Baby New Year & Father Time

Out with the old …

In with the new!

So the colors that were hot for 2010 would now be the “old” colors. What do you think of when you say “old color”? I think of dark, dingy, muted, gray, lifeless colors like the ones I have pictured here.

The so called old colors of 2010 are a far cry from dark and dingy. The colors that were a hit for 2010 were teal, turquoise, blue, all blues, soft, muted, coastal, sky, gray blue and did I mention blues? 

Apartment Therapy / House Beautiful

Nevertheless, they are and were last years colors. Who really knows what will be the “it” color or colors for 2011? I can tell you this, whatever colors YOU like will be the ones to focus on. It's as easy as pie, or flowers - anything at all! Let your imagination wander and have fun with color! Here are a few to consider.

Photographs by Mowie Kay

If you would like to bring in new, amazing color in your home for 2011, email me, Donna Frasca ~ A Color Specialist in Charlotte.

Picture Beautiful Color In Your Home for 2011

Designed by Donna Frasca

Start the new year with a designer color scheme for your home.

I'm Donna Frasca and I'm a Color Specialist in Charlotte.

I specialize in choosing color schemes for the large homes here in the south Charlotte area, particularly homes with open floor plans.

I've designed color for many of the homes in Marvin, Waxhaw, Ballantyne and Weddington subdivisions.

What paint brands do I recommend?

The perfect fit for south Charlotte in both color and quality are Sherwin Willaims, Benjamin Moore, Valspar and Behr.

If you would like to have color for your home for the new year, I invite you to email me so we can schedule a 

color consultation for you.

Happy New Year and I look forward to a colorful 2011.

How do I choose color for my home?

Designed by Donna Frasca

If you're having trouble deciding on where to put color in your home, take a look at my color shopping flyer for some suggestions.

Look to see what's in each department color group to use as a guide.

Green

My favorite color! It's a relaxing hue particularly the greens that have yellow undertones. Green obviously will be a great choice for any bedroom and will be perfect to de-stress you at the end of your day.

If you look closely at your upholstery and drapery, you'll probably see this universal hue in there as well which make it a great choice for the living room too. If you use the yellow/greens, it's also a warm, inviting and playful color for the bonus room. Great color choice to have where family members and children gather.

Strange looking pillow but I like the color from Modenus

Blue

Water and sky. Two elements that you would love to be represented in your bathroom. The right shade here will turn any bathroom into a spa retreat with just a few coats of paint. How easy it that? Bring the blue hue into your master to coordinate the look.

Modenus

Gold

Another one of my faves! I know, I said green was my favorite too but I'm a “Color Girl” so I'm allowed to have several favorites. Now gold I always liked to put in the kitchen. It's a great color to start the day with. It's bright, cheerful and just a very accommodating color. Be careful when choosing this hue because it may clash with some flooring and cabinet’s stains. Also check your countertops to see if it's a good match to that as well!

The Tile Mural Store

Neutrals:

If you have a large home with an open floor plan, chances are your foyer goes right up to the the second story. This is a great place to put a neutral color. I usually bring the same color into the hallways both on the lower and upper floor. Having a neutral here only makes the color that will be in the other rooms stand out that much more. Remember: you can't enjoy beautiful color without having a neutral somewhere to balance it out.

Daltile

Accent

Aka - fun colors. Here's where you can show off the inner Interior Designer in you. Choose an accent color that you love (and of course it has to coordinate with the surrounding rooms) and have fun with it. Splash it on your fireplace accent wall; show it off on any columns in your home (I have burgundy on 6 columns in my house) or on the bottom half of a chair rail in your dining room.

Crate & Barrel

Try Something Cool in The Bedroom

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If you're a winter lovin' person and the snow scene is your scene then a cool palette is the one for you!

So you love cool blues, perhaps some gray and white for your bedroom. Great. Your husband is happy because 9/10 he loves the blue hues but how does the girl of the room feel about this man loving color? Is there a way to decorate your master bedroom in the cool hues without it being too manly or too cool? 

Here's some color suggestions to help you get the cool bedroom you BOTH want without it feeling too masculine or too chilly. We're talking a color compromise. You have to balance the blues (masculine) with some neutrals (universal) to warm it up. But how do you place the color. Where does it go?

Eddie Bauer

As a Color Specialist in Charlotte, I find it testing at times to be able to please both the husband and wife who share the same room yet have different colors in mind for the bedrooms. She likes it pink and frilly and he just likes blue. I love when the color scheme comes together and a compromise is achieved. After all, this is what marriage is about right?

I find it helpful to choose the bedding first. You can find a ton of cool collections from Eddie Bauer. It' seems their bedding collections are not gender specific - just great colors, patterns and of course thier quality is top notch.

First you have to find pillows, blankets, comforters or duvet sets that you like to help guide you through your color scheme. In this Snoflake Glen Collection you'll find various shades of blue (lights and darks) with an accent (navy) to complete the set. Once you've chosen your bedding, the rest is easy. You then can start pulling out colors from the bedding to put on your walls. For example;

This bed set has navy, light blue and neutrals (cream and white). Now this is where the challenge may come in. How do you know what colors to use and where to put them?

There are so many variations you can do with just these few colors we can go on and on with combos. 

Keep in mind when using the darkest color, in this scheme it's navy, it's usually the accent color. I like to highlight accents where the headboard is or the wall that has the most interest. 

The neutral can be the main wall color. You can always add artwork (like shown in the photo) to add more color, mirrors or any other wall decor you can think of to add color or dimension to your walls.

The lighter blue would look great on a tray ceiling. If you have a multi level tray ceiling, you can incorporate a bit of navy there as well.

Keep in mind that most master bedrooms also have master baths so you really need to bring one of these colors into there as well. I would probably use the lighter blue and use dark navy accents as in towels, area rugs and accessories.

The navy accent will cozy up this room. Adding light blue, gray or cream pillows to the bed will make a nice contrast against the dark wall. Make sure you also add enough texture to this room in the form of pillows, throw blankets and area rugs. 

Warning: his and her snuggies are NOT allowed!!

Un-trending Colors

In the Bible it says “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." Now this made me think in terms of color, as most things do. When two or more gather to talk about color, does that determine a trend?

I'm talking color “trends” today and how to un-trend the term. Let's talk about how to make color work for the every day person who needs color for their home.

So here we go, the dreaded “ T ” word - trend, as in color trend. The term “color trend” still doesn't sit well with me and here are the reasons why. 

To me and this is just my opinion, how is it possible for people to sit at a desk and guess, I mean predict the "trending" color 3-5 years from now. Sure you'll hear that they view politics, economics, social activities, political hoopla, blah, blah, blah. I just don't buy it. After all, what does turquoise (2010) 

Pantone

have to do with anything other than the fact that it resembles some of the most beautiful waters in the world which coincidently, most of us already love? No predicting there. And did you also notice when color trends are talked about they seem to mention just about every color under the rainbow? One is bound to "be the one".

Pantone

How about Pantone's "Honeysuckle"? Where did that come from? Well last year was a "blue" let's make it "pink" this year boy, girl - we're good. Maybe next year it will be green for those who can't decide if they like blue or pink. Just saying. 

Now Benjamin Moore chose another color which is "Vintage Wine". After reading the after math of that color, it's seems yet another color was chosen but most of us will use it  as an accent or in limited quantities because it's a color that we just won't put on our walls.

Benjamin Moore

Don't get me wrong now. I do like these colors, in small quantities and as a Color Specialist I know all the bells and whistles to use to make this work in a clients home but I just don't see how one color should represent the color direction that we're suppose to like for the year. It's like we're a herd of cows that are being pushed in one direction and are being forced to like and use a color that we just want to use "a little" of.

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Now let's talk color, REAL color that we can put in our homes not just use as accents or in limited quantities because it's too bright or too dark. Color that you and I would want to see in our homes and that would blend nicely with our decor so we can love it for years to come. 


How dreadful would it be to have painted a trendy color in your home, bought all the decor to match this color then tire of it 2 years down the road? Now I'm not saying that you won't tire of a classic color either but the classic colors are just more accommodating then trendy colors.


What do I mean by classic colors? To me, the classics are colors that have been used often and go well with most of our home furnishings. I'm talking greens, golds and some of the best home loving neutrals you'd want in your home - and they work!


GREENS

BLUES

YELLOWS

WARM 

NEUTRALS

colors are from Sherwin Williams

Accents - to give your room a boost in color, you can choose a color, even a trendy color, to add to one of these classics. It's your chance to have a little fun with color.

So to conclude, don't feel you have to use a trendy color - even a little bit if you don't like it. Classics, like anything else, have been around and been used for a long time, and for a reason! It's GOOD color and great color options for our home.

So is it this:

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or this:

Maria Killam

Colors to keep you warm

Pottery Barn

I love this color and I'm not a big fan of yellow. If you want this look in your room to go with the Pottery Barn bedding try
Reed Yellow by Pratt and Lambert paints.

Cold? As it should be for December. Here's a color post for you to warm you up just a bit - oh yea, and some great color advice to warm up any room in your home!

Pottery Barn

What's hotter than fire? Light up your life with these candles from Pottery Barn. It's a great visual too. While you're on their website, check out all the other cozy items they have from cashmere blankets to comfy bedding. 

Cork flooring

Cork! Another of of my favorite “must have's” in a home. It's soft, easy to install and comes in a ridiculous amount of colors and varieties. I have it in my parlor and just love it. It's a great alternative to your basic wood or engineered floor choices. Take a look at some. You're gonna like it!

Pottery Barn

Cashmere - say no more just wear it - T O A S T Y!!!!!!!!

Notice the colors of everything on this page? Yellow, cream, beige, red, pink (ok  -there's one blue but don't look at that one). These are the colors that you'll want to incorporate into your home to warm it up. Whether is an actual paint color or bedding, a blanket or even flooring, these are things you'll want to think about purchasing for your home to make it a cozy one. 

How to Combine Classic Colors & Color Trends

With all the chat about “Color Trends” lately, I thought it would be helpful to show you how you can can combine classic colors with some of Pantone's more trendy hues to develop your own designer color scheme.

What are Classic Colors? To me, classic colors are the hues that we put in our home that will blend well with most decors yet still add individuality to a room. It's the colors that will coordinate with most flooring, furniture stains and can be found in our upholstery fabrics and wallpapers. 

Don't get me wrong, the colors from Pantone are beautiful hues as stated from Lori Sawaya of Colorbudz  but are they colors that will dominate the color palette in our homes? Here Lori highlights Pantone's color trends from 2000 - to present.

These Pantone colors would be more so for accent colors, home accessories, fashion and most certainly used in moderation. Here's a great way to use both classic colors and color trends to complete the look in your home.

Let's say you have a Schumacher fabric (shown above) in your drapery. You can pull some “classic colors” (the ones you feel safe with) as your main color scheme but then choose a more vibrant color such as Chili Pepper from Pantone as an accent color. See how great combing classics colors and color trends can look?

Here's a very pretty and fairly neutral color palette but this time pulling colors from Schumacher wallpaper. In this case, you can almost use any of Pantone's colors as an accent depending on the look you want to achieve. I chose a softer color scheme with Sand Dollar as the accent. In this case, the accent is a lighter hue instead of a bright, bold choice.

If you choose a contemporary color palette and want to make more of a statement Pantone's Turquoise is an excellent option paired up with another Schumacher fabric.

When it comes to color, the possibilities are endless! When you're not sure of what colors to choose, look closely at your fabric or wallpaper to help guide you to a color scheme. Remember to pick the softer colors for your main or classic scheme and the bright, bolder color as accents. It's really a very easy and fool proof way to develop a designer color scheme for your home. 

Donna Frasca, Color Specialist

www.DecoratingbyDonna.com

A Color Specialist in Charlotte

Tickled Pink With Pantone's Color of The Year

Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

It's bold. It's bright and it's fearless … it's Honeysuckle, Pantone Color of the Year for 2011. Let's see what this color is all about.

“Pink” is not just for girls anymore. It's so much more than just a color it's become a symbol. From saying “in the pink” to indicate very good health and spirits, to “hunting pink” which oddly enough is red and of course it's most natorious representation is for Breast Cancer Awareness, a very universal issue.

Fahsion

Pink can be seen in both men and women's fashions from clothing to shoes. The obvious is  noticed of course in makeup; lipstick, nail polish, hair color and jewelry.

NFL • Steelers

It's interesting to see pink pop up in unexpected places such as in the sporting world. It's a great way to introduce women into a very typical men's world. Here you have a Ruger gun in various shades of pink. Great marketing to “pretty up” a male dominated sport.

in unexpected places

How are we going to use Honeysuckle in our homes? Well the obvious is in paint color. Other options are to use it as the main wall color, accent or just in accessories such as pillows, area rugs, drapery, wallpaper or home decor. 

Kravet fabric

Capel Rugs

We all know this color will dominate in a girls room but keep in mind, if used in moderation Honeysuckle can tickle you pink in any room!

If you need help incorporating Honeysuckle into your home, contact me to schedule a color consultation.

“ Imagine ” Great Color In Your Home

Imagine there's no heaven,

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It's easy if you try

No hell below us,

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Above us only sky,

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Imagine all the people

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Living for today …

If you would like color for your home, imagine how some of these color schemes would look on your walls. From pastels, warm reds, cool blues or bright, vivid colors. Let me choose the RIGHT colors for you. Contact me today to schedule the colors of your dreams!