A holiday for romance and roses. Heartfelt sentiments and vows of everlasting love. Flirty hot pink and sensuous deep red.
In my Valentine’s Day fantasy I’m…
…wearing a dress that is so perfect in pink that it could have come straight out of Barbie’s closet… Read more..
Sometimes I just have to sit back and laugh at myself. I can be watching something as important as the State of the Union Address, and what’s the only thing I can think about…color trends.
Luckily, I didn’t feel as silly when I realized there were a lot of other people out there listening to what Michelle Obama’s dress was saying to our great nation. You can get the details from Kate’s interview with the Detroit Free Press, “Did purple send a message at the State of the Union Address?” on Live in Full Color. To that question I would answer…most definitely, absolutely, yes….but it was more red-violet than purple.
Michelle Obama and her style have been making big statements in fashion trends, her State of the Union dress was no different. Designed by Isaac Mizrahi and described by him as plum, Michelle’s ensemble is a perfect match to the deep shades of red-violet on the color wheel.
This is my favorite part about tracking trends, watching them evolve over time. You can get all juicy details about this color story in my post Trend Tuesday: Passionate Purples. Purple has come far since it first popped up all around us a few years ago, and I love where it’s headed.
So rich and warm, infused with red, it has such great depth and complexity. It’s still powerful without being loud like magenta or fuchsia. There are so many parallels between fashion and interior trends as the industry gap continues to narrow, I’ve gathered some room shots as a compare and contrast to show how this outfit translates into luxurious and trendy spaces.
Is it just me or are you at a point in life where you enjoy snow more from the inside looking out than being out in it?
I think the many years I spent in Upstate New York and New England digging out my driveway and being caught ‘under dressed’ in the interest of fashion over practicality have tainted my enjoyment of snow.
With that being said and this being the view outside at the moment you can bet I’m dreaming of warmer weather, sunny skies and a colorful garden rather than snow in the backyard.
So here I sit bundled up inside scanning sites like Proven Winners looking for the colors of my dreamy summer garden. The color red-violet has been on my mind this week after being interviewed for an article titled, “Did Purple Send a Message at the State of the Union Address?” (hint–it was really red-violet not purple as I wrote about in my post on Live in Full Color) so I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that flowers in this color seemed to call out to me?
Here a few of my favorites along with how I might use them in my garden or patio planters this year:
Supertunia Pretty Much Picasso Petunia Read more..
I have the privilege of meeting and teaching color to many of our country’s top interior designers as part of our Color for Your Home (CfYH) Color Consultant Certification Course (an advanced level CEU class for Interior Designers). As our list of certified consultants continues to grow, these professionals not only become our color colleagues but also a part of the Color for Your Home family. We love our Consultants and we want you to get the chance to know them too, so every few weeks I will be profiling one of our phenomenal designers through an interview and a display of one of their favorite projects. Enjoy!
With over thirty years in decorative design, Jeanine Maleno has based an international career out of Miami Beach. After leaving New York’s Fashion Institute in 1973, Jeanine embarked on a decade of apprenticeships, studying in several textile studios in Italy ending up in India. There she developed her sense of colour and coupled it with Italian craftsmanship and the clarity of Asiatic design that characterizes her work.
Having consolidated an artistic identity abroad, she returned to North America to become one of its most imaginative designers, winning a reputation of her ability to translate her client’s concepts into vibrant reality. Jeanine’s work has been featured in many design publications and can be seen inside prestigious art deco hotels and restaurants in Miami Beach, in addition to many other places. Her private work is proudly displayed in such prestigious homes as the Versace Mansion on Ocean Drive and the Ferrari Family Estates.
I had the chance to sit down with Jeanine and find out some fun facts and take a peak at some of her work. Here’s what she had to say… Read more..
Sure, we can tell you Turquoise is a hot color this year or that white is the trendiest neutral, but those pieces of information don’t offer all the details you need in order to incorporate these hues into your home, wardrobe, or life. Unless you plan on wearing turquoise from head to toe or decorating a room in only one color, what you really need is the inspiration of color combinations.
Just as we “fondly” remember Avocado and it’s cohorts, Harvest Gold and Rust (we may be rolling our eyes or laughing now, but we have to admit we thought it was pretty cool back then), we desire a color scheme staring our freshest hue being supported by colors that offer contrast and create a pleasing atmosphere. If you’ve been following us, you’ll know that I’ve been featuring the turquoise and red combination for holiday decor in the Trend Tuesday posts Colorful Christmas Tablescapes and Fall Tabletop Decor. Now it’s time to bring this colorway to life for your interior and carry it though the whole year.
I love this combination because it breaks the color harmony rule of direct complements, and who doesn’t like breaking rules to end up with beautiful results! Directly across the color wheel from red is green, and blue or blue-green sits orange or red-orange. Taking the complement a step or two off creates a fun and unexpected designer style.
Contrast is key in this combo, the complement colors are already giving off a color contrast, but within the individual color there’s another level of contrast being created, value contrast from light to dark. You’ll notice in the rooms below that the value of turquoise varies from very light to very bold, but that the red pretty much remains the same. This offers versatility with “the color of the year.” Read more..
Have you ever finally decided on the color family for the color you want to paint your room but then been stymied when it comes to choosing the exact hue? If that happens it may be time to step away from the paint chip racks and take time to simply think about the color.
If you close your eyes and think about what you love about the color, what comes to mind? What images appear? What wonderful experiences do you recall? These can all be clues to type of color that you will most enjoy surrounding yourself with.
For me, when I think about the color pink many of the pictures that appear in my head are of very happy yet delicate and soft.
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Of all the treats found at a fair, pink cotton candy was my favorite Read more..
Color schemes are often described as ‘classic’ because we associate them with history and historic settings. When it comes to the color red one of the most iconic rooms in America is the Red Room in the White House.
The vivid color scheme and cozy size made it a favorite place for presidents and first ladies. It has also been a favorite of many Americans who have painted their own homes in this striking hue. Below are images through history of this inspiring room.
Nancy Reagan in the Red Room in 1981 (NARA – Reagan Library)
Would you be surprised to learn at this room well known for its color wasn’t always red? Read more..
Many of us are seeing a lot of white so far this year, and I’m not only referring to all the snow. Side note: thank goodness I live in the south now (by way of Minnesota), I really despise shoveling. Actually, I spent this past weekend at Market in Atlanta for the International Gift & Home Furnishings Show and it seemed like every time I turned around there was white. Home decor, furniture, tabletop, holiday, white, white everywhere. It was definitely the overwhelming new neutral, and done in a fabulous lacquered finish. Shiny, fresh, and bright it’s a welcomed contrast to the concrete grays that are now considered soooo last year.
Gold Eagle Market accessories window display, North Star Holiday floral window display
‘Blue Monday’ usually falls on the Monday of the last full week of January and is often said to be “to be the most depressing day of the year’.
This seems like a bad rap for such a nice hue so for the next few Monday’s I’m going to show just how blue is anything but depressing.
(Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally)
I thought a great place to start was to show some rooms with the classic blue and white color scheme. For fabulous examples of how top interior designers have used this color combination I popped over to my favorite magazine, House Beautiful and pulled a few of the many, many wonderful images from housebeautiful.com
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Stephen Drucker, Editor in Chief of House Beautiful magazine take on a tour of Nancy Corzine’s Cool Blue Living Room. You won’t want to miss the two great decorating tips he shares. Read more..
Early last summer I discovered the most gorgeous roses while driving through Georgetown. I was so taken by the beautiful color scheme that it inspired me to write my post ‘Raving About These Roses’ for Live in Full Color. While I was writing my Pink Saturday post last week the beautiful blossoms came back to mind.
They have a color scheme similar to the Veuve Cliquot Rose Ice Dress but with very clear yellows and oranges along with pink rather than just yellow-orange. Mother Nature put together a spectacular color combination that is a perfect example for learning how to create your own color palette by copying from the nature. Read more..
