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Popular Posts
Pretty Paper Lanterns
As April ushers in May, bridal showers, weddings, graduation parties and Mother’s Day celebrations are all on the horizon.
If you’re planning a spring event, paper lanterns offer a beautifully basic way to add a burst of color to your occasion.
Paper lanterns are an affordable and elegant way to add a festive touch to your decor, and they’re available in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Select your paper lantern first and use that for your design inspiration.
If your event will feature colored lighting or if your space is painted with a great color, white paper lanterns will make a grand statement.
These days, the options for paper lanterns are endless. I love this red, white and blue trio (below). July 4th will be here before you know it!
A Colorful Entrance
Thanks to the folks at House Beautiful’s Color Index for mentioning this post on their site!
If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your home this spring, consider painting your doors.
This is a great trick that adds a splash of color to your space — minus all the prep you would need to paint your entire room.
Use a high-gloss paint and an unexpected color. Adding accessories in the same hue will bring harmony to the room. Or, if you have a great looking door, let it stand out by not using the same color anywhere else in the space.
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Also, since the weather is getting warmer in many places, now is the time to assess your home’s main entrance. It’s amazing how quickly the sun can fade our home’s exterior paint. Check and see if your front door {and shutters} needs to be touched up.
If you’re a renter, ask the landlord’s permission to paint your entry door. Remember, the first impression of your home is made from the outside!
Terrific Teen Spaces
A big thanks to Toni over at Design Dazzle for featuring my Orange Navy Boys Room today! Design Dazzle is a fabulous blog that focuses on colorful spaces for babies, kids and teens.
Below are some of the terrific teen spaces that you can find at Design Dazzle:
Earth-Friendly Boys Room
In honor of Earth Day, today I’m featuring a colorful eco-friendly boys room that was designed using natural materials.
This green design includes natural wood furniture and flooring, which was manufactured and installed without harsh glue. Cork surfaces, breathable fabrics and low-VOC paint are also incorporated in this space.
Eco-friendly certainly doesn’t have to lack style, as this delightful room suggests. There are many green options that you can easily bring into your home.
Recycled materials, energy-efficient light bulbs and storage baskets made from natural fibers are all small additions that can make a big impact. Click Here for more information and photos of this space.
Purple By Any Other Name
The color purple has long been associated with royalty and spirituality. In ancient times, purple dye was so difficult to obtain, only the wealthy and powerful wore purple garments. However, today purple has taken on many other meanings.
The deep plum wall color {ideahome.com} in this room almost appears gray. With this type of muted purple, you can add gray and shiny silver furnishings, creating a modern feel with an overall sense of harmony.
Lavender, just like the plant of the same name, offers a sense of well-being. It’s a fun color that is as youthful as it is elegant. In this space {southernaccents.com}, lavender is paired with neutrals to create a bedroom that fits a young or adult guest.
I love the vivid violet wall color in this bedroom {livingetc.com}. This cooler hue contains more blue than red, just like the deeper tones in the area rug and bed cover. I think these colors are very majestic.
This living room demonstrates how aubergine fabrics and accessories can add a regal feel to a neutral space {elledecor.com}. This is always a safe and easy way to add color to your home. Then, when you’ve got your color confidence, you can paint those walls!
A Word Of Color
Just in case you have a little time on your hands this weekend, may I offer a word of color?
Benjamin Moore has developed a fun on-line tool to promote ben, their new line of paint. That’s nice, but I like this tool because it can help you to actually identify which colors you’d be comfortable living with.
Every color evokes an emotional response. Your response is unique to you. Everyone has a color preference based on their memories, experiences and tastes.
As a color consultant, it’s very important for me to help my clients pinpoint these color preferences. It’s amazing what people discover about themselves!
In my workshops, I often tell the story of a lady who was adverse to the color yellow because her mother made her wear an “ugly yellow dress” to the prom. On the other hand, many people see yellow as a hue of hope — a color that casts away anger.
As this tool demonstrates, sometimes we can identify a color we like with just one word, a feeling or both.
My word creation is at the top. Click Here to try it yourself. You can create more than one. Let me know if this post has been helpful to you, and have a fun weekend!
Color On A Roll
This colorful little lady really grabbed my attention the other day.
As one of 30,000 participants in this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll, she was skillfully dressed head-to-toe in color and pattern, and she stole the show. She was even photographed alongside President Obama as he offered his assistance during the egg roll. Her stylist — Mom perhaps — must understand the power of color.
It would’ve been hard not to snap pictures of this adorable child with her bright pink headband; aqua, strawberry and green jacket; pink patterned dress and petticoat; and red & black ladybug boots. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that she has red hair. Just as this outfit is layered with color, pattern and fabric so too can you layer your room in the same way.
In looking for inspired spaces, I immediately thought of my fellow-blogger Erin. House of Turquoise, her outstanding blog, focuses on gorgeous turquoise spaces, along with wonderful complimentary hues. Here are a few rooms that I think capture the colors of the featured outfit. Be sure to check out Erin’s blog for even more great pictures.
top photos by: huffingtonpost.com; washingtonpost.com
More Pink {and Blue}
Many thanks to The Washington Post for featuring this post in their Blog Watch column on April 16, 2009!
I’m loving pink right now. I’ve taken several walks this season, so I guess I’m paying more attention to pink blossoms.
It really is true that you notice way more when you’re walking as opposed to when you’re driving. The photo I snapped above is from my stroll near the Eastern Market in DC. The pink cherry blossoms set against that blue row house was so eye-catching! Check out the inspired spaces below:
Photos from: coastalliving.com; livingetc.com; southernaccents.com; traditionalhome.com
Happy Easter
Have a wonderful Easter Sunday…
…and a huge thank you to Kim and Jo over at Desire To Inspire, who I just realized included Color Sizzle in their Easter Reading Guide…part 2, along with some other fabulous blogs. You guys rock!
Pink and Green & Company
A pink and green color palette is always in-style because its very prominent in nature. The youthful energy of pink perfectly balances green, which is a more serene, organic color. Whether vibrant or muted, these two hues work great just by themselves or with other colors in the mix.
Bubblegum pink and citron are especially eye-catching in a white space, but yellow is a great addition too.
If you add yellow to pink and green — or if you’re ever working with any color trio — the trick is to make sure that one color is dominant {even if that ‘color’ is white}. That way, three’s never a crowd.
photos by: homesandgardens.com; myhomeideas.com; carlosvallephotography.com; hgtv.com; kelleyinteriordesign.com
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