Dad’s 99th Birthday Party
March 29, 2009 § 10 Comments
Hi Bloggers,
I’m off to NY to celebrate my Dad’s 99th birthday on the 31st and will be back blogging on Wednesday night, April 1st (no fooling, really!).
More soon. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Color Your Spirits Bright
March 19, 2009 § 17 Comments
For years decorators have ignored an entire section of the paint color fandeck, labeling these colors as garish, for children only, or just simply in bad taste. Not anymore. Now colors like Mellow Yellow (Ben Moore’s 2020-50 that’s hardly mellow) and Bermuda Teal (2044-50) are making a fresh new statement of uplifting optimism in the design world. A splash of Marmalade (2016-40) or just a smattering of Sherwin Williams’ Gladiola (SW6875) cannot help but lift your spirits. Behr’s wonderful yellow green called Carolina Parakeet (410B-4) is such a happy color that even the name makes me smile.
I wrote about this topic months ago when we started to watch our savings go down the tubes, etc, etc, (no need to drag us through a rehash of events), and today’s Boston Globe has a great article entitled “What is the Color of Hope.” Here’s the link:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/house/articles/2009/03/19/what_is_the_color_of_hope/
Even if you’re not planning any massive redecorating projects this spring, adding clear happy color as an accent either on a wall, backsplash, or pillows on the sofa may actually improve your mood, enhance the good feelings in your home, and help you cope. A note of caution: If you decide to paint with these bright colors, be sure to mix in lots of white in trim, furniture and accessories not only to bring out the color but give the eye a little rest if needed.
Happy Spring!
Excited for Spring Spruce-Ups
March 5, 2009 § 46 Comments
Hi Bloggers,
It’s been ages since I posted although I’ve been busy answering your questions both on the blog and via email. Keep them coming. I’m happy to help you prepare for spring painting projects.
I’m working on a big basement re-do at the moment and I’ll have photos to post as we go along. I also have some new photos of the chocolate brown bedroom. Check back again.
Thanks for visiting.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Over the River and Through the Woods
December 23, 2008 § 2 Comments
We’re off again to visit the family in Northern New York until New Year’s. I will check the blog as often as I can get to, yes, the library to use the internet. Might as well be in Siberia — my apologies to Siberia. But, hey, it’s home.
Have a wonderful holiday and let’s blog in 2009.
-Barbara, Your Home and Color Coach
Color Your Spirits for the Holidays
December 12, 2008 § 3 Comments
Remember when the Grinch stole Christmas? All the trees, lights, stockings, and gifts — the trappings associated with a wonderful holiday celebration– were suddenly gone? They had vanished during the night while everyone down in Whoville slept. What happened next in this wonderful Dr. Seuss tale was even more remarkable for its simplicity. Despite losing everything, Whoville didn’t seem to care. All the Whos down in Whoville celebrated anyway.
Of course, the story has a happy ending, but for many people this year, the heartwarming bedtime story has led to a nightmare from which they cannot awaken fast enough. This year it truly feels a little like the Grinch has been here again. With the world-wide recession, job loss, and home foreclosures, many of us around the country are struggling to find that holiday spirit that we used to have and that we desperately want our children to experience in the midst of all this mess.
If you’ve had to cut back this year from your more typical shopping, decorating, and holiday festivities, you are not alone. Keep in mind that gifts can be simple (like homemade cookies), acts of kindness can mean more to people than more stuff, and spending time with our kids is ultimately the gift they’ll remember long past any particular disappointments on Christmas morning.
And to lift our spirits and with the festival of colors inspired by a child’s gingerbread house, let’s all go a little crazy with color this Christmas.
Dig out that snowman sweater from the back of the closet and wear it. Often. It’s going to bring a smile to somebody’s face and that’s a good thing.
String a row of colorful neckties, like garland, from one end of the wall to the other. Your kids will think you’re nuts but who cares?
Fill a big bowl with scraps of colorful ribbons and little balls of leftover yarn and a few silvery mismatched ornaments and display it in the middle of the coffee table. Now you’re getting the idea.
The holidays don’t have to be the way we knew them as kids. Times are different now. But you don’t have to spend much, if any, money at all if you dig deep into your hope chest of creativity for some colorful decorating ideas that will raise your spirits and everyone else’s too.
Mary Myers Cole: An Inspiration
December 9, 2008 § 3 Comments
Mary’s gift to her little cousin Barbie: an eye shadow kit. It was a large gray plastic case that, when opened, revealed rows and rows of fabulous rich colors and came with several little brushes, perfect for experimentation, not on eyelids but on paper, like watercolors. I was hooked. Little did I know that decades later, I would look back at that gift (which probably had been free with a purchase at the Macy’s cosmetics counter) as one of my earliest inspirations and a huge clue that I would someday work with color. Mary had no idea at the time that her gift made such an impression. But Mary always made a huge impression on everyone she encountered.
Her love of art and color and style was evident just looking at her. From her tightly coiffed hair to her beautifully manicured hands, she was a study in elegance. And she wore her refined sense of color so we could all share her joyful effervescence. Her radiant smile and eloquent words spoke kindness and love to those for whom she cared most deeply: her dear friends at The Pines on Fire Island; her friends, neighbors and colleagues in New York and the art world; and her large network of family with whom she corresponded frequently.
Words cannot express how saddened we are by news of her untimely passing. Although she left us too soon, she left the world we live in a more beautiful place. Thank you Mary.
Happy Thanksgiving
November 26, 2008 § 2 Comments
Hi Bloggers,
Over the river and through the woods to Grandfather’s house we go…
Back blogging on Monday, December 1st.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
In Times of Trouble, Paint!
November 25, 2008 § 24 Comments
If you’re hunkering down to wait until economic conditions improve before making changes to your home, just remember that a gallon of paint costs only about $23 (Valspar from Lowe’s). I’ve moved to Valspar from Benjamin Moore (they don’t pay me so I can do that) because the paint is a better value. I hav
e been very impressed so far with the quality of the paint, how it goes on the wall, and the ease with which Lowe’s will color-match. If you are trying to save money, and who isn’t, I highly recommend Valspar.
As we spend more time watching the news these days and less time at the shopping mall, a small painting project may be just what the doctor ordered. A gallon of paint can brighten your mood and make you feel like you have control over something in your life, even if it’s just an accent wall behind your sofa. Or try painting the wall behind your bed — you may feel more inclined to MAKE the bed in the morning and that activity alone will give your mood a boost.
A quart of paint will cover your kitchen backsplash. Choose a satin or semi-gloss finish for easy cleaning. With a roll of blue painter’s tape (another inexpensive purchase), you can make stripes or “tiles” on your backsplash and perk up a drab kitchen.
Kids love redecorating their rooms. Changing the paint color and moving the bed can inspire your child to take pride in keeping the room neat. And while you’re moving things around, why not go through the toy chest and decide which toys can move on to other kids.
If the economy has you down, do something fun. Paint!
Blogging Update
November 21, 2008 § 2 Comments
Hi Bloggers,
I think I’m completely caught up with answering your blog requests. Again, sorry for the delay.
As we’re all facing the prospects of an extended recession, I am spending more time on my own marketing to get more local work. But I hope to be able to continue blogging with you and helping you all out with color decisions.
Thanks for visiting my site and stop back by soon for some low-cost decorating ideas.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
How Current Events Affect Color and Decorating
September 18, 2008 § 20 Comments
For the past several years, post 9-11, we’ve cocooned in our homes painting them rich warm cozy colors like dark chocolate and rich rusty red, colors that evoke warmth and safety and home. Lately, we seem to be moving out of that intense color phase and into a new light phase with wall color being the first casualty. But I think we’re seeing more than just a design pendulum swing.
Those of us listening to clients and observing the trends are seeing a design fork in the road. One goes to neutral walls (there are millions of “whites” now) and pops of brightly colored hues, a la 1970s for those around then. One example of that is a spectacular room by HGTV’s color guru David Bromstad shown here.
The other is a move toward a palette of soft sophisticated hues all in very light values and all the same value from room to room. The hues may include grays (very hot this year) but also gray greens, warm beiges, light taupe and lavender, and very soft delicate colors that almost defy description. These breathless tints are paired with lots of white and often dark floors, like the photo below of one of designer Chris Barrett’s fabulous bedrooms.
My theory is that people are craving an uplifting light-filled, relaxed, decidedly happy-looking environment to come home to instead of the cozy dark cocoon look from years past. With everything awful in the news, from hurricanes to the stock market, people need visual relief if that’s all the relief they can get. And creating a light cheerful backdrop for the family may be one of the few things left under our control. And paint is relatively cheap when it comes to redecorating.
Note that in many traditional homes where antiques and fine furnishings are featured and where design trends come and go unnoticed, the wall color has always been creamy beige. Providing a very light neutral backdrop to show off all the wonderful items in the room is a traditional approach that will never go out of style. But for those of us who get inspired by color and who feel color and what it does for us and who change wall color almost as often as we refresh our wardrobes, I’ve had it with dark, at least for now. I need light and I’m off to buy primer. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Your Home & Color Coach 