I have used Rachel's incredible services a number of times over the years. She has helped me pick interior colors for my business, challenged us to break out of our addiction to beige in our home, and most recently consulted on our exterior palette for our house as well. She is spot on every time, and she is so fun to work with. I recommend her 1,000% before you start any paint project. She is worth every penny of the consulting fee and has saved us from making big mistakes or living in a dreary palette forever. read more

I reached out to Rachel to help choose colors for the main floor of my house. I was overwhelmed, and frightened of the orange toned wood trim in my living room. Rachel was extremely helpful and professional. Spending the time to ensure we chose the right tones of each color, offering suggestions on colored ceilings, coloring the stair risers, and checking that the first floor felt like it was the same house from room to room. Rachel went above and beyond when the painting had already started. I reached out to Rachel, in an honest panic, the colors seemed off and too loud. She quickly uncovered the painted color had been mixed incorrectly. She then helped me navigate the painting team, so they went to get the correct paint without charging me for additional labor. Rachel was extremely professional and helpful, while I was panicking. I would recommend Rachel to anyone without reservation. The colors we chose, create a warm cozy space, which is exactly what I was hoping. read more

I was having trouble trying to settle on a final color scheme for my renovated home so as usual, I turned to Yelp to find help. I read all the great reviews so of course I called Hue Consulting! Rachel showed up on time with lots of color swatches and lots of ideas. I loved her energy and she seemed very knowledgeable about color. We tried a lot of colors and came up with a palette that looked good on paper but when I got the samples and tried them on the walls, the colors just didn't work for me at all. Back to the drawing board...but I'm ok with that. Yes, I spent $350 and did not end up with a workable plan, but I count that as a win for ME. I confirmed that the color change I thought I wanted to make was really not going to be something I could live with. Knowing that for sure made it easy to move off that idea and head down another path. read more

We could not have done it without Rachel! For us, it was a big project, involving replacing all the windows in our house, significant carpentry work, and then painting. We met with Rachel and decided to go bold compared to the existing colors. Rachel tested out some ideas with us, and she fairly quickly developed our color scheme, including for our windows. Frankly, the bold new approach was a bit frightening for us, but in the end we trusted Rachel. We were simply amazed at the look of our "new" house. We love it. Rachel also spent a lot of time working with us on the color scheme for all the exterior nooks and crannies of our SF home, and that made it a lot less stressful for us. Even though it has been three months since we painted, we still get weekly comments from people walking by about the fantastic color scheme! read more

Hiring Rachel to help us figure out what colors to paint our house was PRICELESS! After stucco issues on our house, we were going to paint outside of house same color before Rachel entered the scene. OMG, you gotta see our house now. It looks amazing (if I may say so myself). Rachel got a sense of the space inside, listened to what we were looking for (we didn't actually really know), and then she did some research on the style of our house and colors that were used at time when our house was built (1920s) and then did some computer mockups on her iPad which was SUPER helpful in selecting the colors. I need to put up picture of my house so you can see her work... For the amount of $ we spent on painting outside of house ($8k), Rachel's fee was nominal and instrumental. Totally will get that $ back in resale value. So many people have asked who was our painter that did our house and I have to credit both our great painters (JB Painter--woo!) and Rachel. It was beautiful team effort. One more thing--we have hired another color consultant in past and while we like our inside colors, the process was one I would not want to repeat. I felt judged and that the OTHER consultant was rolling her eyes that my husband and I didn't know what colors went together and wasn't really customer-focused...we didn't like that process. So I wasn't really psyched about doing that process again, but Rachel is SO DIFFERENT! She listens, she smiles, she has research and education backing up her recommendations, she was responsive during the process and worked hard to meet our tight deadline! Whereas before we felt ignorant and judged for our lack of color knowledge by other person, Rachel made it fun and helped us understand what we wanted/liked. read more

My wife and I recently bought a home in Walnut Creek where everything was painted an off white. Even prominent wood beam railings and their hardware was painted white. We knew we wanted to have the place re-painted before moving in (along with some other remodeling) and planned to add a lot of color to the spaces. We were looking for warmth and coziness, not hospital white coolness. As we began to examine the space, we pretty quickly realized that we needed some help. At first not so much in picking colors, but in deciding where one color would start and another would begin. Our home has a split level layout and from many of the rooms, you can see the walls of 3 other rooms. The openness of the home was one of the features that attracted us, but this seemed to present a minefield of choices of how to paint. It was also clear that all of the chosen colors would need to harmonize with one another. I decided to get some help and called Rachel. Rachel was excellent. She is a ball of energy, super friendly, easy to work with, and all about helping you find what works for you. While the process starts with you picking some colors you like, Rachel ensures that you end up with a palette that works well together. Our completed project does a great job of highlighting the architecture and flows seamlessly. Even the owner of our painting company commented that he felt the openness of our home would have made color choices difficult, and that our use of colors was done fabulously. He was impressed and said he could see that a real pro had been involved. I would not hesitate to recommend Rachel to any of my friends! read more

Rachel really saved the day for me! I shudder to think what would have ended up on my walls (or how much more money I would have spent on samples) without her input. Read on... When my painting contractor first arrived, I thought I wanted to paint my main room (combo living/dining/kitchen) yellow. Not super yellow-yellow, but kind of a tan-ish, mellow, light yellow. The painting contractor handed me a huge fan deck containing thousands of colors, and I picked out 4 yellows, went to the paint store and got some samples, and none of them looked even close to what I wanted. Everything looked very different on my walls! I went through the same process trying to choose paint for my bathrooms, only there I had no idea which color I wanted (just not yellow). Seven sample jars of paint later (and 7 splotches of different colors on my bathroom wall later), I was more confused than ever. My painting contractor needed a decision from me, and I was nowhere near ready to make that decision. So I got on Yelp, found Rachel, and sent her an email. She emailed me back right away and I immediately felt better. That was a Friday night, and she was here that Sunday (yes, Sunday!) to help me. She brought a portfolio of large color sample cards that we could put up on the walls to see how each color would look in that light, and we were able to put them side by side with one another to see how they would look together. What a huge timesaver! She definitely gave me ideas that I would not have come up with on my own, and I love the result. And best yet, when I had questions after she left, she emailed me answers. She even sent me a picture of an idea she had for one of my surfaces that she ran across a week later. Now THAT is great customer service! She also sent me a picture of an idea for a window valence for a window with which I was having trouble. I highly recommend her. A++++ read more

Rachel Perls helped us design and create a stunning mural for our 1 year old daughter's room. It is so gorgeous, I sometimes just sit in there to look at it! She was super fun to work with and I adore the results. The mural adds a very special touch to our daughter's room. The design she helped us create will also be perfect as our daughter ages because it's just a lovely piece of artwork. Rachel is a trained color consultant and artist, and she is very talented. I'm so pleased with her work. You can check it out in the gallery on Rachel's site...our mural is the tree silhouette: http://hueconsulting.com/Hue_Consulting/Mural_gallery.html Update: Rachel helped us pick paint colors for our entry and dining room. Wow! I never thought I would use a color consultant since I quite like DIY, but her input made the process so much better and more efficient. I was overwhelmed with all the color choices in my head, and was unsure how to coordinate with adjoining rooms and pull in colors from the art and furniture without being too matchy-match. From her giant binders of samples she narrowed her suggestions and explained her thinking. With a light-hearted and knowledgeable approach, she expertly helped focus my thinking. She has great training and knows her stuff, but she wasn't rigid about how things ought to work. A perfect balance. She also proposed a creative idea for a nook in our entryway -- and now I'm so excited about it! I love the colors we came up with. The process was brief, collaborative, and really, really fun. Couln't be more pleased. read more

Rachel Perls is worth every penny! We recently purchased a house whose interior had been painted entirely in yellow (my least favorite color) for the sale. After the close, I had two days before the painters arrived to choose colors for 7 different rooms. Since I have very strong color preferences, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I spent day one at the paint store; I looked at chips, selected a handful of colors, had samples made, then brought them to the house and painted them on the walls. (FYI, I'm not sure where I got this idea from, but this is the absolute wrong way to go about it.) $65, several hours, and one fume fueled headache later, I had nothing usable and realized how daunting (and potentially expensive) my task actually was. I found Rachel's information in a web search and called her in a panic. Luckily, she was able to meet me the next day. After asking a few questions about color and style preferences, etc., she showed up with an arsenal of color swatches in various sizes and spent several hours with me methodically going from room to room, asking the right questions, keeping me focused, and displaying a deep knowledge of color, lighting, paint types and various tips & tricks of the trade. I never felt like she was pushing her preconceived ideas & preferences on me, but that she was instead helping me to arrive at the colors that I would be happiest with. And I am thrilled with the result. We have a very open floor plan so you can usually see into several rooms from any spot in the house. I am still impressed on a daily basis with the way all the colors work so well together when viewed in layers against each other - one of the many things I never would have taken into consideration on my own. Before this experience, I probably would have scoffed at the idea of a color consultant, or at least considered it a frivolous expense. Now, when I consider the cost and number (and waste) of unnecessary paint samples, the actual cost of paint and painting, and potentially having to RE-paint a house, and most importantly, the fact of living with the result every single day, I say, again - Rachel Perls is WORTH EVERY PENNY! read more

Second time using a color consultant. Both times was to save our marriage. We thought the first consultant was good. Rachel was hands downs much better. She brings a lot of insight to the table. With her help and a couple of hours later we were able to come up with a fresh colors for the interior of our home. It actually became an enjoyable experience. Rachel brings both a professional and knowledge but more so a passion, You can tell she really enjoys doing what she does. Having already tried it on our own before calling Rachel, We now have several gallons of mixed paint to donate. read more

I wish I could give her 10 stars. I've had so many color disasters when picking colors by myself and it's always super stressful and never turns out like I thought. I decided to let a professional help me and I'm so glad I found Rachel Perls! When she walked in the door I honestly had no idea what color I wanted to paint my living room. She came with a rolling case full of swatches and was able to magically, expertly, expediently ask the right questions to lead me where I didn't even know I wanted to go. We picked colors I never would have thought of on my own in a million years - but I am positively thrilled with the outcome! We had time left over so she was able to quickly help me pick a new paint for my bathroom & kitchen (for a later date). You might be asking yourself if it's worth the cost - I'm here to tell you it is. For sure. You don't second guess yourself, you get to by truly happy with the outcome - and you you save yourself the angst of having to do it all over again in a few years because you weren't quite happy with the color you picked. read more

My drab old room now looks amazing! It is incredible how beautiful colors can completely change the energy of a room. Thank you, Rachel, for taking a neglected guest room and turning it into the most comfortable room in the house! read more

Rachel is simply worth every cent! My partner and I just bought a home in Lafayette and we had no idea what colors we wanted to paint it, but we knew we wanted it to look good and feel like us....whatever that means! Rachel came over for a 2.5 hour meeting and she helped us pick out colors for every room in the house! She asked all the right questions, had a briefcase with eery colors imaginable in it and knew all about lights, etc...and how it affects color. It does not hurt that she is so sweet, so non-judgemental, and so darn easy to talk to. I have already recommended her to 3 of my friends and I would not hesitate to personally recommend her to anyone. read more

Rachel helped us with choosing colors for a huge space - our home is a converted loft and was all bright white. We needed guidance for our bedroom area. I had an idea of ochre, or some sort of orange-y yellow but by simply using her paint swatches we decided to go in another direction. She is truly gifted with seeing nuance in color. We ended up choosing a wonderful forest green which made the bedroom so warm and cozy. I would recommend Rachel's talents to anyone needing color consulting. What's magical about Rachel is how she picks up on what WE wanted and not on what she thought would look good to her. read more

I am someone who painted a whole room, hated it, and then repainted. Twice. That's why I enlisted professional help when it was time to update our living/dining room area. I had a wonderful experience working with Rachel. During our phone consult, she was warm and professional. She told me: "I'm a chameleon. I don't have an agenda. I want to help you find a color you love." And that's just what she did! By most people's standards, my husband and I have boring taste. We want neutral, goes-with-everything colors. Rachel didn't judge us for that! She also kindly made suggestions on things we had never thought of (like painting our low ceiling the same color as the walls or painting the back of a door a bright yellow for a wonderful pop of color). Investing in a color consultant was a big luxury for us, but was absolutely worth the money! It felt so great to feel confident in the color we selected AND we absolutely love the results. I'm so glad we found her and I highly recommend her services. read more

So glad I found Rachel to pick out the paint/color scheme for our dining area. The paint I picked out on my own looked so terrible after it was put on the walls that I decided we needed professional help. After contacting several color consultants on Yelp, I decided to go with Rachel as she radiated knowledge, passion, and professionalism during our relatively brief phone chat. She was super easy to work with and helped pick out a fantastic color scheme within my narrow time constraint. During the consultation, Rachel efficiently worked through lots of options so that I could locate general color schemes I was looking for. When we reached a more narrow color palette, she was reassuringly assertive about what paints and colors would work well together. She followed up after the consultation to ensure that the project was completed smoothly. The paint she picked was amazing and we have gotten many many compliments. Would highly recommend! read more

Like others here, I found Rachel through Berkeley Parents Network. What people wrote about her there made me think she was the color consultant for me, and I was right! I had great fun working with Rachel and am totally over the moon happy with the result. I've been in my home for over 20 years and never once painted the dining room, living room, and entryway. Their time had finally come, and Rachel knew how important the process and ultimate outcome were to me. After her initial consultation, when we picked some really beautiful and lush colors, with a dose of color education thrown in, she came back several times to help me tweak or refine the colors and work out all the details for the different spaces that needed painting. She worked so hard to help me find the perfect shade for my dining room, mining a range of manufacturers. I ended up with a beautiful color palette, and when no one is around I do a happy dance in these rooms. She also quickly answered e-mails, provided advice and references for other resources, and sends pictures that pertain to some of my design issues. She became my color therapist! And she gives great design advice as well! I cannot wait until she comes back to help me with the exterior colors for my home and a few more interior rooms. She is a delight to work with, is incredibly knowledgeable, and is very responsive. I give Rachel my heartiest and strongest recommendation possible. read more

I'm so glad we found Rachel Perls! We'd lived in our house with the paint that was on the walls when we bought it for 3 years. Drab, boring, and downright ugly in the case of our bedroom walls. I knew I hated it, but every time we'd start to try to do something about it, I'd end up confused about what I liked, wandering around with a bunch of paint chips. Worse still, my husband and I were not really on the same page in terms of what we THOUGHT we liked. After painting two different horrendous gold swatches on our bedroom walls, we threw in the towel and started googling for color consultants. That's when we found Rachel. She was easy to contact via email, easy to schedule with, and very efficient. She came armed with huge decks of color cards, figured us out very quickly, and made suggestions that we NEVER would have come up with on our own. She has an amazing eye and is not afraid to make bold suggestions, which I love. She also doesn't quit until you've found the perfect color. Now our house is so much warmer and more interesting. We've only had it painted a few days and we've already gotten numerous complements from neighbors and friends. Given the investment involved in painting every room in our house, Rachel's fee was beyond reasonable. Someone else said "worth every penny" and I'd have to agree. When we decide to paint the exterior, I'm sure we'll be calling her again! read more