Think pink everyone!

Feeling blue in blue - the power of color

The other weekend we went to a festival in the city and a night out on the town with friends. I grabbed a pair of capris and a shirt and headed out. I threw a low heel in the car for later if we were to wind up at a fancier place that didn't require flip flops. Anyway, I was just uneasy all night - tugging at my shirt, fussing at myself, wondering why I felt so uncomfortable. It was by shirt! I usually don't wear blue but I thought it looked nice with the contrast of black capris and a silver necklace so I went for it. Big mistake!! Being the "color" person I am, the particular shade of blue that I was wearing (pictured above) was the culprit! How does a shirt make one feel so uncomfortable?? I didn't know what to do to get this blue off. Do I accidently on purpose spill my drink on myself and demand to go home? No, that wouldn't be fair to everyone else and the beer was way too good for that. Do I buy some friggy dig shirt down town and wear that? Where does one buy a friggy dig shirt at 9pm anyway? Long story short and many beers later, I got used to the blue shirt I was wearing or just got to the point that I didn't care anymore. The next day the shirt went in the good will bin and was never to be seen again. How does color have such an effect on how we feel? It's almost like a drug . . . .  strange.

Mums the word

Look at the color of this mum! The colors of fall always add such vibrance in the garden.  This is actually a perfect match to Sherwin Williams Cerise 6850 - it would make a great nail polish color too!  Photo by Donna Frasca

 . . .  where the best colors are created.

Kale, Kale the gangs all here!

You know it's fall when the kale's come out. I love the purple and smokey green color of this plant. It looks great in the fall garden and also as a decoration on your plate. I heard you can eat it but it's quite bitter. I think I'll just keep it as plate decor!  Photo by Donna Frasca

This was my little Pittsburgh house. It's from 1926 and tiny, tiny, tiny. It had amazing character though - stained glass windows, cherry wood throughout, pocket doors, leaded glass front door. As you can see, the LR was small and it was a challenge to place furniture just right. Of course I couldn't have furniture up again the wall like everyone else so I had to get creative to make it look just right! Behr's "Gold Buff" on the walls made this room so cozy - even one winter when it was -20˙

The Fence That Wasn't There Yet

by Donna Frasca

This is a acrylic painting that I did about 4 years ago. There's a really spooky story behind this beach scene. 

I was sitting behind my easel one day working a few paintings and decided I was done for the day. I had extra paint on my pallet and didn't want it to dry up so I just whipped up a beach. I love to do beach scenes since I'm from Long Island, NY so beautiful beaches are embedded in my mind. 


Anyway, I had most of the painting done, looked at it and decided it needed a fence somewhere. So I sat back in my chair and stared at the painting for a minute or two and a spooky thing happened. All of a sudden, I "saw" a fence appear on the canvas!!! I looked and looked at the painting and couldn't believe my eyes! I closed my eyes, you know, like they do in the movies and expect that when you open your eyes the "scary thing" will have gone away. No such luck. The fence was still there!!! All the hair on the back of my neck stood up! I saw the placement of the fence and the color of the fence so I quickly grabbed my pallet knife and threw the color on the canvas directly over the fence that wasn't there yet.

I haven't sold this painting, after all, how could I - it "spoke" to me. I don't know if I would have placed that old, rickety fence in that same place but what choice did I have. I wonder if this is how the Old Masters were inspired? By the way, does anyone want a painting?

Octobers Birthstone - Opal

Did you ever notice the colors in an opal? They could be soft pastels to vibrant colors like the ones here. Folklore going back to the 19th century says wearing opals brings you bad luck. Should we believe such ugly myths about such a beautiful stone?

In lieu of Oktoberfest, here is a picture of the hops garden at the Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh. . . . how I miss that place  :-(

The great thing about working for yourself is that you get to wear whatever you want to at work. The downside is it's hard to be professional with a client on the phone when you are wearing slippers like this!

I took this photo in natural light, without a flash so it wouldn't alter the colors. This "beach glass" color scheme is for my client in Wesley Chapel, NC that has a cottage style, open floor plan home. The second I walked into her home I already "saw" this color scheme in my head - I just had to find it in a paint deck. I call myself the "Shirley Maclaine" of color. Thanks Benjamin Moore for the awesome colors . . . can I call you Ben?

Sometimes less is more. Just a subtle hint of color 

is all a room may need. Here is Valspar's Coir - it really "riches" up this room.

I saw these cute puppies in Restoration Hardware. I couldn't resist.

I love the soft, muted colors of Restoration Hardware.

Look at this innovative way to used recycled gardens tools. This was found in a shop in uptown Charlotte. No great sales but tons of fun stuff to look at!

A nice vibrant Alchemy by Sherwin Williams - soooo beautiful! The rich gold/green tone in the paint makes the spice towel just pop. 

Awesome Testimonial !! Thank you Sarah!

“If you are contemplating painting your home and could use some help with the selection of your colors, I highly recommend Decorating by Donna! A color consultation is well worth the money – one wrong color choice could cost you the same amount as her consultation fee! I am so pleased with the color palette Donna chose for my house! She is a pleasure to work with…she will listen to your vision, guide you through choices and ultimately direct you to the perfect color for each room! The entire process was fun and simple! I trusted Donna 100% with the selections - now my home is painted, and it is amazing!!! I love every color we picked!!! Thank you Donna!

“ Sarah Szczodrowski, Broker/ REALTOR

I'm not the best photographer but you get the idea. This Sherwin Williams color Alchemy 6395 is just crazy gorgeous! I chose this color before anything was in the house, no furniture, no pictures, no bedding - nothing. So happens, the wall color can be seen in the prints on the wall - it's almost an exact match. Goose bump nice!

Sexy, sexy Bordeaux

 Just having a little fun in the parlor with Bordeaux style decor - but not too much fun!

Also, check out the beautiful cork flooring - it's the green way to go.

Keep your eyes open for color inspirations. Color schemes can be found anywhere.

This green, blue and red would be a great pallet for a kids room. Put the bucket in the room too!

Who said red and pick don't match?  Nature doesn't make mistakes.

Ok, maybe the duck billed platypus.

It's ok to be different

How's this for a fun lamp? It's ok to have one piece in a room that is, how should I say, a little different form the rest. It can be a great conversation piece!

Purple remains to be a popular color. If you are hesitant about which purple to use, try a safer lavender color scheme. You can choose just one wall with a darker shade of purple. A little is all you need!

I usually don't like adding silk flowers to nooks and crannies in my house - all they do is collect dust. But I think it works in this case. I have a small, vertical wine rack and it just looked so bare without anything on it. I went to Michael's Craft store and picked up some grape vines and wove them in and out of the rack.  I still have to dust way too much but it has an old world feel to it and I kinda like it!

What was once old is new again . . . .

This is just a glass cylinder I had in the house collecting dust somewhere - I think at one point a candle may have been in it. Sometimes you have to think creatively when decorating your home.

I placed this blue glass on my kitchen window sill and it became a whole new art form! The cobalt blue is so intense when the sun shines through it. It's also a nice compliment to the gold drapery that on on the bay as well.

Three Easy Steps to Get A Designer Color Scheme

1. Get a magazine. It can be Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, a garden book, a recipe book – any book that has color photography. 
2. Cut. There is beautiful photography in magazines – it has to be, they are trying to sell a product. If the picture isn’t appealing to the eye, the product won’t sell. This applies to everything. Ads for food items like Jello, Kraft Marconi and Cheese, coffee – they all have beautiful color photography. Even recipes. Look at how attractive the food looks in each photo. Look at the background. These photos are all made up of color. Start training your eyes to look at the “color” of an ad and not the product itself. You’ll be amazed at the beautiful color schemes that these photographs are composed of. 
3. Choose. Now that you have your magazine and the photograph that you like, take a sharpie marker and circle three colors that appeal to you. Once you have your three colors circled, go to the paint department in Lowe’s and match those three colors up to the Valspar color display. If you have some trouble picking those three colors, just show them to the Paint Associate and they will pull those colors for you. You now can paint any room or rooms in your home with a designer color scheme. 

This is a very simple process. There are millions of color schemes that are chosen for you in the form of photography. You don’ have to worry about matching the colors, or if they look good together because they already look good in the picture. The reason behind choosing three colors is so you have a few colors to work with. More then three and the process gets too confusing, less then three and the project becomes less interesting. If you have a home with an open floor plan, you now have three rooms that will look great together. Pretty easy way to paint – don’t you think?

Still need help? Visit my web at www.DecoratingbyDonna.com to make an appointment. Thanks!

Explosion for your eyes

Color shopping in Waxhaw, NC. This is an eye explosion of colors!

Hot hat

I was shopping at an antique store in Waxhaw, NC and this hat just jumped with color. Isn't it beautiful?

Morning Glory

Nothing like starting the morning with a little glory!

Does anyone have one of these? The day I bought mine, I wish I bought them all - one for each room. These lamps are made out of mined salt, hallowed out to allow room for a lightbulb inside. They are mined in Russia, central Europe and the Himalayas. I got mine from the Home Goods store in Ballantyne, NC.

These beauties make great night lights and even nicer mood lighting (wink wink) and it gets better! When the lamp warms up, apparently the salt causes the crystals to release negative ions  - but that's a good thing! I don't know too much about that but I believe it's healthy for you in a Feng Shui kind of way.