When I walked into the lobby of Santa Monica's Palihouse Hotel for Lonny's December issue cover shoot featuring actress Camilla Belle, the first thing that struck me was the light. Streaming through wrought iron-encased windows, bouncing off of 90-year-old Malibu tile floors, and illuminating the intricate carvings in the glossy wood trim throughout, the California sun seems to kiss every surface in the gleaming space. Which is all to say: when done right, dark walls do not suck the light out of a room, as is so often the belief—they enhance it.
When Paligroup founder Avi Brosh came upon the circa-1927 building in 2012, he knew the interiors needed an infusion of cool. The first step? Laying a color-drenched foundation against which eclectic seating areas and cheekily-styled vignettes would shine. "If you saw [the building] before we got it, it was very dowdy,"says Brosh. BEHR's Enamel Interior Paint in Nocturnal Sea, when applied to the soaring room, gave it not only an air of gleaming grandeur, but a sense of warmth and intimacy that underscores the hotel's "home-away-from-home" sensibility.
Applied to the walls of a boxy apartment, the color would transform a sterile living room into a lush and inviting den. Lacquered onto tired cabinets, the deep marine tone would instantly infuse your kitchen with Pin-worthy polish. Aren't New Year's resolutions all about getting out of your comfort zone? We say, amp up the drama in 2015 with a bold new hue for the home.
