About Me
Thank you so much for being here! My name is Diana Cartaya, and I’m a paint color strategist and designer. My mission is to help you create a harmonious space through the power of color. Color is more than just paint on the walls — it’s a way to make your home feel warm, inviting, and truly yours.
My journey into color and design began as a frustrated homeowner who just wanted her home to look and feel welcoming. The first thing I always changed was the paint color, but somehow, I could never get it right. It was either too dark, too gray, too beige, too stark white, or an eye-watering fluorescent bright color. On top of that, I had a tiny budget and mismatched hand-me-down furniture, which made it even harder to create the beautiful home I dreamed of.
That frustration pushed me to learn everything I could about color and design. I immersed myself in books, videos, articles, seminars, design workshops, and color courses. Over time, I earned an interior design certification and three color expert and strategist certifications. I was also fortunate to work under an incredible designer, gaining hands-on experience that shaped my approach to color and design.
Though I have worked in interior design and completed several home renovations of my own, my true specialty is color. Over the years, I have developed a deep understanding of how color influences a space and how to use it effectively to create balance and harmony.
I take an organic and personalized approach to helping my clients define their color palette and style. My goal is to guide you on your color journey and teach you how to surround yourself with the things you love so you can feel inspired every day. I want you to understand how to work with your home rather than against it and transform it into a space that truly feels like yours.
I specialize in color consulting, helping homeowners and designers select the perfect hues to bring their vision to life. Whether you’re looking to refresh a single room or create a cohesive color story for your entire home, I’ll be there to guide you through the process. My goal is to help you feel connected to your space, and that connection starts with color.
Let’s create a home that feels uniquely yours — one color at a time!
Color Consultation Appointments: Color measurements will be taken of your existing hard and soft furnishings with a device called a Spectro 1. This doesn’t require you to have anything prepared ahead of time for your space, however, it’s always helpful (and fun) to have your Pinterest board ready to look at for inspiration.
Space Planning Appointments: Your room will be scanned and measured using an app, so there’s no need to tidy or make extra efforts to get your home ready. Also, it can be helpful for me to see how your family is truly using a room in order to get a sense of the best lay out for the space.
Online color is just a digital representation of what a real color may look like. It should only be used to give you a general idea of how a color may appear in real life. Also, depending on the device and settings (iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, PC, laptop, televisions screens, etc.) the online color you’re viewing can be completely different than what you see in real life. This is why testing colors in your home with your finishes is the only way to truly know how a color will look. Any color that you see online, especially neutrals and whites, need to be tested in your home.
Photoshop renderings help you to get an overall idea of how a color or item could look in your space. They help you to “try on” different decorative items or the idea of a color before committing to purchasing or painting. The benefit is seeing an instant transformation or addition to your space. However, the caveat to that is knowing these renderings are just general examples. As always, physical samples should be tested and viewed in your home. Lighting, shadows, and soft and hard finishes all affect how a color can look in your home.
This service should not be used as an accurate example of how a color will definitely look in your space. Remember, ALL online color can and is manipulated in order to achieve what the person thinks the color should look like.
Your home and the choices you make for it are personal and meaningful, not transactional. Making smart decisions with the correct color choices not only protects your investment but helps you in creating a home you can thrive in. A color consultation offers you a personalized in-home appointment where a strategy is used to find the right colors for your space. Data from color measurements is taken and used to find the correct color for your project. Current furnishings, your design goals, and your style are taken into consideration to give you a tailored outcome. You’ll also receive Samplize paint samples to test in your home and a PDF with over 25 pages of information to keep on hand and refer to in the future. Not only will we find a color that works, but well also address other design questions and decisions you may have. My goal is for you to be educated in color and remove confusion when it comes to undertones, trends, and color palettes.
As a color strategist, I use data values, or a color’s DNA, to find the right color for your space. This data is taken with a Spectro 1, which is a portable spectrophotometer, that scans the color of an item and provides me with color notations that describe the Hue, Value, and Chroma. I take that data and create a color design plan with it. Learning the science of color from my mentor, Lori Sawaya of Camp Chroma and The Land of Color, truly changed how I was able to take the mystery out of color and bring in clarity. Although I did receive two other specialized trainings and certifications in color, nothing compares to becoming a Color Strategist from the Land of Color. When it comes to the science of color, there’s no guesswork, limited sets of colors or paint brands I can work with or wondering if we can detect “undertones” from samples. The skills I learned through my training combined with my experience working in design help me cater to individual homes. And though I use a science- based color strategy in my process, the way we all experience color is more than scientific, It’s emotional. Color and the space we live in affects us all in different ways. At each appointment I aim to understand what your needs are through color so that I can help you not only reach your style goals but also tell your homes color story.
Onsite appointments are available in the Colorado Springs, Monument, and Castle Rock area.
Not at the moment. However, I am looking into it and working on a process that will give the best and most complete service. I hope to make it available soon.
*If you didn’t see your question answered, please feel free to reach out to me.
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