So you think you like oysters?

Enough to put them on your walls? Well not literally but they would make a great color scheme. Gray and yellow are classic colors together or should I say 'oysters and lemons'. Shades of gray and the creamy color of the oysters topped with a squirt of lemon. Can you see this appetizer on your walls? For more Color Recipes, look at my main website. It's really a delicious way to paint!

Everything Peach

This is going to be a fun post for a Sunday morning. The idea for this post came to me when I went to a color consultation in Tega Cay, SC. As I drove through the beautiful town of Fort Mill, I passed by the dormant peach orchards of Springs Farm Peach Stand. As I stared at the colorless, naked branches of the peach trees, I fast forwarded to the summer when those trees will be in full bloom with peaches - then of course it brought me to the color peach and one step further to a blog post. Without any further adeiu, here it is, everything peach.

The style of this dress is dated but the colors are just peachy!

Ice cream is good in any color!

One of my favorites - coral - a close relative of peach

Peach roses. The softer side of their sidekick of red and yellow.

Last but not least, the peach. If you like these shades of peach, here are a few color suggestions for your walls.

Flattering Peach

Exciting Orange

Tango

Marigold

The open floor plans of Charlotte

Being a Color Specialist in Charlotte, I've been in dozens of homes that have this type of entrance way. The foyer is a large area that is part of both the first and the second floor of the home. Ideally, I like to choose a semi neutral color for this area only because it can be seen from just about any room in the house.

Open floor plans are almost like trees. The "trunk" of the house is usually the neutral part of the home and the "branches" are areas where you can have some fun with color. Like the saying goes - you can't have light without dark, you can't have black without white well you can't have color without a neutral to compare it too.

I have been in one home in the Ballantyne area that had vibrant colors in each room. One room was a bright gold, one was a deep red, one was cinnamon, blue and green. This is a typical example of what I call the "patchwork quilt" color scheme. Although the colors were nice, you couldn't appreciate them because they were all very strong colors. Not one stood out from the rest. 

Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is better. Call a Color Specialist to help you with your tree!!

Living in the Chimney's at Marvin, NC

Photo and color by Donna Frasca

Do you live at the Chimney's in Marvin, NC? If you do, chances are you'll have a bathroom that looks very similar to this one. A small bathroom on the first floor conveniently located by the living room. 

Since the bathroom can be seen from your living room (if you leave your door opened when unattended of course) you'll see the colors from both your living room and the bathroom. Ideally, these colors need to co-ordinate with each other. More then likely, you'll have an open floor plan.

When I designed the colors for this home, I was able to see up to 4 rooms standing in one area of the house. Keep in mind that all these colors need to match otherwise your home will look like a patchwork quilt. 

Since it's a small room, I went with a soft, muted color - Gray Cashmere. It's a warm gray with a slight green undertone. You'll have no trouble picking towels to match this color.

Guest room in Marvin, NC

QUICK TIP:

Even though it's a subtle change, it's definitely a good one.  When choosing colors for a room, you have to take into consideration ALL the decor of the room from wood color to hardware such as door knobs.

I chose Benjamin Moore / Silver Fox 2108-50 because of it's silver/gray undertone that picks up the silver in the lamp, door knob and the towel racks that are in the adjoining guest bath.

Remember, hardware such as seen in lamps and door knobs are colors you need to consider too!

What's on your coffee table?

Isn't a table top like a fingerprint? Every one is different. It's funny but this table looks old fashioned to me and I'm far from it. The lamp I bought at an estate sale in Pittsburgh for $15. It's really unique looking. It has a glass shade and gilding throughout. Other then replacing the wiring, all the other parts remain original. There is also a bowl of dried roses that my husband gave me one Valentine's day, two ceramic cupids and a palm. The palm is just visiting until the weather gets warmer - then it's out!

Lace table cloth and sheer curtains is the perfect addition to the theme room. Here are the rest of the accents that are in this room. Can you guess the theme?

These photos were from previous posts of mine. One day I'll have a shot of the entire room. I'm still looking for the right bar for this room. One that is dark wood and heavily carved. Guess it yet? Room style is............. Bordello. Isn't that fun?

ps - cat on sofa is optional

Outdoor Decor

Decorating Tip

I bought this cute little table and an outdoor area rug the other day at Garden Ridge in Charlotte. By the way - that store is dangerous!! You can easily drop a dime here in a blink. I thought I'd get a jump on decorating the outside of my home so when the warmer weather arrives, I'll be ready. My house is shades of gray so this table and area rug are the perfect fit. I wanted to use this flower for color -I love matching grays with lavender, throw in a black accent and you  have one classy color scheme. 

There is a mystery wind tunnel that zooms by the front of my house and can easily pick up anything that is not nailed down and send it flying. It already ripped 2 flag poles off the house! 

How to solve this problem? Zip ties. I took two zip ties and poked them through the bottom of the basket and hooked them under the table, through the slats. Easy. I wonder if they make zip ties strong enough for flag poles?

The Perfect Shade of Coral

I find it so ironic. I can choose an entire color scheme for a home here in Charlotte in just a little over an hour but when it comes to picking a color for myself … not so easy.

I've been searching for the perfect shade of coral nail polish for the longest time now. It has to be years! Silly isn't it? Well the other day I decided to put an end to this search and go out and find my coral nail polish. Does it even exist? I didn’t want to run to the mall and spend countless hours at the cosmetic counter. Although that would be fun, there are so many other things that I need to do and nail polish picking was not even on my top ten list.

(love the orange red color shown here)

I then put my thinking cap on and remembered stumbling across a Youtube video called “Views on Hues” with Kate Smith by Sensational Color. This video clip was about Mary Foley, a “bodacious woman that inspires women everywhere to live like their nail color”. This caught my eye for so many reasons. First of all, I haven’t heard the word “bodacious” in eons, which made me giggle. Secondly, here's a woman who somehow incorporated nail color into a thriving business for herself. I had to hear her story. 

I watched the clip and found out she was so much more then just a nail color Queen. The next progression was to check out her website and see what she had to say about nail color. Could this possibly be the person who can help me? I then “followed” her on Twitter and became “friends” on Facebook and let it at that – until now. I guess since the nice weather will be here before you know it, manicures and pedicures were on my mind and then the vicious cycle of finding the right shade of coral reared it’s ugly head again.

My morning started as usual with checking on all my social networks. When I reached Facebook, I had the idea to message Mary and ask her if she can recommend a shade of coral nail polish. I honestly didn’t think I would get a response. Mary is an Author, Speaker and Radio Show Co-Host in Richmond, Virginia. Myself, a Color Special in Charlotte, two very different worlds and I’m pretty sure she had no inkling who I was. So as I pressed the send button, I could only hope for response by the time summer arrived. Well just about a minute later I see I have a message from Mary Foley – too funny! Now I’m thinking Facebook is pretty amazing at this point. Need help with something? Go to Facebook, there are hundreds of “friends” out there actually willing to lend a hand. Anyway, the messaging went something like this:

Donna: Mary, can you recommend a beautiful coral nail polish?

Mary: No problem, Donna, happy to help if I can. Describe to me the “perfect coral”?

Now I’m saying to myself, “yea, now I can say a line or two about color and someone will actually relate to what I’m about to describe. I was psyched!

Donna: The perfect coral will be the right blend of an orange red. No blue tones and not too “orangey”. Being a Color Specialist makes picking out the perfect nail color for myself so difficult! (As my face was turning red for using the word “orangey” I hit the send button before I was able to think up another word).

Mary: LOL - shouldn't Color Specialists just love all colors? I particularly lean towards OPI and Essie nail polish because of the quality. And, both have their colors on their site. I suggest going to OPI and click on “Try It On” then click on “oranges”. Perhaps the one called “Mod-ern Girl” is a good match.

Also, go to Essie and scroll through their color palette. Their new “Tart Deco” might be good, or perhaps “Cantaloupe.”

Whatever you choose, do one thing for sure: Choose! More important than the color is to make a choice and live with it for a bit to see how you like it. It's a fun way for any gal to get just a little more comfortable with making and taking risks!

Gotta run, have a great day!

Cheers,

Mary

Donna: Thank you so much Mary! I love going to the pros for answers!

I was impressed. In a heartbeat, Mary recommended a color name, brand and website. I couldn't wait to go to the website and see my new nail color. It's going to be a great summer because I'll be wearing the “perfect shade of coral” on my nails. Now if I only had a lipstick to match. Anyone?

The Color of Gold

I love finding color in unusual places - like gold, Black Hills gold. Mined in Black Hills South Dakota, this jewelry is a also known as tri-color gold. Typically, you'll see it contain the pattern of gold leaves, flowers or grapevine accents. What makes this jewelry stand out from other gold is it's color - pink, green and yellow. So unusual and unique to it's demographics and it's also pretty cool that it's green and pink. These colors are difficult to capture on the color wheel so I encourage you to own one if you can to see it's true beauty - I do!

Do you live at the Chimney's in Marvin, NC?

Look at the color scheme your neighbor has. It's the popular color scheme of blue and it's complimentary color orange. Afraid of "orange"? Think again!

The main color here shown in the Master bedroom is Benjamin Moore's Bronze Tone. It's softer sidekick is Soft Pumpkin. With the right accessories and bedding to match, this bedroom is spicy hot!

The living room with a decorative ceiling is where you'll find some awesome blue's - again great colors by Benjamin Moore.

The Colors of Mardi Gras

Now this is candy for you eyes! Purple, pink, green, red, blue - it's a color candy store but what does it all mean? In a nutshell, purple is symbolic for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Mardi Gras, a carnival of colors, celebratory events and a festival of parades = some very cool colors!

Compliment with Color

Why do these pictures look pretty?

hint: Blue and Orange

hint: red and green

hint: purple and yellow

These pictures are objects taken right from nature. They look good because they consist of complimentary colors. They "compliment” each other. If you find these colors in nature, you can't go wrong. Try them in your home in different shades, tone and hues! Use the full color for an accent. Mix and match!

Let's Talk Tiger

February 14th, is the, year of the Tiger, a holiday in which the Chinese celebrate their new year.  Let's talk about the tiger print for a bit. We see it all over our stores from bedding, shoes, glass and just about on every novelty you can think of. I did a post back in January on the colors of the print - great color scheme, wild, natural and can be used in so many applications. If you combine the color scheme from the tiger print, with the actual print in your home - you'll have a gggrrreeeaaatttt look for your decor. Check out these colors to compliment the tiger in you!

Valspar

Apple Crisp

Roasted Sesame Seed 

Fall Leaf

La Fonda Spice

Parkika

Benjamin Moore

Soft Pumpkin 

Bronze Tone

Sherwin Williams

Mannered Gold

Restrained Gold

area rugs

shoes 

by Dolce and Gabbana

jewelry

home furnishings

and of course, swimwear

Solar Shades - protect your home furnishings from UV damage

Spring Window Fashions

Before you know it, springtime will be here and the long hot summer days to follow. Being 3 years new to the Charlotte area, I now know how important it is to have the proper window treatments in your home.

While living in New York and Pittsburgh, the sun wasn't really a big concern so my window treatments were more decorative then functional. Now that I've lived through a few summers here in the South, I've seen what unprotected windows can do to a hardwood floor. My living room is a nice 20 x 20 size and has four floor to ceiling windows. With hardwood floors and burgundy drapery, I know it is vital to have the proper window coverings to protect the floor from fading and my burgundy drapes from turning pink.

I bought Solar Shades for these windows and they are great! What's nice about these shades is that when rolled down, you are still able to see outside. When the sun comes blasting through the window, I roll down these shades and you can instantly feel the difference. Solar shades are designed to block up to 99% of the damaging UV rays that will fade your hardwood floors, carpeting, furniture and drapery.

They come in many colors and patterns and keep in mind if you don't like their contemporary look, you can dress up the window with additional drapery. These shades would not be a good choice alone for a bedroom where you would want more privacy but is a great choice for windows such as those in a large living room where you want to be able to enjoy the view while blocking the heat and UV from the sun. I give these shades ✭✭✭✭✭ out of 5 stars.

Media Room Setup

Home Theater Design Magazine

Other then the kitchen, the media room, aka home theater is probably the most loved room in the house - if you have one. What is a media room? It's usually the room where you can find the lung popping base from the surround sound system, a huge TV screen, an awesome stereo, from soup to nuts playstation or Wii setup and such as in my case, a few pieces of exercise equipment tucked away in a dark corner which has nothing to do with media but is really nice to hear your favorite tunes in surround when you're “working out”!

This is the room where you can have some decorating fun. It's usually painted in a dark color to give it that “I feel like I'm in a real movie theater” feeling.

Avon Green - Benjamin Moore

Red Rock Terra Cotta - Sherwin Williams

Arresting Auburn - Sherwin Williams

Your window treatment choices are very important in this type of room. Here you need a functional verses a decorative choice. Instead of having a 2" dark wood blind, although it would look nice, you'll need a treatment that will absorb the sound and bounce it back into the room. I would recommend a cellular shade for an under treatment. The “Northern Lights 3/8" double cell” by Bali would be perfect. It's a thick shade and will not allow any light to come into the room which may reflect off your TV screen. You can always add over treatments to dress up the window. You can use any drapery panels of your choice or if you want to keep in with the movie theater theme, use velvet drapery. I had a media room when I lived in Pittsburgh and although I didn't have cellular shades underneath, I did have dark blue velvet drapery panels on the windows. You can hear the difference from the velvet alone. It's sounded very cave like, not echoey and it made for an awesome sounding room!

What color is your favorite poem?

painting by Donna Frasca

I recently had a post on “How Do You Know When The Color Is Right” and one of the comments I received got me thinking.  Let me show you the post then I'll tell you more on what idea came across my mind. Here it is:

“ It's no question that colors have an influence of our mood and perception. As being synesthete I live a life in colors. Synesthesia means that I see colors when I see words and numbers.I transform this in paintings of names and birthdays.”


First of all, I had to look up to see what  “Synesthesia” was. Wow - words and numbers seen as colors? How cool is that? Or is it?


I've heard from many Designers, myself included, that we can't spend the day without seeing color schemes in everything we do from reading magazines to watching the President speak on TV. Is this a curse or a blessing? To me, it's hands down a blessing! What a way to spend the day surrounded by color, unless it's sensory overload which perhaps a person with Synesthesia has. I would like to spend just one day behind the eyes of such a person just to see what it is like and to see what words look like in color, which brings me to my idea.


If I were to read a poem, what color would it be? So here is goes. I'm going to write my favorite poem then post below each line, what color comes to my mind. See if you see the same!

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

(a warm woodsy yellow and bark brown)

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

(depressed to be alone)

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

(the new green of grass)

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

(comforting, warm, yet serene)

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

(the shades of grass)

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

(the earthy color of leaves)

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

(the colors of age)

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

(happiness, victory)