Everybody’s Favorite Neutral: Revere Pewter
January 4, 2013 § 2 Comments
As our design aesthetic moved steadily from beige to gray over the past several years, one warm gray popped up as the perfect transitional color. Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter HC-172 is currently the number one all-around neutral as it is not too light, not too dark, not too yellow, not too green, not an ounce of pink, and even not too gray. Perfect with all kinds of complementary colors including this luscious Persimmon 2088-40 on the ceiling.
I like Revere Pewter in public areas like the dining room as it looks spectacular with warm golds and crystal. In the kitchen, it highlights the stainless steel appliances. In the hallway, it even makes a golden oak bannister look terrific.
As one fan describes it, the color “calms and restores, like driftwood found on the beach.” Yup. Kind of makes me want to dunk the whole house in it.
Return of the Gilded Age, Well Not Exactly
January 3, 2013 § 1 Comment
We have Downton Abbey, Princess Kate, and the popularity of all things English to thank for the resurgence of gold in interior design right now. At least that’s my opinion… And what a welcome sight it is.
After too many years degilding homes of anything that even hinted of gold, brass or yellow, the hue of royalty has returned.
The new interpretation, however, is decidedly fresh as we see in this living room from Traditional Home magazine. The wall color is so subtle that it accentuates even the creamy tan stripe on the window panel and the moldings on the ceiling. The gold demilune table and classic gold-framed art above it pop. As does the Chinese porcelain, as if pulled directly from the painting. Even the floor color is perfect, establishing a solid grounding upon which to layer all those beautiful blues and wheat tones.
The look is not your grandmother’s living room, with all due respect to your grandmother. Gold is nolonger shunned from updated decor.
Welcome back, gold.
Interior designer: Joseph Minton, with Paula Lowes and Michelle M. Wade
Have a Colorful New Year!
December 31, 2012 § Leave a comment
Here’s one New Year’s resolution I just know you can keep. Add one piece of color to your life. Whether it’s a fresh orange pillow on the sofa, a bright red tape dispenser for your desk, a sunny yellow spatula for beside the stove, or one of these fun pops of colorful furniture.
Why add color? So simple. Color can lift your spirits, soothe the beast, fire up the team, warm some hearts, and remind you of being a kid. And what a great way to start out the New Year.
Have a Colorful New Year Everybody!
Hop the Trend: Consignment Stores
December 29, 2012 § Leave a comment
Okay, I admit it. I am a consignment store junkie. And with good reason. Not only is it “green” to furnish your home with items that have been around awhile, it’s amazing what you can find for a fraction of the retail price for a new item. And the consignment bug has started to spread to my clients. During one project, we were looking for a settee of a specific length to fit in a tight spot. Tricky to find new anyway unless we went custom. My client decided to check out the local consignment store, and he found the perfect piece. Even the legs and wood color were perfect. Call it luck or call it karma.
The Cannery Exchange in Newport Beach, CA. (photo credit: Jody Tiongco)
I am convinced that these vintage pieces have a soul — they certainly have a history visible by the lovely worn patina on the arms or the scratches on the tabletop. But every scratch has a story attached to it, and that story comes with the piece to its new home.
You can always paint and recover a chair, for example, if you want a painted furniture look. Again, you’re probably starting with a chair that’s far better constructed than what you can find now so you’re already ahead. It’s like finding a piece of gently worn designer clothing or better yet a piece with the tags still hanging on it. Bonus!
Give your home some character by adding a piece or two of consignment furniture. But beware. You might catch the consignment bug too.
What’s All the Buzz about Undertones?
December 28, 2012 § 5 Comments
Determining a beige color undertone (defined by color expert Maria Killam as “a colour applied under or seen through another colour”) can be tricky. Beige can have one of several undertones: pink, yellow, or green are the basics. If you have dining room furniture with a decidedly yellow/orange hue and walls with a pink undertone like Benjamin Moore’s Georgetown Pink Beige HC-56, then yikes, you have a problem. Off to the paint store.
Bottom Line: Mixing pink-beige with yellow-beige (or yellow/orange) is a big no-no. Fix: Choose a paint with a different (non-pink) undertone like Benjamin Moore’s Monroe Bisque HC-26 that has a yellow undertone and looks great with the golden oak.
If you avoid the mistake of mixing pink and yellow undertones, you’re on your way to understanding them. The other nuances of what undertones to mix and not to mix will come much easier. Note: Mixing pink and yellow vibrant hues is perfectly okay. It’s just the dreaded undertones that can trip you up. Beware.
Choosing a Wall Color: Light and Lighting Help
December 27, 2012 § Leave a comment
Have you ever entered somebody’s home in the summer with the hot afternoon sun streaming into their bright yellow living room and felt like you’re drowning in a container of lemon curd? Perhaps a bit too much sunshine! The message? Light matters.
When you’re choosing a paint color for a room in your home, pay attention to which direction the light is coming from, how big the windows are, what the function or desired feel of the room is, and the shade or tone of the color you’ve selected. Here are some things to think about — not rules — just guidelines.
LIVING ROOMS
Function: Gathering, conversation, reading, and TV.
Direction of light coming in: Important as the living room is often the first room you see when you enter your home and where you receive guests, day and night.
Desired feel for the room: Warm and welcoming
Color choice: If your living room faces North, choose a paint color with a slight yellow undertone (as opposed to blue/gray) to add warmth to that North-facing room. If your living room faces South or West, you may want a cool color with the warmer hues reserved for pillows and accessories that can be moved in or out with the seasons. Easy solution? A medium-toned neutral (not necessarily beige) will allow you to bring in any furniture, window coverings and accessories without changing the wall color in the future. Another option: a rich hue on the focal wall (the one you see as soon as you enter the room — it may have a fireplace) and the other walls lighter and more neutral. Canadian designer Sarah Richardson loves this effect– that is one of her designs pictured above. Notice how the black TV disappears in front of the chocolate accent wall? Clever! (http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com)
BEDROOMS
Function: Primarily sleeping. Exception: Kids’ rooms. Since kids often play in their rooms, you can ramp up the palette to please them (a topic for another post!).
Direction of light coming in: Not a huge factor since you’re in there primarily at night anyway.
Desired feel for the room: Spacious if the room has little square footage and relaxing for a good night’s sleep.
Color choice: You can go in one of several directions. For the spa feel, look at light grays, gray-beiges, and calm gray-blues/greens. For a cheerful awakening every day, include pops of color like orange, yellow or shell pink like in this bedroom by Nicole Sassaman Designs (http://www.nicolesassaman.com). Luxurious with cream bedding!
DINING ROOMS
Function: Eating and conversation.
Direction of light coming in: Again, not a huge factor since you use the dining room primarily at night. (Exception: dining areas that are in an open-concept layout do have some light considerations.)
Desired feel for the room: Stimulating and dramatic.
Color choice: If you like deep, rich colors, this is your opportunity to use them for maximum effect. But you do not have to go dark with the wall color to be dramatic. Beautiful furniture, artwork, and lighting will make the room dramatic even if paler or more neutral colors are used. And don’t neglect the ceiling in the dining room. You may want something dramatic above the table — designer Troy Beasley’s handpainted canvas on the ceiling certainly gives a dramatic European flair to this dining room! (www.beasleyandhenley.com)
KITCHENS
Function: Cooking, eating, entertaining, and sometimes studying.
Direction of light coming in: Vital since you’re in the kitchen at all times of the day and night!
Desired feel for the room: Warm and welcoming.
Color choice: Okay, now this is where it gets tricky. Start with your cabinets. Are they dark? What color is the counter top? You’ll want to introduce some contrast in the room either by choosing a lighter tone for the walls or bringing in a complementary color. Are your cabinets light? As long as there is some contrast somewhere in the kitchen, you can choose a light wall color for a light and airy feel to the kitchen like this one by designer Lori Dennis (www.loridennis.com). Lori uses the warmth of the wood floor and different tones of whites and warm grays to warm up this light, open kitchen and adds pops of color on the counters as well.
MEDIA ROOMS
If you have a separate area for watching movies on the big-screen TV, then go medium to dark with the walls and even the ceiling. The idea is to recreate that movie theater feel and eliminate glare at the same time. Gray, navy, eggplant, chocolate and rich red — all great wall colors for the “man cave” like this one by designer Phyllis Harbinger (http://www.dcistudio.com). 
Chocolate Brown Wall Color
December 27, 2012 § 313 Comments
Everybody loves chocolate, it seems. So no big surprise that some people are choosing to paint their walls a deep rich brown that invokes the inside of a truffle. Mmmm delicious. Brown is dark. There’s no way around that. So if you’re looking for a light and airy feel, brown is not for you. But if you’re longing for a cozy, warm, relaxing room that invites people to snuggle up, brown is the perfect color.
Brown has many shades, of course, from cocoa to almost black. There are warm browns, like Benjamin Moore’s cognac snifter (1148) and taupe browns like fox hollow brown (1235). The one ingredient to a successful brown room is light. Before you roll the first swath of paint, examine your room’s lighting. Do you have large windows giving natural light? Do you have adequate light from the ceiling (recessed cans)? Do you have enough lamps in the room? Lighting is the key to showing off the beautiful nuance of brown.
Once you paint the room, you can add light and contrast by placing light furniture in the room, whether it’s a cream-colored slipcover on your sofa, a champagne comforter on the bed, or white or cream woodwork. You’ll need the contrast to balance the dark color on the walls. And the dark wall color will highlight all your light-colored furnishings. Embrace brown.
Brick House Trim Colors
December 26, 2012 § 338 Comments
Creamy white trim with black shutters (and door) give brick houses like these on historic Nantucket Island in Massachusetts a classic traditional look that is timeless. But for a more contemporary look, use the brick itself for your trim color inspiration. Choose a color that you see in the brick or the grout– tan or taupe or another earthen color. If you select a color from the brick, it will blend with the brick and provide less contrast than the white. The overall effect will be soothing and contemporary but it will call less attention to the architectural details. The Boston building below is hardly contemporary, but the color scheme is taken from the brick and grout and is one example of using coordinating trim colors instead of contrasting trim.
Getting Down to Brass Tacks about Brass
December 11, 2012 § Leave a comment
What a difference a decade makes. What used to be the lighting 
fixture of choice in upscale homes is now (still, even after several years out of favor) being tossed in a dumpster by young home owners who view the shiny yellow metal as the equivalent of how we viewed our grandmother’s dark brown paneling. Of no value.
Instead there are dozens of metal choices and finishes for lighting and other home accessories like light switch covers and doorknobs. So anti-shiny-brass are today’s home buyers that some are just shy of insisting that even all shiny brass door hinges be switched out to something else.
Note: these design trends may be regional and they don’t apply to historic homes so don’t panic if you love your brass chandelier and it fits your home’s decor perfectly. But If you are not happy with your shiny traditional yellow brass chandelier in your dining room or kitchen, you have three options:
1) Thumb your nose at metal color trends and simply wait for shiny yellow brass to come back in style. Kind of like you kept your go-go boots and bell bottoms from junior high. Yes, both trends came back around but not quite the way they looked in the late 60s. But still, doing nothing is always a design option.
2) Paint the shiny brass chandelier a different color. I once stood on a ladder, leaned over the dining table and painted my client’s brass chandelier first with a base coat of matte black to cover all the sheen and then a faux finish of browns and oranges to simulate a rustic bronze finish. It worked. The house sold.
3) Replace the old chandelier with a more current brass option like this one. The metal is toned down (antiqued) and the candelabra bulbs are covered with contemporary silk drum shades — a traditional yet updated look. Honestly, the antique brass has been around forever, and it went through a period of disfavor right around the time the shiny metal took over. But the muted finish, with updated shades, is back and looking good.
Neutral but Never Boring
December 10, 2012 § 2 Comments
Does your home scream 1972 when you enter the front door? Are you stuck with metallic wallpaper on the ceiling in the guest bath, orange shag carpet in the basement, or an avocado bathtub? Then maybe it’s time to update. But this time, instead of hopping on the latest hot new trend (I could name a few here, but I’ll resist), how about giving your home a classic re-do. Something that will stand the test of time, or at least a decade or two, without branding your home with a particular year. For that kind of longevity, we turn to a neutral palette, but neutral does not have to mean beige and it’s hardly ever boring.
-The key to a neutral palette is texture. You could have an all-white living room but if that white includes fuzzy white pillows, a shiny white marble table top, and some warm white chenille upholstery, then the room will have plenty of interest.
-Neutral does not have to mean just one color either. In this room, the walls are a latte color, the sofa is dark brown leather, and there is plenty of color in the books and objects on the white bookshelves. What makes this room work so well is that the stonework on the fireplace is a feature and because the other furnishings do not stomp all over the subtle colors in the stones, the room’s palette includes peaches and golds and grays and tans and taupes — more than enough colors.
-Neutral allows you to bring in color in the art, pillows, and other more temporary furnishings and accessories without clashing with a strong wall color and a brightly colored sofa.
-Neutral allows you to change your accessories with the seasons and the holidays without overpowering the existing color palette or the holiday decorations.
-And when you’re selling your house, neutral allows potential buyers to see themselves in your home and that is critical for a successful sale.
So as you choose tile and furnishings and paint for your newly updated space, consider neutral because neutral does not have to be boring.
Your Home & Color Coach 