What is the first design element you see when you enter a room? The first thing I notice is the mix of colors. Then I see the rest. So of course when I design a room I always start our deciding on a color scheme. That becomes the backbone and inspiration to everything else. So Great Color MIX – Pale Pink & Chartreuse
Great Color MIX – Cobalt & Coral
What color should I paint the room? And what colors work together? Those are the two questions I probably get more than any other by my design clients, blog readers and friends. Picking two main colors that create the main theme for the room is the best way to start a design. That gives you Great Color MIX – Cobalt & Coral
Living with White walls AND Color
If you have followed this blog for a while you might be familiar with my line “Life is too Short for White walls”. Well ironically, or perhaps to test myself (?) the bungalow rental we are in for the next few months has…yes…only WHITE walls. After living with a kaleidoscope of colors in our old house it felt at first refreshing with stark white walls. But walking through our Virginia house (soon no longer ours…) via Skype yesterday and seeing all the pretty colors – I suddenly felt deprived! Sorry but I really love color!
But looking around there are some cheerful spaces out there created with an all white backdrop. For all renters out there, or white-wall-lovers-but-want-a touch-of-color-people, here are some ways to add color to your space.. Living with White walls AND Color
Thank You Benjamin Moore!
I wanted to share a fun article on LiveLikeYou and my design firm in the new issue of Benjamin Moore’s online magazine Nuance. I’m a big fan of Benjamin Moore paints, and color plays a big part in my life, so it was really fun to be profiled and answer some really great design questions. Thank You Benjamin Moore!
PEACH + PINK + ORANGE
These colors have been on my mind lately. Can’t get enough of them. Working on some girl’s rooms in a few homes, and it’s amazing how girls all ages are drawn to pink, coral and orange.
Why is that? PEACH + PINK + ORANGE
Two Simple makeovers to do at home
Coffee!! School mornings are back! Okay here are two simple no brainer makeovers that I swear by. The most SIMPLE yet powerful transformations. First one…. PAINT A DRESSER WITH GOOD BONES A BOLD HIGH GLOSS RED AND SPRAY PAINT THE HARDWARE CHROME. (Kelly green, black or peacock blue work great too!) Okay not really anything Two Simple makeovers to do at home
The BLACK ceiling
It’s easy to forget the impact of a black ceiling. And it’s easy not to dare to do it.
You’re always told, raise up the ceiling, give the room “air”, paint it white. A white ceiling is always nice. However doesn’t it feel a bit boring to just paint all your ceilings white? What’s a home you don’t take risks in? Yeah that’s right, you have an answer. It’s always good to push yourself outside the comfort zone when designing your space. That’s when the best results for sure come about.
Look at the rooms below, and imagine them with a white ceiling and you get the point. The BLACK ceiling
Sharing the paint colors in our house
My internet was down this morning so I couldn’t post earlier! Don’t you hate when your internet is down and you have to spend an hour on the phone listening to touch tone options and eternal wait times?? Grrr. Anyway I get a lot of mails asking me about what colors I used in many of the rooms in our house. So instead of always scrambling and try to remember, I thought to make it easy and simply share the most asked about colors in a post. It’s a good idea to record your favorite paint colors, so they are easy to get to when you need to paint. Something I need to get better at… Sharing the paint colors in our house
Paint it BLACK
Black was on my mind this weekend…A dear friend who has been like a father figure to me for many years passed away. Getting dressed in all black for his memorial service… I wondered why we wear this beautiful non color for mourning. Black is beautiful, black is elegant, black is classy, black is subdued, Paint it BLACK
Adding my favorite color combo
Do you have a favorite color combination?
I have a bunch. A few of them I keep coming back to in different variations like BLUE & ORANGE. It can be navy, turquoise, pale blue mixed with orange, sometimes with dark brown and white as well. I’m starting to spruce up the outdoors, and having some pieces painted to go with the orange Trina Turk cushion covers.
And it got me thinking of this… Adding my favorite color combo