Barbara Mayfield, Artist/ Color Consultant.

"Invaluable" best describes Barbara's help in choosing exterior colors for our four-story, 120-year old University City Victorian home. The project is almost done, and the results are lovely & widely appreciated, even by passers-by. Barbara came to the house last fall, equipped with a trunk full of samples, an upbeat and flexible approach, & a sixth sense for color. (She was pronounced "a color savant" by the friend who recommended her, & our experience bore that out.) "What do you like?" was her first question to us & the owner of the other side of our twin, and from there we were off, choosing a dominant color, a secondary color, and an accent color. This spring, before the painting started, she came back for a detailed consultation about what color would go where (the house has many windows, several types of wood & metal surfaces, & beautiful woodwork). Together we painted small areas & adjusted one of the colors to a slightly more intense hue. It was fun. Most importantly, Barbara could visualize how the finished job would look. Her suggestion to apply the lighter secondary color to the porch ceiling, for example, was inspired -- it is one of the most eye-catching aspects of the front of the house. And her idea of using a fourth & completely unexpected color on the back doors livened up the back of the house delightfully. Barbara's contribution was essential to the success of our project. I can't recommend her highly enough, & would be glad to go into more detail with anyone interested.

I have never thought of hiring someone for color. My plan was always to paint the walls white. But after seeing what Barbara was able to accomplish with a friend's home - using color to highlight the unusual aspects of the architecture and create a feeling of being in a special place - my husband and I knew we wanted to work with Barbara. What a great decision that was. We had just renovated our home. Three floors of blank walls. Help! Room by room, Barbara helped us find the perfect color combinations. She introduced us to colors which I would have never thought of, and she was always right on the money! Our home is now full of gorgeous color, as well as soothing whites. My favorite rooms are my office, our bedroom, the basement, the downstairs bathroom....well, basically the whole house. BTW - she is great to work with. Always listens, and then explains why things will work. She taught us about color as well as how to choose color. We loved working with her, and if we need to do so, will hire her again. We cannot recommend her more highly!

Barbara was wonderful to work with and made it a delightful and fun experience to envision our new home with colors — a mix of neutrals and some personality. Thank you Barbara!

Barbara’s advice on color for three rooms that I am redesigning was wonderful and very valuable. I can’t imagine investing in new furnishings without getting the “foundation” of the rooms (by that I mean the color) just right. The color selection process with Barbara was actually fun. She is thoughtful and creative; and very sensitive to my preferences as well as the cohesiveness of new colors with my home’s existing palette. The end result is three new rooms refreshed and redefined with perfect color!

Ms. Mayfield is very talented. In helping me select colors for my home, she was very quick to understand what I was after. I could have made selections that were close, but she helped me make selections that were spot on. It's worth the price to avoid having to re-paint a room that doesn't turn out just right (like I did -- should have contacted her sooner!). Beyond that, she came on time, well equipped with materials to do the work.

Barbara is a color genius! She is just amazing!!! Barbara helped me to choose colors for my entire home. She came up with the most incredible palette and my home was completely transformed. I was initially a little nervous about making the changes (my home was formerly mostly beige), and during this time Barbara was so patient and kind. I could not be happier with the end result. Thank you Barbara!!!

Our experience in working with Barbara was beyond any expectation. Her artistic talents in color selection and design sense gave our projects the foundation to get started and confidence in making decisions to remodel and update. Barbara was always available for extra consultations. Her knowledge and professional skills were key to success!

My husband and I love color. But we are not confident about how and where to place the splashes of brightness so that they integrate into one unified design plan -- as opposed to separate zones of color: the pink room, the yellow bathroom, the blue entry hall. We wanted "colorful," but not at the expense of "visual harmony." Barbara helped us find the colors we wanted to live with -- a varied palette -- and she surprised us with some unexpected suggestions to complement our choices. She guided us with color placement -- a splash of jewel tone inside the coat closet, a deeper color blue than we ever imagined for one wall, ceilings that warmed up the walls. She taught us that all beiges are not created equal, and neither are oranges. When people first step into our house now, they smile and comment on what a warm, inviting home we have. And then they notice the colors. Working with Barbara was a pleasure, start to finish.

We loved working with you! Picking paint colors can be so overwhelming, but you made it easy and fun. Your professional understanding of how light, room size and flooring affects wall colors saved us tons of time and money. Because you guided us to the right color in the kitchen, we won't need to replace our cabinets. We are thanking you by recommending you to all of our friends!

My husband and I truly enjoyed our experience working with Barbara Mayfield as our color consultant. Barbara always followed through on what she said she was going to do each session. She is very passionate about her work, extremely organized and is a caring, patient person to work with. Her background in the arts and her expertise and eye for color greatly helped us in selecting colors for our house.

Barbara was so helpful in the color and wallpaper selection of my dining room after my own failed attempt! She helped me achieve the perfect combination in alignment with the color scheme of my home while stretching me to try something different! Wonderful to work with and passionate for design. I strongly recommend Barbara!