Our San Jose Design Center Color Journey

When our team began designing its new San Jose Design Center, our team wasn't looking for a color palette… we were looking for a feeling. Instead of beginning with swatches, trends, or individual color preferences, our process started with a simpler question: How should people feel when they walk through the space?

"From the onset, we knew we wanted Laura Guido-Clark and the Love Good Color® (LGC) system to be part of the design process for our new flagship location," says Cat Peterson. "We started with the experience we wanted to create, defining a base palette rooted in our brand identity and, more importantly, in how we wanted people to feel in the space: invited, inspired, connected, and confident."

That shift became foundational to the design process.

Instead of debating colors, our stakeholders aligned around emotional outcomes. We developed a shared language that guided decisions throughout the project, helping everyone stay focused on the experience they wanted to create. "It allowed us to make decisions with greater intention," Cat explains. "Grounding each choice in the emotive response we wanted to create rather than getting caught up in individual preferences along the way."

By focusing on emotive response, the process breaks down traditional barriers between designers, clients, and stakeholders.

"When we work in the realm of emotive response, we remove the industry jargon and color trends," Adam says. "We drop the barrier between design professional and client, and distill the conversation down to its essential nature, where everyone can be, and in fact is, an expert."

The approach also encourages a broader exploration of color. Rather than limiting a project to a small collection of safe choices, emotional storytelling creates opportunities for richer and more dynamic palettes.

"In developing a rich and diverse emotional landscape for a project, the resulting emotion-based framework asks for a more varied color response," said Adam. "The emotional 'ask' is essentially a permission structure to use more color."

The palette included terracotta, dusty pink, deep green tones, smoky blues, and a bold bright pink accent used selectively throughout the showroom. "But because of the LGC system, it actually came together so beautifully," she says. 

Starting with a core palette and thoughtfully expanding it allowed the team to create distinct experiences throughout the showroom while maintaining a cohesive visual story.

"As we thought about how we wanted people to feel in our space and how to best represent our company, the color palette came together really easily using the LGC system," Darcy said. The result is a series of environments that each carry their own emotional character. Some spaces feel calm and restorative, while others feel energetic, social, and activating. Together they create a journey through the showroom that feels both intentional and intuitive.

"We wanted people to feel a certain way when they walked into different rooms," says Darcy. "Using color to help create that mood worked."

Beyond the Palette

As the project evolved, the influence of Love Good Color® extended beyond finishes and furnishings.

"The LGC framework became a touchstone throughout the process," says Cat. "It influenced everything from color and materials to the character and atmosphere of each space."

One of the most visible examples of that influence can be found in a large-scale beaded wall hanging in the design center, created by designer Adam Wier.

Inspired by the 21-color palette developed during the process, the installation translates the emotive language of the showroom into a physical work of art. The piece serves as both a reflection of the space and a reminder that design is ultimately about creating meaningful human experiences.

More than a decorative element, the piece was envisioned as a reflection of exploration. Inspired by moiré patterns generated through digital CET and AutoCAD studies, the piece emerged from a process of exploring geometry, repetition, and visual perception. After generating numerous compositions, Adam selected a pattern that felt both structured and infinite, creating a sense of movement through the interaction of light, shadow, and color.

The artwork is rooted in the same palette that defines the showroom. Adam completed multiple digital studies to balance pattern and color distribution before bringing the final piece to life. The result is an installation that echoes hues found throughout the space, creating visual connections between different settings and experiences.

"Design is often about finding meaning in individual elements and bringing them together into something larger," Adam explained. That thinking informed both the concept and construction of the work. The installation encourages visitors to slow down, stay curious, and discover new details as the piece shifts with changing light and perspectives throughout the day.

“Collaboration was at the heart of the project process. In a space where materials, textures, and color are essential to the final experience, the thoughtful approach to color selection provided a way to connect with the range of emotions we were pursuing,” said Antonio Caliz, Design Principal, AP+I.

“Laura’s process is highly creative and provides designers and clients a safe environment to explore and ultimate discover moments of delight through the use of color.”

Each bead is woven into and supported by the surrounding structure, creating strength through connection. In many ways, that mirrors the story of the showroom itself, where countless ideas, contributions, and creative perspectives come together to form a cohesive experience.

For Adam, the work also brings a personal dimension to the space. As someone who contributed to the design center's creation, he saw the piece as an opportunity to leave behind something more human and expressive. The installation serves as a visual echo of the showroom, reflecting its colors, energy, and creative spirit while offering visitors a moment to exhale and engage their curiosity. At its core, the piece is a reminder that great design is ultimately a human project, built from many individual parts that come together to create something meaningful.

Color You Can Feel

For the team, the true measure of success has been the response from visitors.

"We've received so much great feedback on our color selections," says Darcy. "People love the warm feel of the space. The bold colors mixed with lots of warm wood tones really stand out."

More importantly, visitors are experiencing the showroom exactly as intended.

"Some spaces feel really calming while others are energizing, and people have picked up on that," she says. "It's always so fun to hear how they feel when they enter certain spaces, especially when they describe the feeling exactly as we had planned and intended it to feel. I think that means it is a success."

Ultimately, that's what the Love Good Color® process helped achieve: a showroom designed not simply around aesthetics, but around human experience.

"At its core," Cat reflects, "this process reminded us that the most meaningful design outcomes come from curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to look at familiar ideas in new ways."

The result is a space where color does more than define the visual identity of a space. It shapes how people move through it, connect with it, and remember it long after they leave.