beautiful’s October 2024 digital issue celebrating the release of Garten’s Be Ready When the Luck Happens memoir, and the space is almost the complete opposite of her on-screen kitchen.
It’s dark, moody, and saturated with color — in fact, it took Garten a lot of tries to get the color of her bookcases just right.
Garten’s designer, Daniel Romualdez, told House Beautiful that she is “a bit of a design fanatic” and knows exactly what she wants yet stays open to new ideas. But when it came to the shade of purple Garten wanted in her apartment library, she wasn’t able to settle on just anything.
“When I’m picking a color, it’s like a thousand paint samples,” Garten told House Beautiful. To find this specific shade, she went through 100 to 200 paint samples before finally landing on Approaching Storm by Benjamin Moore. “I picked this one because I wanted a grayed purple that had life in it.”
The purple, paired with the rich golds, warm greens, yellows, and refreshing neutrals, creates a space that Garten calls the “coziest room in the house,” and I’m sure it plays so well against the “five senses” hosting trick Garten has been using for more than 46 years. It’s where she goes to read, watch TV, or enjoy a coffee and sweet after her dinner guests leave.
Romualdez notes that the purple actually creates an unexpected neutral backdrop for Garten’s huge collection of books, which also ties all the plush colors in the space together. “What was exciting was the upholstery really related to the colors of the book bindings,” Romualdez said. Everything is balanced, and no one color or piece is garish and stands out.
Garten is as multifaceted as her design styles. Sure, she might love a white and creamy kitchen, but behind another door is a color-drenched space filled with stories and inspiration.
This article originally published on Apartment Therapy. See it there: See The “Perfect Purple” Paint Color Ina Garten Used In Her Living Room (She Tried Over 100 Shades!)
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