Here’s how the California designer finds hues that are both impactful and easy to live with.

When Peter Dunham was tasked with designing a modern farmhouse in Napa Valley, he turned to the surrounding Northern California landscape for inspiration. “This house was an escape from the client’s more formal residence in the city,” he says. “It was designed to have seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor living, with an emphasis on spaces for entertaining.”

For Dunham, this meant swathing the kitchen and adjoining dining room in a bright shade of peacock paint that draws from the hues of the great outdoors. “It’s crucial to choose a color that’s both impactful and easy to live with,” he says. “Blues and greens are a more natural choice if there’s greenery surrounding—color is a way to connect with the outside.”