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:

Five reasons I think the color scheme and attention to details make this adorable Victorian stand out.

1.  The homeowners had the confidence to use a bold color for the home’s exterior.

While a color this strong might be disastrous on some homes it is exactly what this home needed to keep it from getting weighted down or lost under the roof.

The bright gold was the right color choice for the main home exterior paint color.  A dull or muted gold would have ‘aged’ this home in the same way using the wrong foundation color ages a woman.

2.  They chose the right white for the trim color

With a gold that is clear and clean rather than grayed or toned down painting the trim white rather than off white was the best choice.  It looks crisp against the gold.

3.  They created a welcoming entrance.

The purple doors are perfect in both style and color.  Purple and gold are complementary colors, which is one of the reasons that the purple stands out against the gold and creates a focal point on the home’s front and side facades.

The purple is repeated in the flowers in the hanging arrangements that flank the front door.  Thriving plants at the entrance of the home not only add color and texture but tells the world that the home is alive and being cared for.

4.  They clearly defined the entrances

Since this property is on the corner you not only see the front door but also the side door.  You can see how the homeowner has chosen a planter and trellis to the left of the door rather than repeating the hanging arrangements used at the front door.  This helps to define the two entrances and keeps people from being confused about where the main entrance to the home is.

5.  They respected historic color schemes but weren’t dictated by them

Although many Victorian home in New England today are painted all white during the era that these homes were being build bold color schemes that were inspired by nature were the norm for a home’s exterior.  While many homeowners enjoy researching their home’s history and duplicating the original colors I prefer to look at the past as inspiration and choose colors befitting the home today.  I believe that is the same approach these homeowners took when choosing their color palette.

This scheme is build from the complementary color combination of gold and purple along with neutral gray.  The red-orange may seem like an unlikely color choice for the accent color but I think if you were to try other hues with the gold and purple you would find that this is one of the most appealing choices.

The right green could have also worked but because of the amount of green surrounding the home it would not have stood out as nicely.

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.

Titled A Pennsylvania House in Gorgeous Grays the article by Mimi Read begins “Jeffrey Bilhuber envisioned a modernist version of a barn when he designed this soothing, monochromatic abode.”

I think modernist barn is a great way to describe this home and the rich gray palette.

Here are a few pictures of the home from House Beautiful but click here to see the entire gallery…

The color scheme continues on the tabletop with a slightly redder orange.  I think this is a nice addition to the palette.  Julie found many great items in this color at CB2 catalog shows them on Live In Full Color.

Even an ardent urbanite could be tempted to live in a barn when it looks this good.

Here are some photos from Domino.com in the blue and orange combination.

These use blue on the walls but Kim over at Desire to Inspire put together a collection of rooms with orange walls so if you would prefer the orange on the walls check out the pics.

If you don’t want to go with this scheme in a room how about on your tabletop? “Autumnal colors just pop against a blue and white tablecloth,” says Carolyne Roehm in House Beautiful magazine.

Or how about the Etch bedding from Crate and Barrel?  It would look great against blue walls or with some blue accessories.

While blue has long been a favorite in the home orange has more recenlty come into its own and looks great in an entire range of colors from bright and bold to muted and earthy.  All of the many hues of orange look great when paired with blue.

I was taken with this snippet from the banner on the blog Half2Know and used it to develop my inspired color palette for today.  You can see the palette here.

And earlier in the day I had saved the following photo from Flickr that I was going to write about as an interesting color scheme for a kids room.

As I was looking at the picture this morning I noticed that it is a variation of that same color scheme.

How funny to have saved both of these images on the same day.  The effects of color on our mind will never cease to amaze me.  Can you see the similarities?

This is a fun way to illustrate how if you like a particular color scheme that simply by using different values of the hues it can change the mood and work in different types of rooms.

Photo reference:

The banner snippet is from Half2Know

The photo from Charles St. was found on Flickr by urbanbicyclist

In honor of TJ I’ve created some autumn-inspired color schemes that remind me of him.
While fall colors are often very brilliant the more muted hues are the ones TJ likes best.  The earthy browns, and oranges are colors he often chooses to wear and for his bedroom he picked a luscious latte brown.  This photo of fallen leaves captures his colors.

The photo with the acorn is a combination of hues that I would also call TJ Colors.  This scheme is similar to the one above but includes a blue tone that remind me of his favorite sailing shirt, our well-worn leather sofa (his favorite place to relax) and a pair of comfy blue jeans.  The blue tone complements the warm orange and brown hues.

On the Valspar site there is a section of nature inspired paint color schemes so I looked there to see what color schemes they had come up with.  The one above is from Shimmering Pond Colors and the one below from Autumn Leaves Colors.

The color palette directly below the photograph was generated using the online tool Pic2Color.  The color combination below that shows Valspar’s recommendation for a paint color scheme a la the golden shimmering pond.  These two color schemes are similar but not exactly the same.

So let’s look at how this works and how you might use a picture you love to inspire an interior color scheme If you want to use a photograph of nature as your inspiration.  You can use Pic2Color or a similar tool to help you to pull out the color palette but keep in mind that it will include a range of colors and values.

This is a good place to begin but don’t simply use the hues the tool gives you and try to match them to paint chips.  What you are going to want to do is look to these for inspiration and then chose values of the color that will work as interior paint.

As you can see from the photograph of the golden leaves reflected on the water that the folks at Valspar used the picture as a reference but the colors they recommend are more likely to work in a home environment.  This is the same approach you will want to take if you use a photo of your own.

Also there may be colors you want to eliminate completely.  Look at another photo from Valspar, the palette generated by Pic2Color and the color scheme that they recommend.  In this case they have eliminated the blue altogether and gone with more muted shades of each hue.

Can you begin to see how this translates from photograph to color scheme and finally to colors for your room?

Have you ever used a nature photograph as a starting point for a color project?  Did you adjust the colors or just feel limited to ones that matched those in the photo?  Did I explain this in a way that gave you a new idea or way of approaching this?

Reference:

Valspar Paint Colors shown:
Vivid Orange 2011-3
Golden Butter 3002-1C
Red Ochre 2001-4
Creme Brulee 2008-6C

Pineapple Mousse 3008-3C
Crafted White 3007-6C
Summer Moon  3008-2C
Burnt Carmel 2010-6

Valspar paint is available at Lowe’s and through independent dealers.  To find a store near you visit visit the Valspar site and enter your zip code…

First two photos found on Flickr from baldwinm16’s

I created these new colors with some of the countries most talented designers, architects and color consultants. The Designer’s Palette includes colors representing 14 designers who use our full spectrum paints in a variety of applications and lighting conditions

“H2 Ahh!” is the color I created with Kate Smith

Here’s what Kate has to say about her signature color:

“I love the colors of water. All of the hues from the deepest, most mysterious sea blues to the soothing, subtle spa blues speak to me and “H2 Ahh!” captures all of what attracts me to these watery colors.

Inspired by the color water in a warm, relaxing bath, the complexity of “H2 Ahh!” gives it a sophistication that intrigues my mind and the perfect balance of this color has a meditative effect that captures my soul.

‘H2 Ahh!’ is a timeless hue that works beautifully with all other colors. When combined with rich tan, chocolate brown, antique gold, olive green, burnt oranges, or even navy blue, gray or rosy pink it gives the combination a sense of the unexpected making it more interesting to the eye.

Meet the other 15 designers and read what they have to say about their colors in this month’s newsletter…
Resources:

• The Designer’s Palette and all of the Full Spectrum Paint Colors are available at www.ellenkennon.com

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.

“We are moving into a new apartment soon, and I am creating an office and work room for the family, which includes two boys.

I want to pick an accent color that will be stimulating, but mentally stimulating, not physically stimulating. At first I thought I would use orange (with grey/beige/white) but I think that may be a mistake because orange is thought to stimulate appetite. Yellow? Red?

Or, should I keep their work area in their bedroom, which is indigo and a mossy/celeryish not dull not bright medium green – that’s the furniture, bedding, and the rug – walls aren’t painted yet.What do you think for an accent color for the work room, and would the boys be better off working in the room that is green and blue?

Many thanks.
-Wendi

Kate suggests…

You are on the right track by beginning with thinking about the functionality of the room and the mood you want to create.

The main color in you decorating scheme sets the mood of the room. Other colors are added that enhance that mood. The gray, tan and white color scheme you mention is a good choice for a family workspace and would go nicely with red or orange accents.

A color scheme of grey/beige/white can work well for kids too as shown in these two workspaces from Pottery Barn Kids

Yellow might be another good choice because it instills optimism and sparks creative thought.

Since an accent color generally occupies less than 30% of what is seen in a room it would not cause your boys to be more hyper plus red, orange and yellow all have the positive effect of being mentally stimulating.

A shared workspace becomes “family central” with spaces to display kids latest school work and keep track of activities.

You could set up their work area in the bedroom however if you have the ability to create a workspace that is shared with your kids this is what I would recommend. It gives you the ability to each be working independently yet be together, and allows you to keep an eye that they are actually working without having it seem as though you are checking up on them.

This solution would also allow you to keep their room focused on rest and relaxation rather than work. The color scheme you have chosen already is ideal for this because cool colors like blue and green have been known in color psychology to promote relaxation, which is why they are often a popular choice for bedrooms.

Architecture for beginners wall decals

If you want to allow your boys to help decorate their space a fun option would be wall decals like the ones shown here.

I hope you find these thoughts helpful as you decorate your new apartment. I’d enjoy seeing pictures of how it all comes together.

Resources:

• Wall decals available at kidsmodern.com
• Furniture and wall organizers from potterybarnkids.com
• Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.

We recently purchased this tangerine sofa and wanted to know what would be the best color to paint the walls? – smoov22 (picture on roomvues.com)

Kate suggests…

My first thought is that what probably attracted you to this sofa was the bold tangerine color and interesting shape so play up those features.

I would make your sofa the focal point in a room decorated in rich neutrals as shown below.

A mid-tone warm beige would look great with accents of cream and either deep chocolate almost black brown.

You could also use black but to keep it up-to-date use a soft black; think of how black appears if wood is stained rather than painted or when painted has an aged look.

I would find a tan that blends with the tan in your carpet. It appears that the only light in the room is from the sliding doors so I am suggesting a color a bit lighter than shown above since with limited light it will appear darker.

It is difficult to tell from the photo exactly the color of the carpet but a couple colors that you might want to consider– Valspar Churchill Hotel Maple #2008-8B, Sherwin-Williams Sand Dollar #SW-6099, or Benjamin Moore Brookline Beige #HC-47 or Shaker Beige #HC-45.

I would not over use orange within the room but let the sofa carry the color and only show hints of orange in the accessories, artwork or other elements.

If you want to add hues other than the neutrals I would suggest selecting colors that are closely related to the tangerine color. Maybe go a bit deeper or more gold but basically stay with color familes that are adjacent on the color wheel as shown above.

The room below is from Pottery Barn although an entirely different style shows orange used with closely related accent colors on the walls and in the artwork.

The most successful color schemes balance the warm colors of orange, yellow or golds with touches of cooler colors such as blue or green. You don’t need too much but a few items can give your room the feel of being professionally decorated.

The glass top on your coffee table will help balance the warm palette with a bit of cool since this will read slightly blue green. You could also use silver for metallic objects rather than gold, which will also work well with your more contemporary style.

Live green plants add a natural element to the room and add contrast both in color and texture.

Resources:

• See the reader’s sofa in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com
• The top two sofas shown are from Furnitory
• The bottom sofa is from Pottery Barn
• Type in your zip code to find your local Valspar retailer
• Type in your zip code to find your local Sherwin-Williams
• Type in your zip code to find your local Benjamin Moore retailer

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.

Have an idea of what might work with the tangerine sofa? Please share it with us in the comments.