One of the “traditions” I’m most known for is that I will completely out-do myself with my holiday tabletop designs, at least that’s what I’m told. Family and friends expect to be surprised, because they know the table won’t look anything like it did the year before.  This is fun for many reasons, but my favorite is (no doubt) the requirement and responsibility that comes attached to this custom…purchasing new dinnerware! Oh, the overflowing excitement of planning the perfect place setting, like this one below. A Bountifully Beautiful Dining Space!

Traditional Harvest Holiday Table (yes, we also did a tree) designed and decorated by Holly Adler, seasonal decor product designer and myself (Kiki Titterud) for the Celebration, FL Holiday Home Tour 2007.

Although we love the classic look from above, this year I’m inviting you to start a new tabletop tradition. Isn’t it time to toss the quintessential turkey aside and bring in a new bird? How about saying no thanks to harvest gold, pumpkin spice orange, and olive green and putting a twist on fall colors with new combinations?

That said; I’ve created this recipe for setting this year’s hottest harvest table.

B + B + R  (Birds + Blue + Red)

Combine at least two of these three elements for something uniquely familiar.

Follow this fresh take on fall color combinations…

Then place them on your holiday table…

A special thanks to two fabulous ladies with loads of potential (who also helped pull some of these images) Laura Giles and Susanna Foster, Interior Architecture students at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. It was super fun spending yesterday with both of you for ASID’s National Real World Design Week Shadow a Designer Day. Watch out designers, we’ve got some rising stars here!

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I was raised in THAT house, you know, the one that scares the pants off people and sends some little kids running from the door instead of towards it. Of course, all meant in frightfully good fun. One little girl in the neighborhood used to ask her dad every year if she could go to the “blinking house with the talking pumpkins.”  My dad has a habit of going overboard with ALL holiday decor; to my mom’s dismay (but I believe she secretly enjoys it too). He puts strobe lights in every window of the house, hence the blinking. And he wires mini speakers into the jack-o-lanterns then plays eerie music from a stereo inside the house. He has bodies coming out of graves in the ground and skeletons hanging from trees and lots and lots of spider webs. Now, that’s just a teeny tiny taste, but you get the idea. 

So all my life I’ve been surrounded by spooky scenes on Halloween. I guess it’s no surprise that one of my color forecasting specialities is in seasonal decor. I work closely with many of the top halloween product designers, manufacturers, and wholesalers. I travel to holiday market where we trade trend information and preview the year’s most spellbinding stuff and spooktacular colors. This Halloween’s color concoctions are about two things….True Neutrals (black, white, and gray) and Secondary Hues (orange, green, and violet). Probably not a huge surprise as those are all pretty classic colors of All-Hallows-Eve. What’s tricky about this year’s trend is that it’s not about the color but the freaky fun finishes adorned by the colors. Check out my palette below along with tricks and treats for making your Halloween Hauntingly  Hot.

Monochromatic & Analogous: Oranges with Black and/or White

Tricks:

Use a proportion or contrast ratio where one color obviously dominates the others. 70% black to 30% orange or vice versa creates a nice balance.  

Use multiple values of orange; light, medium, and dark, all mixed together for interest and surprise. Then add black or white as grounding neutrals in the scheme.

Treats:

True Neutrals: White, Black, and everything in between – HOTTEST HOLIDAY LOOK!

Tricks:

Let the neutrals share the eve by using each equally in the decor. This 50% to 50% ratio creates a relationship between the light and dark.

Add pizazz to your neutrals by incorporating ivory or dark gray and fancy finishes like glitter, gloss, sparkle, or shimmer.

Treats:

Triad: Secondary Combination with Green, Purple, and Orange.

Tricks:

This ones for the kiddies! Keep it whimsical with a lot of color and just little dabs of black or white.

Use bright pumpkin oranges with the witch inspired green and purple. Stay away from the dull or light variations of these colors as they can clash with each other and cause unrest. Let’s keep it spectacular not scary!

Treats:

Pink is a tint of red, or red with white added to lighten the color. Pink can also go red-orange (Coral) or red-violet (Magenta aka “Hot Pink”). It can be youthful, fun, exciting, and some shades even have the same high energy as red. They are sensual and passionate without being too aggressive. The softer pinks are often associated with romance. It is the color of joy and happiness, and for women the attraction to pink can speak of a desire for the more carefree days of childhood.

Inspirations of pink in the past and present have been rooted in the designs and lifestyles of a few iconic people.

In cosmetics and cars…

In fashion design…

In 1947, fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli introduced the color “hot pink” to western fashion. She dubbed the shade “Shocking Pink,” though today the color is more well-known as “magenta.”

In interior design…

Inspiration for Men…

As a trendy hue pink can stand alone in a Monochromatic palette veering slightly away from red being influenced by purple resulting in a bright magenta or by orange as a clear soft coral. In color combinations pink paired with orange in a Diad harmony is fresh, new, and conversational. Building off  today’s high-contrast in color trends, complementary schemes with pink plus blue-green, green, or yellow-green blend the masculine cool side of the color wheel with the warmer, lighter, more feminine hues. And going off the wheel putting pink with yellow in an experimental combination is warm, fueling feelings of optimism and creativity. So how does pink translate into the interiors of today? Let’s take a look.

Monochromatic…

Diad Harmony…

Complementary Combinations…

Off the “Wheel” schemes in pink and yellow…

So after the years of rotating and cycling in and out of trendiness, it’s time to put a new spin on these safari styles. With all the color in the future forecasts (check out our other trend tuesday posts), you won’t be surprised when I tell you that this year it’s color that wrangled up those rodeo prints and made hides hip again.

This season my question to you is “What color is that ________ (you fill in the animal print)…maybe Zebra?” 

The focus isn’t necessarily about the design of the print itself, it’s all about how you pair it with color!  Will the print be used in it’s natural palette to tie a colorful room together? Will the pattern emulate the true design and in it’s natural splendor bring interest to a bland space? Or will the animal be infused with color, pairing the print with a hue or two (or multi)? Guess what, they all work and they are all great recipes for decorating with these designs. So whatever you choose, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, zebra, cow, remember color is key to creating this hot look and keeping animal prints fresh as we move towards 2010. 

I found these fabulous fabrics that combine today’s hot hues with designer animal styles to fit any interior decor. Add a touch of one of these to any space creating interest with a color infused natural pattern.

Portion control in any design can make or break the balance, but when working with animal prints this element becomes even more important. Too much or too many animal prints and you might think your room went on an African Safari or took a trip to Cody, Wyoming (the Rodeo Capital of the World). Now don’t get me wrong I do believe you can create a “Luxe Safari Style” or a “Western Rodeo Chic” design using animal prints to evoke a casual element in an elegant environment.  So don’t stampede over your style, pay close attention to how much and how many animal prints you include in each space, like these successful spaces below…

Natures Neutrals Animal Prints

Animal Prints Surrounded by Color

What color was that animal print again? Animal Prints Infused with Color

Often when looking to nature for color inspiration we lean to green, blue, yellow, or even brown. Purple is typically the forgotten color, but when we describe different hues within the purple family we use natural associations. So why not use them as our inspiration for interiors.

One determining trend factor I look for are colors that can break down barriers. When a color usually connected with one industry, group, or gender begins showing up across the board and changes how someone from another area perceives the color, then you’ve got a successful color direction. Purple has successfully achieved this status, especially influencing men’s fashion. Because of its sensual and spiritual connotations, purple has feminine appeal and women are most attracted to this hue. However, the popularity of purple has also gained attention by the male sex, who are growing more comfortable with wearing the color as an accessory or even an entire outfit. Along with this new found apparel acceptance comes a refined attitude for using purple in other areas of their lives, including interior décor! 

And this goes for women too!

So where is purple going next…well as blue gains popularity, purple begins to shift more and more towards the warmer red-violets making the range of purple more passionate, powerful, and hot. When it comes to interiors we will continue to use purple mixed with gray to create a grounded balance, and we will still see purples done in a complementary scheme (paired with it’s opposite), but what is really driving the purple trend forward is pairing this color in analogous (with colors that sit next to purple on the color wheel) or even diad palettes (purple plus another color two steps away).  Let’s take a look at those combinations through some visual inspiration.

Monochromatic

Complementary

And now for the freshest look for purple…

Analogous and Diad color combinations. The idea here is to pair purple with the warm color that sits near it on the wheel, especially purples with reds and oranges, HOT!

And if those spaces aren’t quite colorful enough for you. Try expanding your color palette beyond just 2 or 3 colors and go for an Analogous scheme with 5 or even 6 colors. Beware: these are tricky, but when done with the right color proportion, temperature control, and addition of neutrals for balance, they can be really beautiful and in both of these rooms (below) the purple is what ties everything together. When using multiple colors like these two shots (below) from Rohm and Haas, don’t forget to give special attention to that inspiration color!

Then ‘Brighten Our World Pink’ on October 12th to get Sassy and turn our lights, towns, communities, and businesses pink to symbolize the boldness, courage, and sass of so many women and men that fight Breast Cancer.

People across the world are encouraged to put colored lights in their porch light or window both at home and at their place of business to create a beautiful environment to celebrate those that fight depression and breast cancer.  Learn more at Brighten Our World…

Go directly to Mood Factory to find colored light bulbs…

Gold has always been considered one of our most prized materials. It has an aesthetic appeal that is universal. Now the “new” metallic, a liquid washed gold, is taking center stage in haute couture fashion, automobiles, and high-end home interiors (among other areas). A colored neutral with an undertone of yellow, it’s a cross between opal and gold with gilded iridescence and a touch of fluidity. Like this for example…

The debut of this trend is one I’ve anxiously awaited, so you can imagine how delighted I was while watching the Emmy’s Red Carpet event and saw a plethora of luxe materials. My favorites stood out through their sheer elegance and reminded me of the parallels between fashion and home trends.

Since these finds were making me feel oh so super inspired. I decided to dig a little deeper. I had heard earlier in the year that misty gold was a smashing hot introduction at the Auto shows. Advancements in the technology to produce economical and eco-friendly specialized finishes were giving automakers the ability to create a metallic look on almost any surface. From the lavish to the modest it seems this trendy hue will have you driving around in style for years to come.

What continues to keep me awestruck is the cross-industry use of color trends. How, when a color is hot in one area, it seems to influence all others. This is one of the best parts about trend tracking and forecasting. From fashion to auto and now incorporating this gold metallic into the home. It can be done in numerous ways through accent pieces, paint, fabrics, furniture, or fixtures. Here are a few of my finds that have inspired me (and I hope you as well) to keep watching and using metallics.

The walls in these three images above are really unique. If your going for this look I recommend a wallpaper. Both Phillip Jeffries (www.phillipjeffries.com) and Maya Romanoff (www.mayaromanoff.com) have the most exquisite selections.

All of these fabulous images don’t just convey the gold metallic trend, but they truly show the flexibility of the finish. The how, what, when, where, and why to using this color turns a new “leaf” of inspiration.

I thought about what I was going to say, put together some great boards and worked with Cathy the fabric guru at Ainsworth and Noah to find fabrics that would capture the audience’s imagination but what unexpectedly inspired the design mavens that attended my talk was the color of the sweater set I was wearing.

Sure, its is a great color for me and I love blue-greens but who would have thought it would have evoked so many comments?  One of my friends from House Beautiful even asked me if I knew what paint color would be that blue since during my presentation he decided it was the perfect color for his bedroom.

Funny but I have been lusting after a room in deep blue too ever since I saw Windsor Smith’s kitchen on the cover of the September House Beautiful (okay, I confess I’ve been carrying the awesome special color issue that included my ‘What the Color Says’ around with me ever since it arrived) and I have thought about painting a room this color every time I put on the sweater set but I hadn’t gone as far as to see if the color existed in any of my favorite paint brands.

Since I’m not the only one loving this color I decided once I got home I would find out.  Now I was on a mission to see if it was a readily available color or one that was going to have to be custom blended.  I was speaking at Calico Corners in the evening so on the way I stopped at Vienna Paint, sweater in hand, to see if Benjamin Moore had a color that matched.

I pulled many color swatches but none of them matched the quality of the color exactly.    The closest was 2059-10 Marine Blue but it was a tad dark and lacked the hint of green the sweater has.  While all of the other paint color swatches were close they seemed either too dull, too green, too blue…you get the idea.

Actually the closest match I found in for Benjamin Moore was the color they used on their brochure of historical colors and although it looks close to the paint swatch in the picture it really wasn’t that close.  The brochure was a much better match but unfortunately, they couldn’t ‘read’ the brochure with the equipment they use to match colors.  They couldn’t ‘read’ the sweater either since it doesn’t work with fabric either but offered to mix it by eye.

The next day I was running into Lowes to pick something up and even though I didn’t have the sweater with me I decided to swing by the paint department and see if any of their colors looked like a match.  I immediately honed in on color 4011-5 Newport Gray (not a color I think anyone would describe as gray but that’s the name) and thought it looked like it might be right.  I grabbed a swatch and as soon as I saw it against the sweater (ding, ding, ding) I had a winner!  It was a great match.  Not too green, not too dull and not too dark.  Perfect!

It is so good that I could see the Valspar ad with my sweater color being ‘poured’ into the can of paint.

And as the ad says “Now the colors of life can last a lifetime” and this is one shade of blue that I think is worth keeping around that long.  What do you think?

]]> http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/the-perfect-blue-at-house-beautiful-color-institute/feed/ 7 http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/exterior-color-scheme-success-simple-as-1-2-3/ http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/exterior-color-scheme-success-simple-as-1-2-3/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:21 +0000 Kate Smith http://www.sensationalcolor.com/colorforyourhome/?p=1462 Did you ever look at the color scheme on a home and instantly think, “Love it!”?  That was my reaction when I saw this home while in Provincetown, MA.  I loved the color scheme but even with my knowledge of color it wasn’t immediately apparent to me why it worked so well.

I really had to look at the colors closely but once I did I discovered that there were three reasons that the colors on this home’s exterior worked so well.

I began by figuring out the undertone of the stained siding  The shutters appeared to be a very muted tint of yellow-orange and harmonized rather than competed with the siding color but I wanted to be sure both colors were in the same color family.

I keep an NCS color deck in my car specifically for the purpose of generically determining paint colors.  I can then use their standard and match to any paint brand’s color.  Luckily, I was driving so I had it with me.  My iphone color apps are helpful but in this case I really wanted to see the color standard next to the actual surface.  I’m only sorry I didn’t think to take a picture so you could see it for yourself but it brings me to the first reason this color scheme works.

1.  The color of the stained siding and the color of the shutters have the same undertone

The NCS standard confirmed that both the exterior siding stain and window shutter color had basically the same undertones.  In the case of the siding the color is a visual blending of the stain along with some for the original color showing through so rather than guess which color stain would achieve the same results I check with the folks at Olympic Paint & Stain.

From the pictures and information I provided they said that staining the siding Off White would produce this look and that Classic Cream was their match for the shutter color.  Of course it is so difficult to show the actual colors on the screen but you can download the color chart or stop by Lowes or your local Olympic retailer to see the actual colors.

I also noted that the copper roofs over the doors, the downspouts and gutters picked up on the color of the siding that is peaking through the stain.

2.  The white color chosen for the trim has the same undertone as the siding and shutters.

The trim is quite white but when you look closely that it leans ever so slightly warm rather than cool.

The black wrought iron details punctuate the facade and keep the scheme from seeming too plain.  Sometimes all it takes is a small, repetitive, contrasting detail to keep your eye moving across the surface of the home and in this case that is exactly what the hardware is doing.

3.  The front door color is a color that complements the siding and shutters

The color on the front door is a muted blue-green and while it is hard to tell in the photo because of the screen door it is in a slightly darker value that allows it to stand out and beautifully complement the shutters and siding.

I didn’t notice it at the time as I’m looking at the pictures I was thinking how the door color reminds me of the bluish-green of copper patina so even if the homeowners allow the copper details to age they will bring out the color in the front door even more.

~Are the colors on your home exterior this sensational? If not, I’d love to help. Simply click here to contact me for more information and pricing for a personal color consultation for your home’s exterior.

1.  Hot Hues…finding the “Right Bright” and color combinations will help you easily incorporate multiple brilliant colors into a space. Use this no fail palette as a jumping off point. Pick a single color or create a scheme by pairing two, three, or more of these colors together. Blend in neutrals for balance…white, gray, black, taupe, brown, tan, cream, beige and so on.

2.  Put it on a Plate…take it from the picnic table and bring it to the dinner table. These upbeat patterns matched with the intense hues will bring a bit of surprise inside. Find the design that fits your style and let the color lead your decorating direction.

3.  Stir Up Some Color in the Kitchen…a perfect place for accents, the kitchen is a room typically grounded in neutrals on most of the large surfaces like cabinets, countertops, floors, and appliances.  Cookware with flair can be switched out depending on your favorite “color de jour.” A fun way to keep the room fresh and renewed.

4.  Pillows with Panache…make a statement in the living room, bedroom, or any room with loads of plush pillows. Mix pattern, color, and texture by finding a great multi-colored inspiration piece and pulling the other colors out for a miss-match look that works.

5.  The Keys to Success…use colors with similar value and intensity. If one accent color is bright, make all the accent colors bright. Also, watch your color proportion. Don’t try to give every color the same amount of attention. This can make the space appear too random. Consider, even with accents, to lean more toward one main accent with splashes of the others. And remember be bold, break the rules, and have fun!

A few beautifully bright interiors for extra inspiration……