Restyling Home by Kelly

Candice Olson’s Five Favorite Neutrals

Written by Kelly on May 19th, 2012

Candice Olson

Beautiful. Natural. Modern. I have always been one of Candice Olson’s biggest design fans!

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I love her style and use of color. When Candace came out with her list of her five “Go To” Benjamin Moore colors, I could not wait to check them out. As soon as I found them, I pinned them to my pinterest color board. And there they sat! Then I heard someone comment on the colors yesterday and I realized I have not even taken a good look at them yet! Have you?

nimbus gray 2131-50, gray mirage 2142-50, pale oak OC-20, niveous OC-36, and cloud white OC-130

You can tell by her designs that she loves working with natural materials in her designs such as wood, stone, linen and wool.

A lot of the colors that she uses come from items that you see in nature. Her color list was chosen around colors such as stormy skies and misty, watery greens. All of these color choices are from Benjamin Moore.

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Nimbus Gray, a cool gray-blue which reminds Candace of stormy skies that can be used as dramatic color or serene:

Color Chats

Gray Mirage- 2142-50, a serene misty gray-green that Candace loves. Works well with many different colors. This color looks beautiful with your wood floors and trim:

Pale oak OC-20 is a beautiful natural beige color, that Candace likes to use with natural stone such as limestone and travertine. Pale oak is a very light neutral with a slight blush (pink/red) undertone:

Niveous OC-36 is a gorgeous cream hue. It is a warm neutral with yellow undertones that works well with natural elements:

Niveous OC 36

And last but not least- Cloud White OC-130.

Cloud White OC 130

Ms. Olson did comment on how she loved to work with Niveous for the walls with Cloud White on the ceiling and trim.

I love this:

beasley atlanta living room

I tried to find photos of her rooms that the color name was listed to share but I could not find any.

Love this!:

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Love them all!:

Aren’t all these rooms so gorgeous? I think I will take a closer look at her neutrals and maybe consider using them on my next project. What do you think of her go-to colors? Do you use any of them regularly (beside cloud white)?

All photos from www.candiceolson.com

If you need help choosing colors for your home, contact me today.

DIY Sunburst Mirror

Written by Kelly on May 14th, 2012

As you know, I have a slight passion for mirrors. I have written numerous blogs on decorating with mirrors here, here and here. I feel they are a major part of a room design:

Meg Braff

I found a starburst mirror that I loved at Ballards:

But the price tag was way more than I wanted to spend on a mirror ($349.00). I noticed a starburst mirror on Pinterest that was really pretty and it was a do-it-yourself project.

I love making things but I never want it to look like it was a DIY project. I thought this mirror from K Sarah Designs was really pretty and it sounded easy even for me!

I followed her directions with a few changes in materials and directions.

Materials:

* Wood shims (I used 2 different sizes: 4 packs of 42 count, 12″ long shims, and 11 packs of 14 count, 8″ long shims from Lowes)
* Wood glue (I used Elmer’s Wood Glue)
* Gorilla glue
* Round mirror (I used a 14″ diameter beveled mirror from Michaels)

* Thin plywood sheet for the backing. I used a 12” x 12” sheet from Michaels.

*Polycrylic Spray

* Heavy duty hanging hardware

Directions:

First, figure out how you want to lay the shims. I followed Kristen’s advice and went with groupings of 9 for the 12” shims and grouping of 7 for the 8” shims.

I did not want the grouping to be perfect- I liked the varied look to go with the finish of the shims which was irregular. Plus, it was so much easier! So I just laid out a piece and started gluing together:

For the last piece, I matched the ends with the first piece so they would all be the same size:

Each grouping makes up a starburst. Then I let them sit and dry for a couple hours:

For the next part of the project, I followed Kristen’s advice and made 15 large starburst groups and 15 of the smaller starbursts. I found the middle of my 12 x 12” plywood and started my pattern like this:

I laid out a pattern I liked then started gluing them to each other and to the plywood backing. You may need to add in an individual shim here or there if all the ray groupings don’t complete an entire starburst or you need to fill in a little space.

After I let it dry for a couple hours, I sprayed with a couple coats of Polycrylic to seal. If you want to paint your starburst, first spray with primer then spray paint with a couple coats of paint. Let that dry. Next, I glued the back of the mirror with Gorilla and wood glue in the middle of the starburst and weighed down overnight to set:

To attach the hanging hardware, I attached two screws to the plywood and secured heavy duty wire between them:

Then it is ready to hang up and enjoy!:

I really love the way it came out! The entire project was under $35.00 and only took a few hours to complete (plus drying time). It was fun too! Do you like making projects? It is not perfect but that’s why I love it more. Not bad for the first mirror I made!

If you need creative ideas in decorating for your home, contact me today!

Pink Is A Big Girl’s Color!

Written by Kelly on May 8th, 2012

Andrea Anthony Brooks

Remember a little while back when I wrote about finding a new color for my office here? I loved all the office photos from Pinterest that show the rooms in pretty light blues and greens. I decided Ben Moore Palladian Blue was my color choice until someone from California paints contacted me and asked if I would like to do a color project together!

California Paints

I love their Timeless Trends 2012-2013 color collection which I wrote about here:

Reminisce Coastline

Pop Tech Pheonix

Meanwhile, my friend Andrea Anthony Brooks had her home showcased in At Home in Arkansas and I just fell in love with it!:

Isn’t it beautiful?? Her rooms helped me break out of my box with all the blues in my home and I decided to work with the California Paints Pop Tech palette which includes a beautiful pink Art Deco:

And my accent color will be a deep Spanish blue (of course I have to have a blue!) called Jazz Age:

Thank you Andrea for your inspiration and helping me think out of my blue box. I love all of your color choices and how you brought your traditional décor into the mix to make it a colorful, inviting home with lots of depth and character! Just gorgeous my friend!!

This weekend I am going to follow my own advice and paint a poster board in the color Art Deco to see how it will look in my new office. I will let you know how I make out!

Have you thought of using pink in any of your rooms? Don’t you just love Andrea’s home?!

If you need help choosing colors for your home contact me today.

Color Me Coral

Written by Kelly on May 6th, 2012

Tobi Fairley

The photo above is where I think I first fell in love with the color coral. Coral is a beautiful color somewhere in between orange and red and it is a warm color that will brighten your space. The color coral also has the ability to work well with a variety of other hues.

houseofturquoise.com

Also referred to as salmon, peach, apricot and melon, coral can range from a vibrant reddish-pink to a soft terra cotta.

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I love that the color coral is soft enough that it does not take over the room:

apartment therapy

Or that a coral piece can be used as a statement in a room:

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What colors work well with coral? A better question is what color does not work with coral? Look how beautiful coral works with wedgewood blue:

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Coral works beautifully with neutrals:

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I love the color combination of coral and lilac:

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bhg

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I think a reason I did not even imagine using the color coral is because I thought for years of coral as just a bridesmaids dress color (remember how popular that was)? But now I see coral brightening our homes with it’s beautiful romantic hues. I am loving it!

houseofturquoise.com

Have you used coral in your home decorating lately? Don’t you love it’s freshness? Would you use it as a paint color on the walls or as an accessory?

If you need help finding the perfect colors for your home, contact me today.

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Restyling Home by Kelly

Sharing decorating advice, design inspiration, color selection help and hints & tips I've learned along the way.

Candice Olson’s Five Favorite Neutrals

DIY Sunburst Mirror

Pink Is A Big Girl’s Color!

Color Me Coral