Don’t Let Your Art Fade Away
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
Old faded jeans and old faded glory aside, old faded artwork in your house is a No-Go. If you have art prints that have hung on the wall in your bright cheery living room for several years, take a close look at them. Do they have a blue-green aura to them? Are flowers that used to be red sort of a strange blue? Is there any red or pink left in the piece at all? No?? Then haul it down. It’s done. Off to the recycle bin. Use the frame for something new that will add life to your room. Just this next time, opt for glass that will prevent color-fading. It’s more expensive but worth every penny if you love your art and prints.
Don’t be stubborn. Love your faded jeans, but get rid of your faded art.
Let There Be (New) Light
February 15, 2014 § 3 Comments
Take a look at your lamps. Have they been on the same side tables for more than 20 years? 30 even? (okay that’s scary) Listen up. One of the easiest and cheapest updates you can do for your house is to exchange the old lighting for something fresh, colorful, and uplifting.
New lamps come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some with colored glass, some with clear. Some have updated metals, some are made to look old. But all have crisp shades with a nice clean barrel shape. (Traditional lamps are still, well, traditional. They will never go out of style. But you know what kind of outdated lamps I mean. Check out your grandmother’s family room, decorated circa 1968. Now you get it.)
You do not have to spend a lot of money. You can shop at a fancy lighting store or Target and get an updated look.
And while you’re looking at lighting, check out your ceiling fixtures. For a few bills at a home improvement store, you can switch out the old brass candelabra flush-mount fixture for something MUCH more current. The change will transform the house — you will see it in a whole new … (wait for it) … LIGHT.
(Lamp from Bellacor: Number 541835)
Surprising House Color Trend — White
February 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
Classic but always with a modern twist, white is trending now as a house color on new construction. Whether we’re craving our grandparents’ old homestead, or we like a crisp, uncomplicated look, white is in. White siding with white trim. But the surprise element lies in the accessories. Fresh options include silver for the metal color (not the traditional black), white or pastel door colors (nolonger black or red), medium-toned metal roof colors (not just charcoal shingle anymore), mismatched out-buildings (that old classic farm look is coming back in a big way), and even (gasp!) white shutters on a white house.
The beauty of white is that it really is timeless. Not only that, but it shows off your colorful flowers and the greenery of your landscaping, the orange patio umbrella and Adirondack chairs, and the turquoise of your backyard pool (okay maybe I’m going a little overboard).
See if a fresh pop of white brings out the character in your house.
Warm Your Soul with Color
January 29, 2014 § Leave a comment
Those of us with light airy neutral homes are feeling the chill this winter. Whether it’s the frigid temperatures outside or the cabin fever inside, the light, low-contrasting palette we enjoy so much of the year for its calm and cool comfort just isn’t cutting it.
A recent trip to a home goods store had me craving color. On two separate occasions, my eye scoured the store’s palette of spring selections and landed on the same warm vibrant coral. I had to have it. First the pillow. And next time, two towels (for me only, I might add).
Color makes us feel good. Color cheers us up and calms us down. And the right color can make our homes feel cozy and welcoming any time of year. Welcome home, my new coral accents. And if the temps don’t rise soon, I’ll be off to the paint store for a gallon of, you guessed it, coral.
Stay warm, my friends!
Mixed Metals Get My Rave Review
January 24, 2014 § Leave a comment
Gold and brass are finally officially back. The cheerful, dressed-up metal color has been scorned and ostracized for years, it seems, with homeowners rushing to change out everything from drawer knobs to door hinges. Well, hold up.
Over the past couple of years, we have watched brass trickle back into design (you knew it would) but have been waiting for the main stream to catch on. Now we’re seeing a mix-and-match approach that seems to fit everybody’s home style.
In this kitchen by architect William Hefner (http://www.williamhefner.com/) we see dramatic gold accents along with the other metals (chrome sink and wrought iron light fixtures). What I’m sensing, as with fashion, is that you can pick your accent metal like you pick your hem length. If it works for you, then go for it. We love that approach as it allows you to update your home without having to replace everything in it all at once. Casual acceptance of materials seems way more sensible than dictating that “Metal X” (whatever that turns out to be) is totally OUT.
Hurray for sensible design.
Spring Into Unexpected Color
January 22, 2014 § Leave a comment
Designers are adding pops of color to the previous year’s light neutral color palette and in the most unexpected places. Look up for an opportunity to add color to your white kitchen. Pull some of that ceiling color down into the room with dishes, placemats, and other accessories. And create “flow” between rooms by adding a touch of your ceiling color to the adjoining room.
Color trends like this year’s fuschia are fun when you can add the color with inexpensive pillows or a single upholstered chair (http://www.worldmarket.com/product/fuchsia-nina-chair.do). Keeping the base of the room neutral lets you change your color palette when fresh new opportunities arise. Or with the seasons.
That Huge TV is so Ugly — What to do
January 21, 2014 § 2 Comments
Electronics have plagued designers and esthetically driven homeowners since the demise of the TV console with doors. We’re now learning to embrace the large shiny black rectangle.
If you are trying to disguise your elephant in the living room, blend it. A black cabinet and other black accessories will help to camouflage the electronic “stuff of life” better than a white or light-colored cabinet will. See how the TV pops out of the white cabinet? And the bigger the TV, or course, the bigger the pop!
Try camouflage in your home office as well. Dark charcoal gray is another wonderful color for blending printers and monitors and other less-than-attractive devices so necessary to our everyday existence. Computers and TVs (etc.) are functional. We don’t necessarily want to see them.
Pick Paint Colors Last — yes, Last
January 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
So often I am called to a freshly painted room and asked to help the homeowners find a rug and window treatments to go with the new wall color. As much as I appreciate the homeowners’ enthusiasm for tackling the paint project first, it makes finishing the room much harder to start with the paint.
If you’re planning a room re-do and anticipate purchasing new furniture, window treatments, and a rug, here’s the most efficient order of purchases:
- Pick the biggest-ticket item first, perhaps the new upholstered or leather sectional sofa.
- Then pick the other furniture, like upholstered chairs and a leather ottoman.
- Then pick the rug. There are fewer options at that point, but the rug will introduce additional colors into the palette and you can bring those other colors into the room with art and accessories.
- Then if you want fabric window treatments, pick the fabric next that will complement the other elements.
- After ALL those decisions are made, THEN it’s time to pick the wall color.
There is a multitude of paint colors, shades, and tones from which to choose, but the paint decision will actually present itself more clearly once all the other major decisions are made. And the paint color will then pull the whole room together.
If your furniture and rugs a
re neutral, you can find your color inspiration from almost anywhere, including in this case, a hand-painted platter. From that inspiration piece, we pulled in a striped fabric to cover some rattan chairs, and pulled the soft, gray-green paint color out at the end to complement the blues.
Painting Over Tradition But Maintaining the Soul
August 26, 2013 § Leave a comment
Make no mistake. This is my mother’s kitchen. She painted it this bright yellow probably 60 years ago, and up until this past summer, it stayed that way.
With my mother’s passing and the rebirth of the cottage as a rental property, I decided to tone down the walls in the kitchen a bit. I considered sea foam greens, light ocean blues, and beach sand beiges, but I ended up with a light peachy cream-yellow (Windham Cream HC-6, Ben Moore) as it kept the cheerful sunny aura of the space but took some of the harshness away.
I brought the blue in with the window treatment, kept all the old furnishings like the metal paper towel dispenser and bottle opener, and the yellow tub that we all took baths in as kids. I think Mother would be pleased. And that’s important to me.
It’s Time to Talk Pillows
May 14, 2013 § Leave a comment
It’s spring (sort of) and it’s time to perk things up around the house. Open the windows, clean out closets, and swap your pillows. Huh? Yes, you read that right. Take all the cozy decorative pillows you have in the living room, beat the dust out of them, and put them into storage for a few months. Liven up your space for the summer with fresh, new pillows in light or bright colors in cool fabrics like crisp linen.
New pillows add color to an outside space as well. Here’s one from CB2. It’s amazing what a few summery accessories can do for your sense of well-being. Go Zen, go nautical, go wild, or go graphic. But go get yourself some new pillows.
Your Home & Color Coach 