The first Unstuck Session is here!

In case you missed it, I hosted a Substack Live yesterday with my friend Cristina Cleveland! It’s the first of many live hangouts in a series I’m calling Unstuck Sessions.

We hit some technical difficulties right as we started recording (of course!), so the beginning of the video got cut off. Here’s the context you missed:

Unstuck Sessions started because I realized I was dealing with the same dilemmas as my other interior design friends. A few of us started meeting every other week to talk through whatever was on our minds, and it turned out to be one of the most helpful things we did for getting out of our own heads. So we wanted to bring it outside our inner circle to you all!

Cristina is one of the designers on those calls with me. She’s also the brains behind the viral personal style quiz, and she writes her own newsletter here on Substack, Home School (subscribe if you aren’t already!).

In this session, we focused on paint and color dilemmas you all submitted, plus a couple of non-paint topics too:

• Should I paint the paneled wall the same pink as the rest of the walls? (for the color-drench curious!)

• Do you have a favorite paint brand and why?

• What do you think about color matching Farrow & Ball colors? Does it work?

• For someone building a room from scratch, what’s your preferred order: Artwork first, then paint, or paint first, then artwork?

• Can you talk about how you select lighting for a space?

And last but not least, one bonus question from Pamela Gold we didn’t get to on the call that I’m answering here: How would you introduce neon colors into a home?

Neon colors are so fun and have such a high intensity to them because of their saturation. I think neon works best in a home where it surprises and delights you — meaning, where can you use it so it doesn’t feel expected? Starting small, but with a unique placement, will make it stand out in a way that grabs your attention. Some ideas: shelf brackets, the inside of a window, the inside lip of a door, or if you’re really feeling bold, a staircase in a neon color would scream joy! These are all paint related ideas, but if you were thinking about bringing neon through a product, photo mats, frames, or a neon pop in textiles would work too. As always, I’d zoom out and consider the other colors in your space to make sure there’s some harmony and balance there.

Thanks everyone for tuning in! Our next Unstuck Session is happening on Thursday, September 10th at 2pm! RSVP here. You can submit your questions by commenting on this post or emailing either Cristina or myself directly at dear@danielaaraya.com.

If you’re standing in your room feeling inspired to make some improvements, I’d love to hear from you! I work with clients 1:1 through my Color Consultations (think of this as your own dedicated Unstuck Session) and I also take on a select number of larger Full Scope Design projects throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. Either way, reach out and tell me what you’re working with!