Color Buzz

Inspirational Books

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-23T10:00:00-05:00

By Michele Coppin

Children are not usually involved in home improvements. But here are a few books that will develop and celebrate children’s imagination and creativity so they can become brilliant DIY’ers when they grow up – or at least help them become expressive, happy, kind and well-balanced individuals. These books and their wonderful messages all share lovely illustrations and charming stories – great for bedtime.

One by Kathryn Otoshi

One is a beautiful book that illustrates colors, numbers and themes of acceptance and individuality.
In One, Blue is dreamy and sweet and generally happy with his color until hot-headed Red shows up. Red bullies everyone, including Green, Yellow, Purple, until one day a stranger arrives, Number 1. One is not afraid of Red and he puts an end to the bullying. He also gives Colors confidence to be all they can be. Through lovely, simple illustrations, this number/color book reminds us that it just takes “one” to make a difference and make everyone count.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

For everyone who has been afraid to express themselves, from children in art class to adults whose fear has shut down the imagination, The Dot reminds us to “make your mark” and see where it takes you.
With whim and humor, this simple but inspiring story recognizes the creativity in everyone and proves that imagination lies within us all.

And my all time favorite :

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

Le Petit Prince was first published in France in 1943 by aviator and author Antoine De Saint-Exupéry. It has become his most famous novella, translated into more than 180 languages and having sold more than 80 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books ever.

This book is a true work of art, a masterpiece of its genre. It tells the story of an unlikely friendship between an aviator whose plane has crashed and a little prince who has fallen to earth from his tiny planet, in the middle of the Saharan desert. Populated with odd characters and unexpected teachers, The Little Prince is a story about love, friendship, tolerance, acceptance, beauty and imagination.

Happy Reading!

Speaking of home improvement, are you giving a friend or loved one any home improvement gifts this holiday season? If so, send us your gift ideas! We’d love to learn from your creative DIY skills.

Design Dilemma: Letisha's Kitchen

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-22T14:55:41-05:00

Hi,

I painted my kitchen a Valspar shade of brown. I love the color but do not know the name. Now that it is on my walls, I don't know what to do with the new color. I like calm greens, golden shades, and elegant jewel tones in any range and would like to incorporate it with my new wall color. Help me enjoy my kitchen! I appreciate your help.

Letisha

Hi Letisha,

I’m not sure what brown you’re working with but here are some nice, soft, calming greens, golds and jewel tones to take a look at:

Greens

               Sage Morsel 5005-1C                  Tempered Sage 6006-5A


              Plum Passion 6007-5B             Martinique Dawn 6003-3B

Golds

            Belle Grove Buff 3006-10B               Prairie Dance 3006-10A

Carolina Inn Lobby Yellow           Carolina Inn                   Dry Leaf 3008-8A
            3006-6B               Crossroads Gold 3008-6A

Jewel Tones

             Terra Cotta Red 2004-3A                 Canton Purple 1003-7B


                Vintage Teal 5010-9                 Pacific Pleasure 5009-10

Let us know if these colors work with your brown. If you find out which brown it is, you can send that information over and we can narrow the list down. Happy Painting!

Best,

Ann

Seasonal Tree Colors

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-21T11:54:05-05:00

By Michèle Coppin

Time to trim the tree! This season, the holidays have been touched by a rainbow. Along with the traditional red and green, an array of elegant, whimsical and dramatic palettes have emerged.

Forests of ribbons, bows, birds, flags, flowers, feathers, candy, clouds, dolls – all combined in exquisite and unexpected explosions of color.

To decorate your dream tree, choose a theme close to your heart and then select your favorite colors. Mix and, Voila! There is no limit to the possibilities. Here are some beautiful specimens I have come across this season:

Seasonal landscapes of pink and purple are tinged in frosted shades of icing:

Romantic White trees with little violins dotted like musical notes seem to follow the pinks ribbon's melody:

Peacock and purple are very fashionable this season. The green pine needles offset the violet and mauve decorations with an air of luxury enhanced by the silver sparkle of tinsel.

This sophisticated white tree looks like glass against the colorful, patterned, folded paper origami with its cross-cultural accents:

Turquoise and ice, the elegance of glacial and watery blue hues:

This exotic flower tree combines climates and textures, and the softness and poetry of petals with the pristine glow of snow on a northern pine:

I even found a patriotic tree:

My favorite however is the "wish tree" decorated by second graders:

The best way to trim a tree is to gather friends and family, put on some Christmas music and serve hot mulled cider, which is delicious and easy to make:

Recipe for Hot Mulled Cider
1. Pour one gallon of fresh cider into a large pot on the stove
2. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
3. Add some whole cloves, All Spice, 3 cinnamon sticks
4. Boil, strain and serve
5. And for the adults, add a splash of spicy dark Rum

Color of the Week - Loyalty

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-21T11:37:38-05:00

Last week's Color of the Week, Loyalty is a clean, clear, mid-toned blue. The hint of lavender gives this color a touch of warmth, which is very appealing. Try it in a room that you want to expand; where you’d want to feel like you’re surrounded by blue sky. Pair it with a warm white like Honeymilk for the trim and Dewdrop on the ceiling. Accent with a punch of orange like Toasted Apricot. For a more modern approach, try it with Modest Silver or Filtered Shade.

Loyalty 4006-7C Honeymilk 7003-4 Dewdrop 4006-7A

Toasted Apricot 2006-3B Modest Silver 4002-1 Filtered Shade 4003-1B

Friday Project Series: Frosty Christmas Eve Luminaries

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-18T16:13:40-05:00

By Veronique Habermann

There is a growing Christmas Eve trend in my neighborhood surpasses my expectation each year. When it first began, only a few houses lined their property with luminaries on that special night. More recently, I have been surprised and enchanted to see the snowball effect it has created as more and more families participate each year.

Last year, in particular, it seems that I was able to drive back from my family Christmas dinner through a mile of uninterrupted light-bordered streets. It was magic. My little nephew was with me in the car and he looked awestruck looking out his window. I told him that it was Santa’s landing strip! I love the community spirit of this tradition, and I hope it is a trend that will be here to stay.

If you’d like to make luminaries this year, you will need:

- Brown paper lunch bags

- Tea light candles

- Rice or sand

- An exacto knife

- Leftover white paint (We use Valspar’s Dove White)

- A paint brush

- Water

- Pencil

- Templates (you can download HERE)

- A drop cloth

1. 2.

3. 4.

Paint each bag with the white paint and water. As you paint every side of the bag over the drop cloth, it creates unevenness, which is good—a very cool, frosty and organic look. It is a very quick process.

When the bags are dry, insert a piece of cardboard and draw a letter from a word you want to spell or a holiday shape (You can even use this template). Then carefully use exacto knife to cut out the shape.

Place a handful of rice or sand at bottom of bag.

Once the bag is upright, I like to roll top of bags to give them a little more body.

Insert a candle, line bags outside, wait for dawn and lit them up. You can reuse the same luminaries year after years.

Happy holidays and enjoy!

Retro Retreat

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-17T11:47:26-05:00

This is the second palette in our series of four color trends for 2010. Retro retreat is a totally livable collection of colors because they are both soft and complex. These colors will work with most home styles whether you have a traditional colonial or modern/contemporary. Many of the colors from this palette are pulled from the National Trust collection, so they might seem familiar. They have a warm brown base and are organic in nature. They are the latest configuration of hues people have used in their homes throughout time. The Emmy Award winning show “Mad Men” beautifully showcases these tones.

Coral Gable Biltmore La Fonda Sagebrush Cloudy Sunset

Mediterranean Carmel

Lyndhurst Shady Grove La Fonda Sante Fe Brown Nostalgia

We like to work with this palette to create a subdued background upon which we can start layering other textures, colors and objects. When I use this palette, I like to step back and think about the flow from room to room. Where do I want the deeper warm colors and where do I want to lighten it up a bit? Think of moving through the house as you would move through a beautiful garden. Where do you want excitement? Where do you want peace and rest? Then chose the colors accordingly. This particular palette can work throughout the home thanks to their shared warm base.

A dining room would look beautiful in Coral Gables Biltmore Mediterranean Caramel. You could use fabrics with caramels, golds, silvers and flecks of light teal aquas for an elegant effect.

A kitchen would look inviting with Lundhurst Shady Grove. This would look great with nickel or chrome plated appliances. This shade would also look great with some of the retro-looking appliances that come in some interesting colors. Try using a warm, milky off-white as a trim.

For a living room, Cloudy Sunset would look warm and embracing. Again, try bringing in some cool touches of silvers, grays and teals. A good all-over color to use throughout the house for trim is Lovely Bluff.

These are colors that you'll be able to live with for years to come.

Unusual Christmas Palettes

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-16T11:15:25-05:00

By Ann McGuire

If you want to decorate your house in holiday colors but don’t know which to choose, look no further! Whether you like traditional reds and greens or you are a bit more daring and want something different this year, we have the holiday palette for you.

Classic

Red 1009-2
Green Peppercorn 5005-4B
Jekyll Grand Dining Sea Mist 5005-3C

Romantic

Montpelier Red Velvet 1009-6
Cosmopolitan Olive 5008-2C
Olive Marinade 6007-5C

Cool and Modern

Savannah Red 1008-7B
Milestone 6007-1B
Jekyll Club Cherokee Tan 6008-2A

Pop

Very Berry 1002-1A
Lime Passion 6008-10C
Silver Leaf 4006-1A

Design Dilemma – Pairing Paint with Carpet

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-15T11:10:00-05:00

Hi!

I just installed wall to wall leopard carpet in my sunroom. What color can I paint the walls that will warm up this very bright room, keeping in mind that it is a very small space (11x15).

Thanks!

Kim

……………………

Hi Kim,

I understand you are looking to create a warm and cozy space. Without having the fabric of the sofa and the carpet, I can give you a few suggestions that you can see which works the best.

Here are three color choices:

Oregon Coast 6007-1C – This color casts off an olive/green shade.

Warm Buff – This color has beautiful golden tones.

Coral Gables Biltmore Mediterranean Caramel – This shade has a toasty feel.

These are all mid-toned colors. You don't seem to have a lot of wall space and lots of light, which is why I'm going in this direction. If you don’t want to go this deep, you might also want to look at the colors above them on the chip.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Ann

Color of the week: La Fonda Fireberry

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-14T11:08:29-05:00

Last week’s Color of the Week was La Fonda Fireberry. This festive color is a fiery red. Try this as an accent wall or go for the whole room, but give it some balance by bringing in some cool colors like Oatbran, Ivory Brown or Bleached Shadow.

La Fonda Fireberry 1010-1 Oatbran 6006-1B

Ivory Brown 6006-1C Bleached Shadow 4002-1C

The Colors of Hanukah

Ann McGuire — 2009-12-14T10:48:09-05:00

By Michele Coppin

Golds, silvers and blues are appearing in windows and on mantels in celebration of the Festival of Lights known as Hanukah.

Hanukah is the eight day Jewish holiday that commemorates the miracle of the burning oil. It is observed by lighting lights on the Menorah each of the eight nights.

It begins on the 25th day of Kislev which is typically in late November, December or early January. This year, Hanukah started on December 11th.

Traditional Hanukah colors are blue and white. These colors refer to the Jewish Flag and the Tallit, the blue and white prayer garment. Some say they also represent Air and Water.

Beautiful variations of these colors are popular, like soft grays or sparkling silvers in place of white.

Purples is sometimes used as an alternative to blue.

Gold, symbolizing the flame is also a traditional color this time of year. Hanukah ornaments are often enhanced with touches of gold.

Combining these colors is easy as they create naturally harmonious palettes.

Contrasting these colors certainly brightens up the season of the Festival of Lights.

HAPPY HANUKAH!