The Perfect Chair for A Color Specialist

How do you like this new arrival from Anthropologie?

At least you won't have to worry if it matches your walls. 

Chances are the color is already in there somewhere.

I like this! I think it's playful and a great color inspiration piece. I would put this Moroccan chair in a teens room, bonus room or it would be very perfect for my office!

www.DecoratingbyDonna.com

Updating the Colors of the 70's for Your Home

Remember the wallpaper?
Remember the funny looking clothes?
Remember the appliances?
and the hairstyles?

BUT … remember the BAD colors?

Of course you do! They've become a joke as we poke fun of Harvest Gold and Avocado Green, shag rugs, bad brown mustard colored suits for men, platform shoes and granny squares.

As a Color Specialist in Charlotte, it's my job to choose the best color palette for your home. With the 70's influence about to enter our homes, how are we going to take these colors - 

and turn them into something we can actually put into our homes?

Well that's easier said then done but luckily, with a palette like the one I'm going to show you, you'll have many options to choose from.

We should start to see a fashion trend moving towards the Bohemian/Safari flair which allows us to pull some very natural and likable colors into our home. As fashion gravitates towards cargo pants and A line skirts, let's approach color with a “back to nature” or “more comfortable” stance.

Banana Republic Utility Shirt

I would love to see these earthy, khaki, relaxed colors in our homes. They're muted like a desert landscape yet colorful like an African sky.

I can clearly see the center color for a foyer and one of the richer golds for a family room. Bringing in browns and greens for other rooms or accent colors will add depth and a cozy earthiness to our homes.

Since these colors are inspired by nature you can mix and match these to just about any room in the house with the common factor being “natural”.

One of my favorite perks of a “natural” color palette is the referral to animal prints for design and color. Yes, the hides still have it! My two choices are snake skin and of course everyone's favorite the leopard print.

Now think on a larger scale. If you don't like animal prints, just think “animal print colors” and you can achieve the same feel in your home.

The great thing about a color palette is that you can dress it up or tone it down depending on what your likes are. For instance. You can take this two hues and combine them with the snake skin, throw in some reflective accents and you have a very modern look.

Or go with natural tones for this earthy look:

So many colors and styles.

Let's choose the RIGHT one for you!

www.DecoratingbyDonna.com

4 Great Color Possibilities for Your Bedroom

Here's a great modern twist on gray and yellow. 

Keep the grays cool and tweak the yellow more so to a gold/green hue for a rich contrast.

Here it is again - the Honeysuckle influence.

Keep it bright, bold and lively - great for a kids room.

How about some royal colors?

Purple and gold and very rich and very royal.

Now this would be my favorite colorway. 

It's bold, bright and not your everyday color scheme.

Bedding from Linen-N-Things

What Color Mulch to Choose

Like anything else, mulch comes in various colors and choosing the right color of mulch for your home may be a challenge. 

Here's some pictures of a home and it's landscaping with various colors of mulch. I'm going to show you some Sherwin Williams exterior color ranges that will look great with these mulches.

Black mulch

Cool Neutrals 

Brown mulch

Warm Neutrals

Horizon Gold mulch

Blues

Light Brown mulch

Greens

credits for all photos

Sunset Red mulch

I don't really like this color mulch and I'll tell you why. To me, it's the first thing you see when you look at this house. Do you really think the mulch is the first thing you should notice at your home? The only time I would suggest this red mulch is if you had a brick home or a house with a dominant color. In that case, the house and mulch color would balance each other out. Keep in mind your door and shutter color also, not just the main color of your house. 

To make it extra challenging, you should also consider the color scheme of your garden when deciding on a mulch color. Is your garden mainly evergreens? White flowers? Purple? Red?

Try to tie in all these colors so your home looks like a work of art and not like a patchwork quilt. Take your time to decide. See what your neighbors have and note the mulch that you like. 

I know, so much to consider. If you need help with your color choices, contact me for a consultation. You can send me a photo of your home and yard so I can make some recommendations for you. Good luck!

When Black and White is Funny

Funny is to cause laughter or amusement; to be humorous. 

For the most part, my blog posts are about color. I enjoy writing in a conversational style but once in a while I like to have some fun. Today, I'm making fun of black and white.

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you'll notice there are two colors I rarely talk about; black and white. Why? Because black to me is lifeless and white I find very boring - HOWEVER - together they are beautiful when utilized correctly. But today, I'm making fun of black and white.

These shoes aren't good in any application.

Very funny!

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Some people would think this room is interesting but it would be a little unsettling to me - funny.

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This room is definitely where nightmares happen - not funny.

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Sure, this purse is cute and I can see a little girl wearing it but today, it's funny!

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The pattern is neat but not as a hat .

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This would be rough waking up to the first thing in the morning. Can you imagine if you had vertigo?

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Just no.

Flashbacks of Rocky Horror.

This is actually very cool. Gloss and matte black nails. I could never pull this look off but I like it.

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Purple saved the day! Love this.

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Zzzzzzz. Can you say  hospital? Zzzzzzzz


So what are your thoughts about black and white?

 Love black?
Love white?
Love them together?

Tell me.

Colors For Your Senses

It's seems when time's get a bit upsetting and most definitely challenging in the world, the brighter I need to be. I wear brighter colors, I tend to use brighter colors and I'm just more attracted to them. 

At a recent Pantone webinar, they said that is one of the reasons they choose Honeysuckle. Not because it was such a great color but for what it represents and I agree with that. It's an optimistic, feel good color.

So for now, I'm loving these bright, fresh, clean, classy and any other beautiful adjective I can think of to describe these delicious hues.

They are great for both fashion and color possibilities in the home. Of course the brighter colors will be accents but definitely try these spirt lifting hues somewhere in your home.

And use some soft blues, grays and lavenders to sooth your spirits too. Think of lavender. It's the sought after plant for your senses, both for aromatherapy and vision. It's pretty!

Lavender is actually in the mint family. Two great smelling  plants.

Thanks to Osbone and Little for these very colorful photographs. I wish our computer would have scratch and sniff some day. I can almost smell that mint just looking at it.

Enjoy these beauties in your home or in your wardrobe. 

It's so much more than just great color.

Master Bedroom Colors to Please Both Him and Her

Like the look?

Here's your inspiration photo for your new master bedroom and master bath. To capture the soft, restful color palette try using these colors by Sherwin Williams:

A. Rice Paddy • for all the main walls

B. Jubilee • for the accent wall by the headboard

C. Dried Thyme • for the tray ceiling with color A.

Now for a coordinating bathroom try these two colors:

A. Brassy

B. Rice Paddy

Depending on the light you have in your bathroom, you can use “Brassy” as the main color with “Rice Paddy” on the ceiling (you'll need a high ceiling for this look) I like to keep master baths cozy therefore using “Brassy” as the dominant color.

Bathroom small? Use “Rice Paddy” on all the walls, ceiling too! Or you can mix and match these two colors to your liking.

Keep the towels earthy and simple

Warm brushed nickel accents

Touch of beach glass blue for interest

No shaggy bathroom rugs or toilet seat covers please. Think about using a good quality area rug.

Fabric shower curtain with a white, nylon liner (no weighted plastic liners)

What I like best about this particular color scheme is that it's not too feminine or not too masculine. It's a great Mr. and Mrs. color palette. Actually that is an important factor. When I'm at a color consultation I always ask if there is a Mr. in the house. Most of the times there is but sometimes there isn't and at that point different colors can be suggested if there is just one person to consider.

So here's a great Mr. and Mrs. color scheme for your master bedroom and bath, it's enough to get you started at least. Not sure of the colors? I recommend using those sample boards and test the colors out first because even though these are great colors they may not look good in the lighting in your room.

Summarizing Pantone's Trends for 2012

Blues of all kinds …

Cork … one of my favorite applications for flooring.

Metallics …

A little Jackson Pollock fun with splattering …

Pantone really had an inspirational webinar today. So many colors and textures. From sparkle to simplicity, whimsical to earthy, imaginative to modern. I can see how these trends may play into the fashion world but how will they enter into our homes? I saw some amazing color palettes. Can't wait to see.

Spring Inspirations for 2011

As I was going through my closet the other day, I was thinking, what if I were to buy a whole new Spring wardrobe, what would it look like? These colors came to mind for fashion but would these be colors to put in our home?

I've used all these colors in consultations before, even Center Stage and Cyclamen for girl's rooms. 

How do you like these colors? 

Just for fashion? 

If you used them in your home, how 

and where would you put these colors?

Color + Food = Delicious

When looking to choose color for your home, look at food for inspiration. You can choose an entire color palette for your home this way.

Look at the colors of toast. They are basically all earth tones and from your foyer color right through to your living room, this will be one smooth transition of color.

Need color for a child's room? Color it “sushi”. Go a head and mix and match those colors for the perfect color combination any girl would love.

How To Choose Color For A Kid's Room

You know what the best thing about choosing a color scheme from a painting is? ALL the colors will look great together no matter which ones you choose.

In any order … any combination.

Remember, if you like the painting and the colors look great in the painting, they'll look great on your walls too!

Don't forget to hang your inspiration piece on the wall when your done. At least you know it'll match!