Backdrop founders Natalie and Caleb Ebel believe painting isn't just a home improvement project—it's a design choice. It's one of the reasons they founded their company, to get you out of that intimidating hardware store environment and into your dream space. The couple, who spent 10 years painting their New York rentals before moving to L.A. in 2019, sought to rethink the painting experience from the ground up, with a highly curated selection of Climate Neutral Certified paints (delivered in recyclable cans and compostable packaging) that'll save you from the daunting task of sifting through dozens of shades of a single color, and help you express your values and your aesthetic in any room. Better yet, their adhesive swatches and accompanying painting playlists take a lot of the stress out of the process, turning every project into more of a party than a pain.

We caught up with Natalie and Caleb ahead of Backdrop’s arrival in the Bespoke Post shop, to talk about the paint revolution they started, the pandemic’s impact on people’s home design choices, and why the frustrating hardware store experience is soon to be a thing of the past.

Bespoke Post: How did you wind up here, doing this? What were your backgrounds before you were the co-founders of Backdrop?

Caleb: We were living in New York. We lived in a handful of apartments on the Upper West Side, and painted all of them when we moved. That became a bit of a painful experience for us, because the entire journey of a painting is unnecessarily difficult. You go to a hardware store multiple times. You stand in front of that color wall looking at 3,000 colors. You schlep the paint back. You get the wrong thing. You have to go back several times. We did it because paint is so transformational, even in a shoddy New York City apartment. In 2016, we were doing this once more and basically said, Okay, what the heck? There's got to be a better way. We started looking into it and decided we could improve the experience.

Natalie: It's very easy to think that everyone has the same problems in New York or even outside of the city. But we were like, is this a New York City problem, or is this an everywhere problem, with the hardware store? We're from Kansas City, originally. We grew up there. We have a lot of friends there and in Nashville and in Portland. So, we started asking them, do you have these same frustrations with the hardware store and painting? We found it wasn't unique to us, that these were problems across the board. Paint should be a design purchase, not a hardware store purchase. Why does it look like this and take four trips and endless questions, just to get white paint on your wall?

Bespoke Post: So, How did Backdrop ultimately solve that problem? What was the better way?

Caleb: Well, this holds true today, but especially back in 2016 and 2018 when we were just getting started, the paint industry had just a handful of very large players. Almost all of them are more-than-a-hundred-year-old industrial manufacturing companies. So, they're really large and have been doing things the same way for a very long time. One of the decisions that those paint companies made, long before digital commerce and the internet was a thing, was to sell through third party hardware retailers. That disconnect, as a manufacturer selling through third party hardware stores, just created a lot of friction and a really bad customer experience.

"What we found is, you don't need 300 whites. You need five whites."

Hardware is an inherently kind of subpar retail experience. Paint is unique among those products, where you go multiple times to the store. There are a few steps of the color selection, and then you sample, and then you go back to buy the paint. Just so much friction. So, our approach was: paint should be a design and not a contractor or a hardware purchase. It makes sense to think about paint in the places where you're thinking about all those other design elements in your space. [We thought], if you took it out of that environment, you could do a lot with it. So, that was the starting point, philosophically. And then taking the selection and decision paralysis down to a really curated selection to guide the customers. What we found is, you don't need 300 whites. You need, like, five whites. So, we've done the hard work of taking those 3,000 colors and editing them down to a more digestible palette. And we marry that with an engaging digital experience that lets you interact with the color in real spaces. We don't do rendered rooms of random colors and stock photos. We have a gallery of thousands of images of our paint, on real walls, in real spaces. So, our customers can see what the paint's going to look like with different lighting and different interiors styles. That becomes a really powerful experience and a great tool in selecting color online.

Natalie: For us the goal with the online experience was twofold: We wanted to create a simplified approach and tell people exactly what they're looking at. ‘This is a pure white,’‘This is a warm white.’ But also creating an emotional connection through names that were both descriptive and evocative. For example, SUPERMOON is something people can hold onto and remember. It does become that design element. Sample swatches were a big part of it, too. We have these 12 x 12” adhesive swatches that stick and re-stick. You can move them around, but they also have the name and the color description. So you know exactly what you're looking at. This is really important. [I remember] my mom had samples, painted swatches for three months. Canceled Christmas. Forgot the yellow she was looking at. Had to do the project all over again. I feel like that was really just the narrative for everyone who had ever painted—it was that difficult and it shouldn't be.

We looked at beauty as a parallel category: If people feel confident enough to buy color online in that space, why can't they do that with paint? So, it's showing it in all forms—wet paint, dry paint—in rooms. But most importantly, our user-generated content, I think, is our biggest asset. It’s not just us, but other people showing you and not telling you about it. You can really trust the color by seeing that. We have a gallery of thousands of images that are pulled from Instagram. Not from us, but from real customers that tag us. It shows you paint in all different lighting, paint in all different rooms. That really helps guide people in what to choose.

Bespoke Post: I'm sure that for those manufacturers you spoke of before, it's a lot easier to have 89 different whites because they can just throw them all out there, but it's much more difficult to pick five whites. How are you inspired to get to that number? What sorts of things are going through your mind for a blue, for instance? If you're only going to have five blues, what is it about those five blues that allowed you to get there?

Natalie: I think with any of our colors, it's not like we set a number [and say], okay, I can't exceed five. But, we have a number of criteria. One, is there a level of conviction? Would I paint this color on my wall? And two, can a consumer tell the difference? Do they each serve a purpose? Are they different enough to where you could lay them out and say, Oh, I see the clear difference? And three, is there a need for it? We always take a look at the palette and that color family, to make sure that there is room for it, and that it's not going to cause more decision paralysis. Because if I come out with two blues that look very similar, we are forgetting the reason we started Backdrop. You don't need two navy blues that look exactly the same.

Caleb: The reason why those paint companies sell 3,000 colors is because, to your point, it is easier to just throw everything out there. And they're thrusting that decision process on the customer, saying, "You deal with it. We don't want to take a stand. We don't want to lose any marginal sales. So, here you go. Here's everything. You figure it out." Our approach is very different. We want to do that hard work for our customers and help guide them, and then give them the toolkit to be very creative, but within a more curated environment. That's proven really powerful. We never get pushback like, “Oh, you didn't have the right color.” Our palette, even in a very edited state, covers a lot of ground. So, it's actually more empowering.

Bespoke Post: So, what’s the “It Color” of spring '22?

Natalie: Oh, gosh. We have a new color called GIN BLOSSOMS, which is like a warm lilac and very beautiful. It's been really popular. We have just come out with another rosy mauve that’s called JAWBREAKER. But one other color that's been really well received is SILVER LAKE DAD, which is actually named after Caleb. It's really beautiful and moody. I think the blues and the greens will always be really popular. But these more punchy, fun colors have just been really uplifting and something that people have been and excited about—to add an accent, to change up their space.

Bespoke Post: Can you talk a little about what you saw during the pandemic, specifically in customer habits and that yearning to make a change in this space that they have to spend all of their time in now? Was there an uptick in interest? Were there certain things you noticed, that happened over the last two years, that were maybe a little different than your first two years?

Caleb: We’ve seen a lot of change. Even before the pandemic, we were engaging this customer that was the “millennial” customer segment. It's a group of people, now entering their kind of formative home ownership years, starting young families. There's a lot of opportunity to grow with this customer. They're the ones driving home furnishing investment and real estate, for the next several decades. Right? So, that was a natural tailwind for what we were engaging in. And then COVID hit, and everyone's perspective on what it means to be at home, changed pretty drastically. So, we were already engaging with a customer that was investing more and more in their home space. Now, your home is your office, your kid's school, your gym, and the only place you have solace in the world. Paint was such an easy way to make that space feel fresh. We were offering a fast, easy, safe way of doing that. So, we have seen more interest over the last couple years, but it’s just an acceleration of some of the shifts that were already happening.

Natalie: I think too, where we used to spend our disposable income was on travel. Caleb and I never prioritized things or stuff, but for our generation, I think it's forever changed now, how people look at their spaces and where their disposable income is going to shift, forever. The home is now an important part of everyone's self-reflection and also where they want to invest time and money. I think that's a shift that we'll see for decades to come.

Bespoke Post: So what’s the perfect Backdrop color for a video call background?

Natalie: Caleb, I'll let you go first.

Caleb: Hmm. I think a WEEKEND UPSTATE or SURF CAMP would be really interesting because it's very nuanced. So, depending on the light and time of the day, you'll get more green or more blue. So, I think those are fun backdrops. Some are our bestsellers, also for the same reason.

Natalie: We're getting ready to launch wallpaper, which we're very excited about. But behind me, I have a print called Reptilia, based on a Strokes album. I've had SURF CAMP behind me, KISMET, which is a really dark, moody green, and then even DISCO NAP. And it's like a light acid yellow. I really don't think you can go wrong. And then we have SUPERMOON on most of our walls, too. I have HARAJUKU MORNING over there. We paint everything we have. So, I can really just choose my backdrop, depending what wall I'm facing.

Bespoke Post: Do you think that paint choices can affect your mood? Are there shades that you think are essential to have in certain places or that evoke certain emotions?

Natalie: Definitely, color can impact your mood. I think color's also a very personal choice. So, we try not to be too prescriptive on, paint your bedroom this color, or paint your bathroom and kitchen this color, because color is so personal. There are colors such as super bright reds, which is our color, NEGRONI, that I wouldn't recommend for a bedroom. But I think other than that, there's nothing really off limits, since color is so highly personal.

Bespoke Post: Are there any sort of commandments that you do follow, maybe in terms of process, when it comes to painting and making the wall new?

Caleb: I think just the high level tips are, obviously, trust your gut. Don't overthink it, in terms of the color selection. You know what you like. Don't over-engineer these rules and prescriptions.

Natalie: Yeah, like [rules about] the north facing wall, the south facing wall, I don't prescribe to that. I think it's bogus.

Bespoke Post: Ok, so I’m going to paint this white wall behind me. What’s the first thing I need to ask myself before I embark on this?

Caleb: I think, Do I have the right stuff? The supplies are really important.

Natalie: We also have the Essentials Kit, that has everything you need to paint a room. And then we also have a manual with tips and tricks on where to start. Such as, wipe down the baseboard first, to make sure the dust is removed. Tape it off, use good tape, start from the bottom and work down. So, there are basic things that you can remember. But then I also think, have fun with it. Grab paint, put on a playlist, change your space. It really only takes a couple hours. We have friends that accomplish this with their kids, during nap time.

Bespoke Post: You mentioned the wallpaper. What else is coming up for you guys that you're excited about?

Natalie: Well, wall coverings, I think, are huge. Backdrop's entering its fourth year. Now, we're really taking on fully owning the walls. So, we'll have three collections launching within this year. We're taking that same approach to wall coverings as we have with paint: quirky, a little offbeat, fun,and playful. But also, you can pair wall coverings with paint colors. So, we’re very excited about that.

Caleb: We also see a lot of interesting distribution opportunities. Paint has historically been this off-limits part of this home and design furnishings category. It's like a bit of a missing element. Before, you couldn't incorporate that, because there was this friction of, well, you need a hardware store, you need a tinting and mix machine, all that kind of stuff. Now, with Backdrop, paint is designed, and we've built a really great customer experience and infrastructure to support it. It's an easy way to turn on this whole product category in the places that it makes sense. So, we've seen a lot of interest from new distribution points for Backdrop to start showing up this year.

This article has been edited and condensed for clarity. All photos courtesy of BACKDROP.

Meet the Makers: Natalie and Caleb of Backdrop