Massachusetts color consultant Barbara Jacobs views consultation as client education. “There’s a lot of information available for D-I-Y decorating. All that information can also create confusion rather than great solutions. I created the new “Case Studies” page on my web site to allow people to be comfortable with the process of working with a color consultant, as well as to provide a view into the before and after photos that make the case.

“Most home owners assume that there’s not much involved in choosing paint colors, but such an assumption may be in error. There’s actually quite a bit of what I call ‘internal detail’ that goes into helping people create the interior and exterior built environments that will meet their needs. Clients have often commented to me that after our sessions together, and seeing the results in their own homes, they feel more confident about making design decisions even when working with a professional,” she says.

Exterior design issues are also very important to homeowners, and Jacobs chose the subject of the first “case study” on http://www.integralcolor.com/home/case-studies/, a 1950s custom Massachusetts home whose homeowner wanted to create a great view of his house from the street.