Why do I love Crate & Barrel?

Let me count the ways!! 

1. Beautiful Reds

2. Warm Golds

3. Ethnic Colors

4. Warm Hues

5. Gourd - ous Hues

6. Cool Hues

7. Just Perfect Hues

My Color Finds at High Point 2011

Grab a drink and have a seat. It's going to be a long post about my color finds at High Point this year. Most were great, some were very predictable, expected and some were a bit trendy. 

Here's a few that caught my eye for one reason or another. 

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Before I left for High Point, I did a quick facebook post on what the color finds may be this year. You can see the colors in this graphic (click on the link to read more) that I personally would have loved to see in one form or another but did I? Come take a read and I'll show you what I found.

This was my first find as my color eye was scouring the showrooms. These gorgeous pillows were a Dwell Studio find - and I want them! 

What's so great about these pillows? To start, the colors are perfect. You basically have a “blue” and “orange” but with a innovative flair, not the typical blue/orange that flooded the market. The quality of this pillow was top notch and of course I love anything with birds on it - mostly. 

As we get into a more contemporary flair, here you see the start of the typical contemps but brown is added instead of bright, bold hues we would normally see associated with a contemporary theme. Love the sharp edges and geometric lines as this style should have.

Well, here you have the very orange and blue color scheme. I knew orange would be the feature and I posted about this a very long time ago, but I would have loved to have seen orange paired with green instead of blue. Read the post.

Since blue, and it's so many hues of blue, has been so very popular, it's only natural that  “orange” would be it's sidekick. However, I know we're in the design industry and these colors may be an old hat to some of us but does it have to be so obvious? I would rather see the blue/orange combo that was shown in the bird pillows - it's just not so typical. I guess it's good to have all ranges of blue orange for variety.

Global Views

The very expected orange but I do love it in the spicy range - again - this was one of my pics for a favorite hue to have a while back. I'm glad to see it available but really want to see it paired with other  colors other than just blue.  The spicier the better, but stay away from your blue friend!

Here's where lighting comes into play from the Go Home showroom. These re-inspired designs really don't have that much color - earth tones at most - but look how the right lighting and design can transform a showroom. The mood and effects from the shade cutouts are unique. Materials are natural or simple with a lot of texture for light to play off of. Go Home was one (and there were just a few) of my favorite showrooms.

The visuals and how light bounces off 

objects in the Go Home showroom were impressive.

Very classy, very rich, very appealing.

Throw one more color in this scheme, perhaps the rug color to brighten it up a bit.

… fun … playful … great colors!

Transforming something ordinary into something playful. I'm not a big fan of describing decor as “fun” but this really is! I think it's clever and can be painted any color to suit any decor. Don't drink? It would make a great house for the kids to play with or even some kind knick knack display. Let your imagination run free!

As I mentioned early about the ordinary display of blue and orange, there are other color duos that you usually see together as well. For example, brown. Brown is most commonly seen with blue or green - so very dated and I cringe every time I see it in the store still! 

Anyway, brown is just a good staple color but it gets even better when combined with unusual colors such as this very rich venetian gold. If anyone has been following my Chocolate Lovers' Series you'll know that I'm pairing up brown with some “not so typical” colors. So instead of brown/blue and brown/green you'll see brown/gold, salmon, mint or white.

From my Chocolate Lovers' Series

These are like colors you can eat! I see butterscotch, chocolate and milkshakes. When I see color that reminds me of something that good -  I'd say that was a nailed color scheme, at least for me.

The bedding color is great but I really love the wall color. I wonder what it is? I thinks it's very fresh and sexy.  Now THAT's good color.

Do kids like any other colors besides these? It's like boys like blue and girls like pink. Although beautiful, these colors are soooooooo very typical of what the kids are choosing for color. I know because I have been mixing and working with them since I worked mixing colors for Lowes and other companies back, back in the day. 

I can close my eyes, walk into a kids' room and bet that you'll see bright pink, green or purple in the room somewhere. Come look at some of my color suggestion at HOUZZ and see some other color options - and they can be mixed and matched. I was greatly disappointed when I saw this color combo in a Market that should be cutting edge. This was a little too Kmart for me.

There were a few showrooms of rustic decor which is what I love. It's just so cozy and comfortable and I just love the earthy color palettes. 

I only got to visit two showrooms before I had to run along, one was Pure Country Rustic DecorAntler Worx Inc. Someday I'll have my cabin in the North Carolina mountains but for now, I can enjoy them here.

Although cabin colors can really be a bit too earthy, I like to keep the palette warm. However, one component about cabin decor is that there is a lot of wood to consider. Dark wood? Warm? Yellow? So before you decide on a color palette for this decor, keep in the wood stain as a dominant color force for your palette. Having said that, these colors would be just fine but I think I'd throw in one dark accent color such as a dark green for just a little pizazz.

Here we see the blue again but the color that I'm spotting is that fabulous green. I would really have loved to see that and a spicy orange be the main focus instead of the blue. Maybe next year - if we ever tire of blue! Love the center color - so different. I even like the way it looks next to the green.

Soft and romantic - love this.

Really? This furniture is not to practical but I really love that rug! Look at the colors then look at the first graphic in this blog. Those are the EXACT colors I was hoping to find at High Point and unfortunately, found it under some very bizarre furniture - but I found it!

I feel like I'm on the Dancing With the Stars panel. This showroom is ok, pretty but way too safe in both color and design. It's a Home Goods look to me - which is nice - but this is High Point, with a stampede of the best of the best Designers and Buyers. 

When I saw this color in the showroom, I got so excited! Look at that pillow! Great design and fantastic color. As a matter of fact, a women was resting on the sofa and I practically threw her off so I could photograph it - sorry Miss whoever you are but I was on a color mission.

I expected to see purple, then again, I've been looking at purple since 2007.

So, as this quest for color comes to an end, what do you think? Did you see any of these color combos and which ones did you like? Hate? Surprised to see? 

To summarize my color finds, blue and orange were the hues most spotted. Not thrilled about it but expected to see it. Pretty couple but I don't think they'll have a long shelf life. We really need to get the greens in here and mellow that orange out for any color trend to stick.

The color that got me all goose pimply what this Alchemy. Get it more green, more gold or more orange and it's still good! This color will like greens, browns and deep reds which brings me to the color trio at the top of this blog.

I hope you enjoyed my color picks. Some were rough but in Interior Design, there is no “gray” for me. There's black and white, good and bad and the colors that fall in that “gray” area should not be in the caliber of High Point choices.

When I go to High Point I expect to be “wowed” with color and design and for the most part, I was. The textiles were 'out of my skin' amazing this season. I saw innovative displays and sometimes when it comes to product, sometimes less is more. 

Thanks for reading this short novel and PLEASE leave a comment so I know if others shared the same thoughts. Positive or negative, let me know what you saw.

So, who wants to meet me at High Point next Spring for my next color crusade?

Finally a Color Trend I LOVE!

Good for you Benjamin Moore for choosing Wythe Blue for your color of the year! I know just about every Designer is going to be posting the same but I just have to put my 2¢ in as well.

Wythe Blue HC-143

As a Color Specialist, I of course track all the “color trends” and for the most part, disagree with them. I was tickled pink when I saw that Wythe Blue was Color of The Year for 2012.

Charlotte just loving these Coastal Colors. 
Can you see the Wythe Blue trend here?

Just to recap a bit, I thought CMG was way off track with Honey Moon. That color has been around for a loooooooooooonnnnnnnnng time! Don't get me wrong, like I said in the blog post, I love gold and even have it on my home - a lot of it - and that was my point. Nothing new about that hue.

My living room 10 years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh.

I also had to protest Vintage Wine, another Benjamin Moore color. Sorry but it was just so Gothic and I read the reviews, it wasn't a welcomed hue. Again, I know this color has it's place and I can certainly make this very dark, dramatic color shine in any home but for the most part, it didn't capture the true trend of what color we want to see on our homes.

I can't speak for anyone else but this coastal blue has been trending strongly here in South Charlotte for a good two years now. My clients want it mainly in the Master Bedroom, Master Bath and occasionally the living room, depending on the decor.

This is a graphic of a typical trending color scheme that is popular here in South Charlotte. Can you see the similarity to Wythe Blue here? These are the colors that I see homeowners are gravitating towards.

So what's so great about Wythe Blue? 

• It's a relaxing color.
• Light can make it appear greener or bluer than it actually is.
• It makes a great color for a spa bathroom.
• Coordinates with a lot of the popular decors seen in stores now.
• Reminds us of robins eggs? 
• A little similar to Tiffany Blue?
• Looks great with brushed nickel accents.
• Stunning with black furniture.
• Can be contemporary with white decor.
• It's appealing to both men and women.
• Many, many colors can be matched up with this hue.
• It's a retro and a currant color.
• Works well in all types of lighting.

The list can really go on and on. I really like it and more importantly, my clients do to. I rate this color 5 out of 5 Purdy paint brushes. That's a great rating!

Color: Setting the Tone For Your Home

We've all heard of “Comfort Food” and the great feeling we get when we eat our favorite foods. It can be seafood, cake, lobster, steak - anything at all!

Now think again about your feelings when I say those foods this way: sexy oysters, rich chocolate, creamy icing, drippy butter, tender steak, succulent lobster - different feeling now right? I'd say!

The same thing goes for color. It's not just a green and brown color combo or pink and green, red and gray, it's more than that! Associate color with a “feeling” you have and get it in your home!

I've read on countless blogs about color and mood and how it makes you feel, to the point where it's  very irritating. However, we are talking about our homes here. Don't we want to feel good in our home? Feel relaxed at the end of a long, stressful day? Happy in the morning when we get our first cup of coffee in the kitchen? YES!  YES AND YES!

It's one thing to say or write about color and mood but seriously, getting those colors in your home - and it has to be the RIGHT colors, is not that easy.

What do you want your home to feel like?

DREAMY?

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SEXY?

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PEACEFUL?

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DRAMATIC?

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For instance, I've seen these colors in kitchens:

and this:

and this:

These are all beautiful colors but do they belong in the kitchen? Maybe you really want purple in your kitchen but were thinking along the lines of this lighter hue but chose the wrong tone.

Color can be tricky! There is so much to consider and it's not just pigment  - it's feelings. What feeling do you want in your home? Going one step further, how do you get that right tone in your home?

Transforming our homes into the perfect dwelling takes a lot of thought and design. You may need only 3 or 4 colors for your entire home or as many as 12 but they really have to be right on.

~ How I can help you ~

This is what I specialize in! Come contact me and we can talk about these color choices for your home. My office is located in Wesley Chapel, NC and as a Color Specialist in Charlotte, I choose color for most of the South Charlotte area from Ballantye, Blakeney, Marvin and Waxhaw.

How To Choose Color for A McMansion

6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, over $1,165,000 dollar home with almost 7,000 sq. feet - that's a lot of house!

Would you be able to choose color for this home?

Do you need color for a large home?

This home is actually in Providence Downs, in Waxhaw which is about 6 miles from my home. I've seen these McMansions up close and personal and they are incredible! 

Look at the detail in these homes. They have gorgeous wood flooring, huge windows, coffered ceilings, custom bookshelves and beautiful stone and granite surfaces.

Anyone would be very lucky to own one of these homes however, when it comes time to choose color for it what will you do? Choose one or two semi boring neutral colors for it? Will you choose a color for each room? Will you choose a beige, after all, how hard can choosing beige be? Hope you like band-aids and milk shakes because that is what you home will look like if you choose the wrong beige.

Here's a few thing to consider if you are going to choose color for you own McMansion. Let's look at these pictures and see what needs to considered.

FLOORING

Wood? Tile? Carpet? What color is your flooring? What color is the grout in the flooring? Does the home have the same flooring throughout the house? Do some of your floors have pink undertones mixed in with yellow undertones? These are all considerations.

LIGHTING FIXTURES

Do they have up lighting? Down lighting? Sconces? Accent lighting? What type of bulb do they have? What color are the bulbs? What color are the shades on the lighting fixtures? Do you have natural light? Do you have very little light?

OPEN FLOOR PLAN

Can you see up to 5 different rooms from standing on one place? Do the rooms flow into each other? Do you  know where to start and stop a color in a room?

STONE AND GRANITE

Stone and granite can contain many colors. Will you choose a color to match or to coordinate with your stone? Does the stone have cool or warm colors in it? 

APPLIANCES

What color are your appliances? Black? Stainless? White? Will you be getting new ones that will be different colors?

WOOD STAINS

What color is your kitchen cabinets? Do they match or coordinate with your flooring? With your furniture?

ARCHITECTURAL  FEATURES

Arches, columns, stairways, fireplaces, bookshelves, coffered ceilings, and accent walls. These are all areas where you can call out color. Will you know what color will look best featured here - or even if it should?

THEME ROOMS

Man caves, bonus rooms, playrooms and offices all require special color considerations. Will you know how dark to take a man cave or how to balance the “energetic colors” for the playroom?

THE SPA BATHROOM

HUGELY important here. Do you know which Sherwin Williams colors are considered the best coastal colors for a spa bathroom? Too blue and it'll look a like a baby's nursery too green and it'll be pukey. 

THE FOYER

It's the first and the last area you'll see in your home. Did you choose an ugly wrong color for this area? Does it look too pinkey? Dirty? Yellow? Bright? This is the area where you get to make the first impression, if you screw up get confused here, it will domino throughout the rest of your home.

Can you answer yes to any of these questions? To most of them? Did I just scare you? I really didn't mean to but I've seen this happen time and time again. People purchase these really expensive homes then skimp on hiring a Color Specialist. 

It's really hard work to choose color for this type of home. These large homes with open floor plans are actually my speciality but every now and then I get a McMansion that makes me scratch my head for the right color choices. It's a thinking process that I pretty much have down pat and really enjoy doing.

So if you are in South Charlotte, Waxhaw or even Providence Downs and would like help choosing color for your home, please contact me to set up a color consultation. Please hire a Color Specialist to do this project for you. I'm just a few miles away :-)