Color is the Question

Last week I wrote a post about the overuse of the color gray.  If gray is not the answer, then I suppose color is the question.  The most common question I get regarding color is what color to paint the walls. The answer to that question is so dependent on the room you are considering and what is going on in the rest of the house.  Today I'd like to give you ideas of ways to add color if you already have a neutral backdrop.  Remember, the wall color is NOT the color scheme.  It can be part of a color scheme or it can be a compliment to the rest of the colors in the room. Here are a handful of ideas:

Colorful fabric is an obvious choice, even muted color.  

More colorful fabric, vibrant this time.  And colorful trim.

You may remember this colorful wallcovering from Dana Gibson with her matching trim on a white Roman shade.

Fresh flowers brighten any spot.

Colorful walls, tablecloth, artwork and draperies.  Notice how the adjacent wall space on the far left is another shade of blue!

This master bedrrom in shades of green and violet is still restful and inviting.

This trim from Brimar is able to withstand the elements, so your outdoor areas can be colorful, too!

The MOST colorful drapery hardware from Duralee.

Gorgeous fabrics and wallcoverings from Kim Parker.

Floral fabrics are everywhere! This one from Kravet Couture.

My all-time favorite fabric from Osborne and Little.

Pillows from Jaipur.

Pillow from Surya, when you want SOME color, but maybe not LOTS of color.

Colorful furniture, rugs and pillows in the EJ Victor showroom at High Point.

One fabric, Two rooms

If you want to unify two spaces, especially if they are side by side, try using one fabric for both, like we did here: 

fabric by Kasmir

Here is the Dining Room, before:

And after:

And a different view: 

                  

And here is the Living Room before:

And after:

Another view:

And finally, a close up of one of the drapery panels and the hardware:

Tuesday's Topics

After we dream a while,  

let's find a fabric just like this!  

O.K. You can spot it-- I mean Stop it, now

Stop seeing spots, you say?  We can't help ourselves . . .

J. Crew 

CPK Floral Designs 

CPK Floral Designs

Cindy provided gorgeous floral centerpieces for a recent Wine-Tasting Event at Eddie Merlot's in One Loudoun.   Spot the ribbon...

 J. Crew calf hair boot 

             Duralee spotted-yumminess ready for us to fashion into something for you. . .

This pillow!   

These ottomans?   

Okay,  we really will try to stop now. . .    

Gold!

Gold!!

From the sublime to the ridiculous!

 

The Finishing Touch

We added the finishing touch to this room.  A pillow made of Duralee fabric. 

Actually, two pillows did the trick.  This one is a bolster we call a Tootsie Roll.

It looks great on this extra long sectional!
Bolster fabric also by Duralee.

Small project - Big impact

Watch what happens when you choose gorgeous fabrics.

This was a very small project that we finished yesterday.  My client needed a finishing touch for her newly renovated basement.  It turns out all she needed were some pillows to tie two seating areas together.
She was befuddled by this mishmash of pillows on her leather sofa. (There, I said it: befuddled.)

An adjoining seating area of four chairs circling a round table looked stark.

We had one blue and brown pillow made from a graphic chenille from Clarke & Clarke and four pillows were created with a chic metallic printed velvet from Kravet. We tied them together using the same Kravet metallic beaded trim in a copper color.We chose copper to coordinate with the trim detail underneath the bar. (see the bar behind the sofa in the first photo) We used down pillow inserts.

 Kravet trim: T30638 - color 66

For the leather sofa we removed all the pillows and simply put two slate blue velvet pillows the client owned back on, topped by the blue/brown pillow. There was already so much symmetry going on in the space so we only used that one extra pillow.
We placed the four lumbar pillows on the white chairs. Voila!  Much more inviting!

Check out the hide rug under the coffee table.  Beautiful!

Pantone 2016 Color of the Year

This just in from Kravet:

I'm so used to having those little squares filled with color that at first I thought both of the "new" colors were very similar.  But now I'm thinking that Rose Quartz must be the pink color.  I don't have a Pantone color deck to verify this.
At the recent High Point home furnishings show I did see so much blue - this shade and much darker. There were many pinks, also, including a blush color like the pillow in the bottom center of the photo.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?  That this combination looks a LOT like the 80's??
These colors look a little fresher than the ones I am remembering - let's see how it plays out.
I will say that many of my clients are asking for blues - and I just finished a pink living room - so perhaps I work with all the cool kids who are ahead of the curve, trendwise!

Pillow Invasion!

Returned from High Point last week and still getting my photos organized. 
One thing is certain - one of the quickest and easiest ways to update a room is with new pillows! Everywhere I looked there were options - and not just from the usual vendors who have always included pillows. Here are a few to inspire you:

This collection is from Emdee.  Note the trend to pile a lot of pillows onto a sofa or loveseat.  It gives you that chance to add more color or texture. Love this velvet settee, by the way.

Global Views had not one, but two of these round ottomans - what do you call them? Conversation ottomans?  Roundabouts?  In any case I have been wanting one for several years. I love how this furniture piece can be upholstered in a neutral and then splash color all over it with pillows.

While the pillows on this sofa from Bliss Studio don't add any extra color, they are beautiful and add a touch of decadence.

More decadence!

Here is another photo of pillows that don't add any extra color but look so luxurious and inviting. These from Reborn Relics.

These pillows at Vanguard that matched the headboards were playful and fun.

Talk about high contrast! This youthful, feminine vignette shows part of the new Kate Spade collection from EJ Victor. I was lucky enough to hear the design director for Kate Spade Home at breakfast that morning and learn of the inspiration for this collection.

And while we are on the topic of Kate Spade, I travelled over to Jaipur to see the rugs they were offering as part of the new Kate Spade Home collection. While I was there I posed with my favorite cocktail from High Point in front of a collection of some colorful pillows they offer. Yummy!

Who Loves Pink?

Was so excited when this Instagram photo from Tony Baratta crossed my screen:

I am currently working on a project that we are calling A Study in Pink. It too is a living room and we are taking our palette of pinks and blues into the dining room, study and now kitchen! We are also adding a mix of silver and golds with splashes of those metallics on the mouldings and some furniture. I cannot wait to show you the finished design!
Here are some of the fabrics:

You can see, we are also mixing a lot of patterns.  This is going to be so bold!

Pillows

Finished a fun project and need to add a little color to a neutral sofa that we had just reupholstered.
First, the gold pillows were added but it wasn't quite enough, so we added the center pillow which looks like a mix of two fabrics, but is really the same fabric turned over to the reverse side.

The red side is the "face" of the fabric and is what we used for the draperies in this room.  This silk fabric is so cool because depending where you place the pattern it can look completely different.

And while we are on the subject of pillows, look how adding just one pillow to the center of the bed makes it look more complete.

 

Sofa and pillows - both fabrics by Duralee

Bed - pillow shams and bedspread - fabric by Vervain

Bed - Square pillow - fabric by Highland Court