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.

Unleash the power of colour

FRESH AS SPRING: Lift the doom and gloom with splashes of paint

Changing the mood of your decor

Brush away the blues with spring’s strong hues.

In all this doom and gloom, “we’re attracted to colours that are optimistic, upbeat and full of life, and at the same time drawn to neutrals that give us the sense of stability and permanence of solid foundations,” says hue guru Kate Smith.

So why not grab some paint and coat your home in shades of happiness.

Paint is powerful, says Smith.

“Without changing anything else, paint can change the entire way you feel in a room and take it from so-so to sensational in just hours.”

The wall colour creates a background for your furnishings but also sets the mood of the room and expresses your personality: “there is a lot of value in a can of paint.”

Continue reading on The Expositor

Here’s what I recommended:

I see either a creamy golden tone or a very complex and muted gray with a touch of blue or blue green. Either would work beautifully with the cherry finish.

For the tray ceiling you have a few options. Many homeowners leave the ceiling of the room white and then paint the entire inside of the tray the same color as the walls. However, I prefer to use two or three colors to draw the eye towards the feature and to highlight this wonderful detail of the room.

A color from SW that you might find appealing is Compatible Cream #6387 for the walls and vertical surfaces inside the tray and Napery SW#6386 for the ceiling of both the room and inside horizontal surface of the tray.

Or you could use Dover White #6385 on the ceiling surrounding the tray, the Compatible Cream on the walls and vertical surfaces of the tray and Napery on the horizontal or ceiling surface of the tray.

Alternately you could use a completely different color on the horizontal surface inside the tray. Maybe Silver Peony SW6547 would give you a dreamy ceiling to fall asleep beneath each night. This would be my choice and the combination of this whisper soft gold and lavender combination is comforting and healing.

In their announcement they describe this color as “Perfect for the kitchen or family room, painting a wall in Mimosa will add warmth and cheerfulness to any room, especially during the winter months. Mimosa also creates the illusion of being connected to the outside, making small rooms feel open and inviting.”

Yellow is a very happy color and can lift our spirits but you may think this color is too strong for the walls of your home but you can see how wonderful these walls look with a similar color.  This picture illustrates Sunny Lunch Inspired by Nature by Whitney Robinson from House Beautiful.

Here’s another image from House Beautiful.  The article and photo gallery for Furniture Now – The Modern Mix by Heather Macisaac showcase a New York apartment that has several rooms with bold yellow walls.

If you would like to use yellow but don’t want to go with such a bold color you could consider a color like Benjamin Moore’s Straw, which is a softer yellow tone.

Or bring the color in with accessories and accent pieces. Here are a few lovely ideas for accents from my favorite source for French County Pierre Deux.

When you take down the holiday decorations you can start the New Year with positive energy and cheer by adding a bit of yellow to your home.

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.

What I like most about Ellen Kennon’s beautiful palettes of paint is that her colors are blended from the seven colors of natural sunlight. Without light-absorbing black or gray, her paints reflect a broader range of light.

By using several pigments, rather than the usual two or three, Ellen creates colors that seem to change in different light and space. [more...]

See Julie’s post with pictures of this unusual but very successful use of this specialty paint..

Of course even the best brands can have some imperfections, so I also will caution you about any problems I have found so that you can be aware of them when you are selecting paint.

I’ll be working on this series over the next few weeks but invite you to check out the brands that I have already commented on and would enjoy hearing from you as to what else you would like to know in general or about a particular brand.

See what brands I’ve commented on so far…

This Thursday I’ll be speaking at Apartment Therapy Offline and the theme is Color @ Home: Problems and Solutions. I’ll be joined by two other designers and AT founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan.

So if you’ll be in NYC this Thursday, October 2, 2008 6:30 PM I’d enjoy having you come to the event. It will be fun and best of all it’s FREE!

The event is listed on NY Design Meetup.

DWR SoHo (new location)
110 Greene St. New York, NY 10014

I hope to see you there!