January, 2012

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Pottery Barn’s Spring 2012 Colors

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Pottery Barn has announced their Spring/Summer 2012 color selections!:

mountain lane 488

Twenty-nine beautiful Benjamin Moore Aura colors:

powell buff hc-35

A couple of my favorite pretty blues:

Woodlawn blue

House Beautiful

blue bay marina 1655

A few great popular neutrals are included:

House Beautiful

huntington beige hc-21

hawthorne yellow hc-4

The colors are really amazing choices as usual!

kingsport gray hc-86

What do you think of the 2012 spring/summer list? To see more great photos of Pottery Barn rooms painted in Benjamin Moore paints click here.

If you need help selecting paint colors contact me today.

Sneak Peek Benjamin Moore’s Color Pulse 2013

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

“Where our physical spaces intersect with our desire for expression, we seek to balance the dynamics of everyday living with cultural, environmental and personal reflections through design and color. Color Pulse 2013, Benjamin Moore’s color forecast for 2013, explores these tenets and translates them into tomorrow’s color palettes.”*

Have you received the new Color Pulse 2013? Just released, it is filled with Benjamin Moore’s visionary colors for 2013. I find it so interesting how our history, future, trends, cultures and other significant influences are the basis on how these colors are chosen. I thought I would share with you a few color highlights from the 2013 forecast:

The main theme for 2013 is Intersection which is supported by four main influences: Flow, Cycle, Animate and Connect.

InterFlow : where color and textures of the past are reintroduced:

These colors reflect the past being reintroduced for comfort and familiarity.

InterCycle: To reuse and reinvent items that were once disposable. Colors included in this group are:

“Our eyes are opened to the vast new potential of seemingly useless objects.”*

InterAnimate: Escaping everyday with bold colors:

Peony 2079-30

InterConnect: “The matrix that is technology ever evolves into organic form.”*

I have only listed a small sample of the beautiful colors in the new Color Pulse 2013. You have to check them out!

Benjamin Moore’s Color Pulse is “The award-winning, internationally recognized color forecasting tool is highly anticipated each year by interior designers, decorators, architects, and others in the creative community.”*

If you would like to see all of the colors and are interested how these colors are chosen, click here to order.

You can read more about Color Pulse 2013 here in a special edition of Benjamin Moore’s Nuance.

Do you enjoy looking at the color forecasts? I think it is a great design tool when selecting colors today.

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

*Benjamin Moore Resource

Planning My New Home Office

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

I am finally going to get started on my office project. I have been putting it off for months!

Sometimes these projects seem so overwhelming that it’s hard to even think about where to begin! I think that is a main reason why people (myself included!) put off starting them! Where do you first start?

I will tell you what has been holding me back from starting, I can not choose a paint color for myself! Like many of you, when it comes to selecting paint colors for myself I am just confused because there are too many colors to choose from!

So I decided to take a step back and approach it from another way. Before I choose a paint color, what do I actually need for an office? A room:

And I have a desk I want to use:

Ok, it needs to be painted but look at how great the size is! It can look like this:

I want bookcases built on both sides of the windows with a window seat in between:

I also want to add a lot of color with artwork, bulletin boards and storage:

I have a library card storage cube like the one below that I want to use in the room:

I also would love a great chair where I can read:

Going back to paint colors, I know that I want to use a soft blue that will soften the walls but will also work with the “bolder” colors I love. The pictures above of the soft blue-green painted rooms are my favorite. A few perfect blues that would fit this description are Palladian Blue HC-144 or maybe Wyeth Blue HC-143. Or how about the beautiful Glass Slipper 1632 blue? Another soft blue I have wanted to try is Constellation AF-540.

Ben Moore Constellation AF-540

I am going to try two paint samples in the room. I really love the Constellation color and I also want to try Sheer Bliss CSP-545. It is a beautiful light blue with a little lavender in it. So pretty! I will let you know which color I choose after I test them at home.

Anyone else working on a home office? What colors have you used recently in your home that you just love? Any colors you have used that you wish you did not??

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

All above photos from pinterest.

Colors That Work Best With a Brick Fireplace

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Country Living

A reader wrote and asked me recently “Which wall colors work best with a brick fireplace?”

That is not a question I hear very often anymore. Most of the brick fireplaces you see now are painted over in white (which I love):

I can understand why people like the look of old brick. Like everything else today we are loving vintage and sustainable, I think the natural brick can have it’s own charm.

So what colors would I suggest for the walls when working with a stone fireplace? When you look at natural brick, do you see the white, cream, tan and soft gold in it?

Those are the colors I usually start with. I think the creamy ivories and tans work best:

I usually stay away from dark wall colors when choosing colors for a fireplace wall because I feel the dark brick and the dark wall color will just compete with each other.

I do like a soft sage green with the brick:

Country Living

Some soft yellows will work. What do you think of this yellow with brick below:

Country Living

I’m not loving it. I think a softer yellow would work better. Look how pretty paired with the gold ceiling:

These are some the best colors that I would suggest to use when working with a natural brick fireplace. Do you agree? Do you have any other color suggestions?

If you need help choosing the perfect paint color for your home, contact me today!