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Popular Posts
Super Bowl Inspired Room
Can this Super Bowl {43} logo be turned into a room?
Wowee! Just for fun, I created this color design using an on-line painting tool, as a tribute to the football fans out there. Go Steelers! {My sister and her family live in Pittsburgh, so I’m lending my support}. Using a football as inspiration, I added the ceiling color. I don’t think I would ever use these colors together this way in a room, that is, unless a client insisted. But this does underscore my motto that inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. Enjoy the game!
On-line painting tool @ housebeautiful.com
Colors from Benjamin Moore: Traffic Light Green, Symphony Blue, Neon Red, Strawberry Field
Orange Navy
Here’s another great color scheme using the color orange that I’m sure we’ll be seeing this year. Pairing orange with navy offers a more youthful palette. I just recently used the Orange Navy palette to redesign my twin sons’ bedroom. Now in middle school, it was time to update their room with a “pre-teen cool.” This palette reflects a few of their favorite sports teams, but the design also includes no-fuss furnishings {just give boys the basics and they’re happy}.
Design and photography by Kelly Porter
Ocean and Orange
There comes a time during the winter months when many of us start to dream of warm, far-off places. For me, St. Lucia comes to mind, with it’s turquoise blue waters and brightly-colored vegetation. So, as to remind me of my visit to the island, I designed a niche (pictured below) in our home shortly after returning from the Caribbean cruise that took us there. Along with a refreshing shade of ocean blue, tropical orange adds energy and excitement. Whether you wear these colors or decorate with them, the ocean and orange palette offers both serenity and spice. It’s a color combo that looks great all year round, but especially in the middle of winter.
Take a look at these other great color combos:
Purple and Red
This space is a display window at Bloomingdale’s in NYC. It was designed by Patrick Hamilton who is a contestant in Bloomingdale’s Big Window Challenge. The contest is being sponsored by apartment therapy. You can see all three challengers and vote for your favorite at bigwindowchallenge.com. I was drawn to this space because I’ve always loved purple and red together. The stools provide just a little pop of red, but they just speak to me. Purple and red may be a daring color scheme for some, but I think it’s a very passionate, romantic palette. In fact, I wanted these colors for my wedding (almost 17 years ago) but my mother vetoed it, and since my parents were footin’ the bill….well, you know how that goes.
photos: sofa – apartmenttherapy.com; chandelier & vases – horchow.com; floral arrangement – proflowers.com
A New Era of Colors
The Inauguration of President Barack Obama was truly an amazing day in American history. Being a native Washingtonian, I’ve never seen the city so electrified — powered by two million jubilant people! And I must say, I’m delighted that we have a family in the White House that loves unique, vibrant colors and wears them well! So, here’s my “Yes We Did” palette inspired by the colors proudly worn by the Obamas on this historic day (colors by Sherwin-Williams):
"Independent Gold" reflects the color of Michelle Obama's day ensemble. This yellow-gold metallic fabric also had a touch of green. "Heartthrob" not only describes President Obama himself, but it was also the color of his tie.
"Frank Blue" was the classic color of Malia's coat, while Sasha wore a fun-loving combination of pink ("Loveable") and orange ("Kid's Stuff")
Other hues of the day included these brightly-colored buttons that volunteers on the National Mall were handing out (refresheverything.com). Inaugural Ball invitations and tickets also made a colorful mark on the evening (bottom picture):
top photo of the Obama family from huffingtonpost.com
Michelle Obama’s Yellow-Gold Ensemble
For a few weeks now I’ve been speculating that yellow would be a hot color this year, as the Obamas have given Americans and the world an optimistic outlook about the future. I asked the question, “Will Michelle Obama wear yellow on Inauguration Day?” So I’m pleased to just have seen Mrs. Obama wearing a stunning yellow-gold ensemble this morning. She looks radiant, fired-up and ready to go! It’s a bright, sunshiny day in Washington, DC!
Photo by telegraph.co.uk.
Inauguration Nation
Colorful scenes from my trek to the mall in D.C. this weekend to see the We Are One concert:
Our journey began at the Glenmont subway station in suburban Maryland. There we were greeted by one of my favorite public art displays — a beautiful, uplifting mosaic tile mural. I love the different shades of blue and unexpected pops of red. The photos below tell the story of what we saw downtown:
Color Trends 2009
With so many people being affected by the economy, it’s nice to know that painting has been and still is the most cost-effective way to beautify your space. There is also a natural pick-me-up that comes from being surrounded by colors (especially your favorite ones). So, if you’ve been planning to paint those white walls, now is the perfect time! And with so many beautiful color trends emerging for 2009, why wait? This post features some of the forecasted hot colors from Sherwin Williams.
Green Scene
This room is featured in the new February issue of domino magazine and I absolutely love it! This space reflects everything that’s hot in the design world right now: bold graphics, glam Asian-inspired furniture, white accessories and a colorful, eye-catching wall treatment. With green as the main color, this room has organic, natural qualities. In contrast, it also has an electrifying appearance thanks to the striped wall featuring shades of pink and black. The home office pictured below (livingetc.com) is also a great space:
The soothing palette of green and white makes this room a perfect place to work and gather your thoughts. I also love the open shelves because they don’t break-up the wall color as much. And just in case you’d like to try out this muted green color in a smaller dose, this Roots floor lamp in green eucalyptus (lumens.com) would make a gorgeous addition to a room painted in light blue or brown. Green is a very easy color to live with so don’t be afraid to experiment with it in different ways.
Ink Chic
So, it’s Monday and you may be wondering how in the world can you make being at work (or school) a little more enjoyable. Unless, of course, you’re already enjoying yourself. If you could use a little pick-me-up, Parker Pens has a great collection of funky, colorful pens — some of which I just spied at Wal-Mart. This ‘Vector – Colour Addict’ pen collection features a retro-techo, Asian-inspired vibe. All wrapped up in bold ‘n bright hues. Very cool and very fun. Now, what if you could take some of these colors and combine them into a room in your home? It might look something like this (from pointclickhome):
…not that you’d want to take your work home with you.
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