Color Trends - Part 2

We left off on "Color Trends - Part 1" with how to incorporate color - especially "trendy" colors - into your space.


Rather than just write about it, I scanned some photos from some of my already mentioned fave magazines to give you an idea of how Honeysuckle - or any of your favorite colors - can be used.


This is a room in a Capitol Hill (DC) row house completed by designer Barry Dixon.

House Beautiful, Sept 2011, p85

He kept the major elements in the room neutral - creams, tans, browns. The wall color is a soft cream and he has applied it to all of the painted surfaces. The floors are deep brown wood. The alcoves are upholstered in a brown, button-tufted Bergamo fabric. Lovely, right?


However, what makes this room extra-special is the use of the color pink. He has used varying degrees of light to deep shades of pink so the room appears elegant and mature. He has sprinkled it around the room so your eye can move from one element to the next with plenty of space in between for a relaxed and un-fussy effect.


I must admit, if someone had said they were working on a room with pink accents I would assume it was a nursery. But there is nothing nursery about this room. After seeing it used to finesse the room in such a way, I'm hoping one of my clients will want to try it out. (Hint, hint.)

Veranda, Oct 2011, p117

Which brings me to the next room I wanted to show you. This was a room featured in Veranda October 2011 issue and is part of a renovation done to a 1920s Nashville estate, and by coincidence, it was also designed by Barry Dixon. Perhaps my new idol... This is what I would call minimal with punch. The entire room is done on a variation of creams, golds and tans to beautiful effect. So the impact of the one element of pure color - the salmon colored daybed - is fantastic. It doesn't take away from the incredible moldings and architecture of the space, but it does make you want to get cozy right in front of the fireplace. Love it! 

What seems so simple in this room, adding one element of real color - is actually very difficult to do. It speaks to the amount of restraint the designer used; not adding pops of the color in other areas of the room. It's perfection!

Traditional Home, Oct 2011, p 118

Finally, while it has just a touch of pink, I wanted to show you this room done by another DC-based designer, Skip Sroka, from Traditional Home, October 2011 issue. It is a beautiful, soft cozy bedroom. The neutrals in this room are the creams and whisper blues that are being used throughout. The upholstered bed is so gorgeous - it makes me want to curl up and take a nap on it.


Once again, our featured color is the pink, used very sparingly in the broad stripe of the chair. Because it is used so sparingly it takes nothing away from the star of the room which is of course the bed. Again the temptation is there to want to throw a pillow or blanket on the bed that has a bit of the pink in it. But that would take away from the overall softness of the room.


So what can you take away from this Blog posting today? Basically, using color (any color) as an accent and using it sparingly adds more beauty, elegance and impact into a room. Keeping your background and main furnishings neutral helps to create the perfect backdrop for the color to shine in the room. 


If you need me to source any of the items that are featured in the magazine, let me know and I will do my best. And as always, don't be afraid of color and trying something new. You can do it!


If you have any pics or comments, don't be afraid to post them!

Color Trends – Part 1

It might have to do with my minor-ish magazine addiction (my family would say it’s major and my recycler would probably agree!), but it seems every home and fashion magazine I read is talking about the “hottest” new colors.

While I was cleaning out my magazine drawers (yes drawers!), and organizing them by month with the most recent month on top, I noticed something. All of my magazines from Traditional Home, Veranda, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, and Better Homes and Gardens to InStyle, Lucky, Allure, Ladies Home Journal and Health (this is just a sampling because like I said – slight addiction) had one thing in common: they all had some varying degree of reds, corals, pinks and purples on their title lines. Coincidence? Of course not.

So…Who are these color people that decide this stuff anyhow? They are part designers, part sociologists and part forecasters. They glean information from fashion runways, car manufacturers and the home goods industry. They visit showrooms, attend trade shows and scour magazines for trends. They consider what is happening culturally and how this impacts our collective mood as a nation. Then they take all of this information and translate it into the colors that you will be buying in the coming year. Fun right? So while you’re trying to decide where you are going to take your family on vacation next summer, they are deciding what will be the color of your bathing suits, towels and deck cushions.

Before we get too deep into our color discussion, let me say that I tend not to fall for too much of the whole color trend mumbo jumbo. For the most part I can tell you that like most of you; I like what I like and don’t like what I don’t like regardless of what some color forecaster says. However, there is no denying that if you like let’s say blue, the shades of blue that are available are different from year to year. And what colors you combine your blues with will vary also.

Can you guess what the “It” color is for 2011? You guessed it if you said some variation on pink. That’s right, you heard me. Pink. Well not just pink – Honeysuckle. It’s not just for your daughters’ nursery anymore. In fact, the attributes they give to this color are, according to Pantone, “Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing ‘everyday’ about it.” Sweet, but with punch. Just like my daughters.

Don’t be upset if your favorite color didn’t get chosen this year. Turquoise (2010s “It” color and also the “it” color of the late 90s), lighter blues, bright yellows, lime greens and oranges are still very much on trend. And if you don’t have any of those colors in your home, well we can discuss how to incorporate some of them in Part 2…
And don’t forget to leave me feedback, comments, pictures, etc.
Thanks for visiting my Head Space.

Fast & Inexpensive Kitchen Update – Focus on Cabinets

Having family and friends for the holidays and not too happy with the state of your kitchen? Here are some quick, easy and relatively inexpensive updates you can make to your cabinets to give it a fresh, new look.

1. The easiest change you can make by far is updating your cabinet hardware. Go drastic. Are your current knobs old fashioned and country? Try modern and funky. Don't have hardware? Just drill holes into your cabinet and add them. You'll be surprised what a difference this will instantly make.

2. Paint your cabinet doors – yes just the doors. It requires a little bit more time and effort (sanding and priming are essential steps), but the results can be dramatic. If your cabinets are in the otherwise good shape, painting them can boost their appeal instantly. The contrast with the rest of the cabinets can be striking. The opposite is also true – if you paint only the cabinets you can achieve a similar look.

3. A few other tricks to try with your doors – if they are paneled you can paint just the inside or outside of the panel. You can also remove the panel and add glass or chicken wire. If they are flat doors you can easily add a simple molding to give it a more finished look.

4. If you have the time and inclination, paint the entire cabinet. Pick a color that compliments the style and look of your home. Right now, anything goes. But light, creamy ivories are a good bet. They will instantly brighten your kitchen and will go in just about any style home. And feel free to use two colors – one on the upper cabinets and something complimentary with maybe more color or a deeper color on the bottom.

5. Remove upper cabinets altogether. Clear out all of you unnecessary kitchen items. You may find you need all of that storage. Removing upper cabinets can dramatically open up a kitchen. In some cases, you may be able to replace some of the cabinets with open shelving. You can display your dishes and glassware there – or even neatly stacked dry items. You can also hang pots and utensils on the wall – which makes it visually interesting and functional.

Make sure you remove the doors before painting. Wipe down, sand, clean and then prime cabinets and doors before painting. Make sure you use at least an eggshell or semi-gloss paint. Please arm yourself with good tools and do some research. Talk to experts – Lowes and Home Depot are great resources.

Good luck and enjoy the process! And post your comments and pictures too - would love to hear from you.

10 Tips for Holiday Decorating

Holidays are around the corner and there’s nothing like getting the house ready to put you in the holiday spirit. Every year I aim to get my house decorated by Thanksgiving. And while I try, it seems like it always takes me longer – I guess it doesn’t help that we have four Christmas trees. So this year, I’m planning on beginning my decorating a little earlier. That way I can enjoy the fruits of my labor a bit longer – and my daughters won’t mind it a bit I’m sure.  Here are some of my tips for Holiday decorating:

1. Start with a theme or style. My home is contemporary, so typically my holiday style leans to the contemporary too. I’ve done non-traditional jewel toned accessories, glass snowflakes, feathers and lights. Keeping this in mind I typically wrap all of my gifts in a variation on that theme. If your home is more traditional, you can have more traditional décor with candles and lots of fresh garland. If it’s farmhouse/cottage, get creative with found and crafty items. It makes shopping for décor easier and makes your space feel more professionally finished.

2. Let the olfactory sense know it’s the holidays too. Scented candles and potpourri near your entry and throughout the house will certainly aid in spreading that holiday cheer. Or better yet, bake cookies and pies. Then your taste buds can enjoy the holidays too!

3. Choose two or three colors for your holiday palette. Multiple color palettes can be too distracting. Try silver and purple, red, brown and gold, or blue and white. I will typically decide on the palette based on the paper and theme that I choose for the season.

4. Create an inexpensive family tradition that involves the kids. Purchase a ready-made wreath of greens then gather items to decorate it. Use pine cones, ribbons, paper snowflakes – any handmade or found object will do. In our family, we have different trees that fulfill different themes for each person. So every year each one of us gets to pick a new ornament to add to the tree that speaks to that theme – toys, angels, etc.

5. Colored lights can be costly if you change your color palette from year to year. Stick with white lights – they can be used with any color scheme in any style. And always add a touch of elegance.

6. Give your spaces a different look and feel for this time of year. Rearranging your furniture so the focal point is the tree. Create intimate conversation areas so guests can sit and chat without shouting across the room.

7. Start investing in a collection – something that can continue to grow through the years and can be passed on to the next generation. My husband’s mother passed down to us a beautiful nativity that her father had made. It’s always a treat to bring the nativity out every year because of the sentimentality of it.

8. Use lots of candles. Candlelight makes every space feel warmer and more inviting.

9. Don’t leave any public rooms out of the holiday celebration. Make sure that all your spaces – including kitchens and baths are seasonally decorated. Knick knacks, candles and towels can easily add a holiday touch to these rooms.

10. Less is not more during the holidays. If it’s bare – come up with a way to decorate it. I have tall, white columns in my house and every year I wrap them in gift wrap that compliments my décor. My houseplants get lights and ribbons and even some of my artwork receives special attention. Be creative and have fun. That’s what the holidays are all about!

No Time To Decorate

The summer flew by. Schools are back in session and the leaves have started to fall off the trees. 


Every year I think that as soon as my girls are back in school that I can get back to what I need to do around the house and with my business. I seem to always make that mistake. I forget how many additional activities and items get put into the schedule... Brownies, art, swimming, homework, play dates, school meetings, business meetings - the list goes on. My girls are busy and my husband is as well - and they keep me busy. 


That is often what I hear from my clients - they simply don't have the time to focus on decorating. Of course I can totally appreciate that sentiment. And it makes me think about how I decorate my own home. I wish that I could spend the same amount of time contemplating my house as I do others. But unless I start making appointments with myself (hmm, there might be something to that) I simply can't. So how do I manage to decorate my own home? In small blocks of time - fits and starts. 


Sometimes I ponder something that I don't like for a while until something inspires me to change it. I see something on a shopping trip or even in my own home - something that will update and liven the space. Maybe some new pillows, new artwork or simply moving things around - rearranging things will bring new life to a room. While not drastic changes, they change the mood of the space or make it feel more cohesive and finished. 


Example #1 - My husband, in his attempts at style, built our home and made some long-lasting decisions. One such decision was building in a huge, over-sized mirror in the living room. For months and months I looked at the mirror and could think of nothing more than just taking it down - it was too over-scale, and oddly shaped and positioned in the wall. Fixing the wall and repainting it would cost more than my husband would want to spend (budget is always a major concern for my fiscally-minded husband, but that's for another blog), plus he put the mirror there and liked it. So what could I do? Finally, I realized that if I embraced the mirror and strategically hung some artwork over it I would be able to scale it down in a way that would make it seem purposeful. Maybe not the perfect solution, but still interesting. And instead of looking odd, it looked like a way to accent a piece of art. At some point I'll take it down, but the mirror has a stay of execution - for now.


Sometimes, if I'm very lucky, something happens that forces the change.


Example #2 - Again, my husband installed white carpet in our Living and Dining Rooms. Which I'm sure looked beautiful when first installed. But we are in the days of hardwood flooring. It's easier to maintain and clean, and frankly more attractive. So one night we hosted a large event at our home. The caterer spilled the juice from a Roast Beef pan all over my white carpet in the Dining Room. Looks like a murder scene. Instead of getting upset, I am ecstatic - I finally get to replace that dated white carpet in the Living and Dining rooms with beautiful wide-plank hardwoods (it's so much more economical to do more than one space!) Boy did it make a difference in those spaces. It really gave them an updated, more sophisticated look. They look amazing.


So what have you learned from my experience? That decorating a home is a process. With patience, creativity and maybe a little help from your local, friendly decorator, you too will have spaces you will love!