Color Consulting in Memphis and Nashville, Led by Fallon Caldwell
Color consulting at Caldwell Painting means Fallon Caldwell helps you pick paint colors that work in your light, with your brick, floors and finishes, then writes them down so nobody has to guess. Fallon owns the company with her husband, Bart, and she trained under Maria Killam. She meets homeowners in person across the Memphis suburbs and in Nashville, and by video anywhere in the United States. It's the color consulting Memphis homeowners can hand straight to a paint crew, whether you're stuck on an exterior, a whole house, one room or your kitchen cabinets.
- Fallon Caldwell, trained under Maria Killam
- In person: Memphis suburbs, Nashville and Franklin
- Virtual: anywhere in the United States
What's included in the color consulting? Why Memphis homeowners book with us?
You get a walkthrough, visioulaziton color boards so you can see a color sample where they'll actually live, and a written color sheet. Fallon starts with what isn't changing, like the brick, roof, floors or counters.
We can provide samples, and they aren't chips the size of a postage stamp. They're large painted samples on your actual wall or brick, seen in morning and afternoon light before you commit.
The color sheet is what you keep: every color by brand, name and code, plus the sheen and where it goes.
Who picks your colors?
Fallon does! She owns Caldwell Painting with Bart, leads our color consulting, and trained under Maria Killam, the color expert best known for teaching people to see undertones.
Undertones are why a gray turns purple in your living room, or the neighbor's white looks dingy on your house. Fallon matches undertones to what you can't change first.
It also matters that she's part of a painting company. A lot of color advice gets handed off, and somewhere between consultant and painter the trim white changes or the sheen gets swapped. Ours doesn't. Our crew paints from her sheet.
“Thank you Caldwell Painting for your wonderful color consulting!!! You all are truly experts in this field, and I highly recommend your services to any/all considering hiring you.”
J. and A. M.
In person or virtual: which color consultation is right for you?
Book in person for an exterior, or a whole interior paint job! Fallon would rather stand in your driveway at four in the afternoon than guess from a screen. We come out to Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova, East Memphis, Lakeland and Arlington, plus Nashville and Franklin. Here's more on our color consulting in Nashville.
Virtual works anywhere in the United States, and it's a good fit for interiors, cabinets, front doors and homes outside our area. You send daylight photos and video, Fallon meets you on a call, and you test samples in your own light. Either way, you get the same color sheet.
How do Memphis light, brick and H.O.A's change your color choices?
Start with the sun. Hard afternoon sun on a south or west wall warms colors up and washes them out, while a north wall or deep porch reads cooler and grayer. So we test on more than one side.
Then the brick. It usually stays, so it sets the palette. Painting or limewashing it is a bigger call, because brick has to breathe through our humid summers.
Then the HOA. Many Germantown and Collierville neighborhoods have one, and some review exterior color changes before work starts. Halle Plantation in Collierville, for example, says in its published architectural guidelines that paint colors on brick or stucco need committee approval, a color close to either house next door won't be approved, and a white has to be off white or warm white. Get colors approved before you book a paint crew. We can't promise an approval, but we can make sure your request is complete.
Newer homes have a wrinkle too. Suburban new builds often have Level 3 drywall and builder grade flat paint, and a shinier finish shows every seam in afternoon light, so sheen and color get picked together.
Interior, exterior and cabinet colors: what does Fallon look at?
Outside, brick, stone, roof and the houses next door come first, then body, trim, shutters and door, so it reads as one house from the street. Our exterior painting crews paint from the sheet.
Inside, it's flow. You can see several rooms from most front doors, so Fallon ties floors, counters and stone together with one trim and ceiling plan for our interior painting crews.
Cabinets are the color people worry about most. Fallon checks counters, backsplash and hardware, and judges the color in its final sheen before our cabinet painting shop does the work.
How does the color consultation process work?
- Book. Tell us what you're painting, in person or virtual.
- Look and listen. Fallon notes how you live and what's staying.
- Options. A short list, not fifty almost identical greiges.
- Test in place. Large samples, seen morning and evening.
- Color sheet. Brand, name, code, sheen and placement.
- Paint. Book our crew or use your own painter, after any HOA approval.
What should you ask a color consultant before you book?
- Did they train in undertones, or are they going off a fan deck and a feeling?
- Do you get a written color sheet with brand, name, code and sheen?
- Will they test large samples in your actual light?
- Do they know how your HOA's approval works?
- Can the same company paint it?
- What does the consult fee cover, and what happens after the consult?
Do you offer commercial color planning?
Yes. We plan color for offices, medical buildings and campuses, and that work can run remotely anywhere in the United States. For proof of scale, we've done color planning for a hospital campus in Jackson, Tennessee, where entrances, wings and high traffic areas all had to agree. Send plans, finish schedules and brand standards, and we'll build a zone by zone plan.
Frequently asked questions about color consulting
How much does a color consultation cost?
Fees start at $675. That's the same starting point whether Fallon walks your house in person or meets you by video. What you're really paying for is not having to repaint a room, or the whole house, because the color looked different on the wall than it did on the chip.
Do you offer virtual color consultations?
Yes, anywhere in the United States. Send daylight photos and a short video, plus close shots of anything that's staying, like brick, floors, counters or the roof. Fallon meets you by video, you test large samples in your own light, and you get the same written color sheet as an in person client.
How long does a color consultation take, and when do I get my color sheet?
A consult usually takes about 2 hours, in person or by video. Larger, more complex projects can take weeks of back and forth while you test samples and narrow it down. Your written color sheet comes within a week or two, depending on how in depth the project is.
Do I have to hire Caldwell Painting to paint after the consult?
No. The consult stands on its own, and the color sheet is yours to hand to any painter. If you're in the Memphis or Nashville area, though, it makes sense to let our crews paint it, because they work from Fallon's sheet and nobody swaps the trim white or the sheen along the way.
Can you help me get my colors approved by my HOA in Germantown or Collierville?
We can make the request easier, but approval is your HOA's call, not ours. Send us your guidelines or approved palette if there is one, and Fallon picks within it. Your color sheet lists every brand, name and code for the form. Wait for written approval before you set a paint start date.
Do you work with Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and Farrow & Ball colors?
Yes. Those are the paint lines we use, and the color sheet lists the brand, name and code for each color, so there's no guessing at the store. If you want a color from one brand made in another, ask us first. Some matches hold up and some don't, and we'd rather tell you before it's on the wall.
Book your color consultation
Tell us what you're painting, where the house is, and whether you'd like Fallon in person or by video. We'll get you on her calendar.