Paint
I like the idea of changing linens, pillows and flowers based on season. White palettes count. I want to debunk the thought that whites don't count as a palette. Different shades of white make a soothing living space and can enhance architectural details. If you enjoy a constantly changing environment, then white might be your color. Color can be brought in with flowers and seasonal changes on pillow fabrics.
Consider function. What will you be doing in the room you are working on? A palette can often be determined by function. Are you working on a child's room, nursery, playroom or breakfast room? Here is your chance to have some fun. Try color combinations that are cheery and whimsical, yet cohesive. You may not want this look all over your house, but it's OK to let loose in a room, especially if it suits the function.
Start with one great fabric. Have you ever stumbled upon that one great fabric that made you declare love right then and there? I have, and that fabric is now a great starting point for a whole room palette. Use it to select paint, rugs and art. The colors don't have to match, just complement one another.
Paint Sampling 101. If you want to start with paint, then prepare your space. Sample paint against a white backdrop, not against an existing color. Sample boards work great because you can move them around. Observe at different times of day, and always use two coats. Make sure to sample in the finish you will ultimately be using.
2. Cool blues and grays. This elegant dining room shimmers in shades of deep blue and gray. Generally, a darker hue on the ceiling will visually lower it, but cooler colors also have a tendency to make a wall or ceiling recede. I think this dark sapphire color makes the room feel more intimate and evokes the feeling of dining al fresco at night. A great trick for getting light to bounce throughout a dining room, which adds sparkle, is to give the walls a semigloss or high-gloss finish. Just be aware that the glossier the paint sheen, the more you will notice the texture — and any flaws — on your walls and ceilings.
Every paint company has a handful of blacks to choose from. Some are cooler, with hints of blue or green, while others are warmer and head toward brownish black. You can really see these subtle differences when you view the color chips side by side. Greenish and brownish blacks can sometimes look a bit murky to me, so I like to stick to blacks that have some blue or white in them. Black paint picks for dining rooms (from left to right): 1. Bravura 140-6, Mythic Paint 2. Black Magic D58-6, Olympic 3. Dark Engine DE6350, Dunn-Edwards 4. Black Mica A2009, Glidden
The myth: Blue is soothing. The truth: It depends on the shade. "There are shocking blues out there that wouldn't be very calming," says Williams. Robin's egg, pale turquoise and deep indigo will mellow a space out, and they're ideal when you want to set a relaxed mood. Still, Williams says, "blue definitely seems to be a trend for bedrooms, so there must be some merit to this myth."
modern paints stains and glazes by West Elm Add to ideabook by West Elm by West Elm Benjamin Moore Studio Finishes Chalkboard Paint, Black 307 - $16.95 » Chalkboard paint. Elegant and playful. modern paints stains and glazes by West Elm Add to ideabook by West Elm by West Elm Benjamin Moore Ben Paint, Black 2132-10 - $35.95 » A true black. As with all paints, test before using. Colors will read differently depending on the light in the room and the texture of the walls. paints stains and glazes by Sherwin-Williams Add to ideabook by Sherwin-Williams by Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black SW6258 Paint » Another true black, shown in a flat finish.
Pink on the walls looks very nice here. Find your signature paint color. Take an object in your signature color to a hardware store that does color matching and find the paint shade that matches your color. Paint a whole wall if you feel inspired to, but at least pick up a sample pot to take home and commit to painting something small — a flea market chair or set of picture frames. And don't forget to write down the name of the paint color for future reference!
Love the color of this wall. Decorating Color Do You Have a Signature Color? Here's How to Find and Use It You don't need a TV show or legendary brand to play style maven at home — you just need a color of your own Follow Laura Gaskill Houzz Contributor. You can also find me on Lolalina (http://www.lolalina.com/),... More » 27 Bookmark Like Email Embed Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog. From Tiffany blue and Hermès orange to Chanel's black and white, a long history of storied brands with signature colors exists. A signature hue can make a brand more memorable, but marketing aside, there are plenty of compelling reasons to home in on your own personal color. Here we'll explore what defines a signature color, how to find yours and what to do with it once you've got it. eclectic entry by Caitlin Wilson Add to ideabook by Caitlin Wilson by Caitlin Wilson What Is a Signature Color? Personal. A signature color at its heart is a hue that is associated with you. Friends are reminded of you when they see "your" color, and a home feels more authentically you when it is woven in. Sometimes it happens accidentally, but you can also intentionally cultivate a sig...
Gray-Violet Paint Picks These hues are elegant against an ebony-colored floor, such as Daltile's Timber Glen in Espresso. From left to right: Mulberry Shadow 4003-4A, from Valspar; Purple Moon KM3085-2, from Kelly-Moore; Windswept Solitude 011-5, from Mythic Paint; and Violet Verbena 445-5, from Pittsburgh Paint.
Great idea to open photo in Photoshop and get the color codes for hues within it. Cool khaki paint picks. These soft, subtle hues pick up the warm, rich shades in a walnut wood floor nicely. From left to right: Universal Khaki SW6150, from Sherwin-Williams; African Delta 159-4, from Mythic Paint; Pebble Stone 750D-4, from Behr; and Silver Fox 2108-50, from Benjamin Moore.
Here's another elegant bathroom. Because the palette is very restrained, the materials and their various textures stand out and shine.
Who wouldn't want to soak in this bath for hours? When you have a large space, interesting architectural elements and a nice view out the window, you don't need to go wild with color. This dark khaki offers drama without being distracting.
An easy way to select a soothing palette for your bedroom is to find a hue you like and then use various light and dark shades of it throughout the space. Keep in mind that when they're painted the same color, ceilings appear darker than walls. So paint the ceiling a lighter shade of the wall hue (or paint it white), to get an open and airy feel.
Paint your walls a nice off-white shade that's not too beige and not too gray, and you have the perfect backdrop for adding whatever additional color you want. Colorful bedding and accessories are easy to change, giving you flexibility. Dunn-Edwards Neutral Valley DE6119
Here is another example of a white room with white furnishings that utilizes just a hint of deeper brown and black to accent the starkness of the white. This classic color combination reads "clean but well-lived in." There is a reason it is a classic! Whether you are adding white to a room or subtracting color from a space, consider the benefits of white. The perfect "noncolor" for design elements and the perfect canvas for surprising color stories, white might just be the color you were looking for after all.
4. Accent intricate designs. Interesting architecture becomes a study in shapes when done in a white-on-white scheme. Instead of being busy, the designs appear more intricate and slide into one another when given coats of cleansing white.
When a space is outfitted in white head to toe, it might be boring without a twist. A quiet rug in muted tones is just the ticket to keep this space both calm and interesting.
White encases this room, but the orange in the bedding takes the look straight to modern with one little swipe of color.
White, white, white, white, white, stop — teal! White can lure you into complacency and then — bam — introduce color to shock you off your feet.
A bold, blue floor in one small section of a mudroom turns a normal room interesting and quirky.
2. Add contrast with bold accent colors. For a modern look, layer bright whites with tiny pops of color. Any color will work, but bright oranges, reds and yellows are especially vibrant.
1. Layer textures in a white scheme. A white-on-white theme gets added layers of texture from a variety of whites and creams. This nursery has level after level of deeper and creamier whites for a perfectly cozy space.
If you don't like the way the TTDs look from the inside, you can always recess part of the ceiling and then install multiple ones, so that they go fairly unnoticed. Tell us: If you could install a tubular daylighting device in one room of your house, which would it be?
TDD in a kitchen, combined with canned lights, makes the space warmer than the canned lights would alone. If multiple TDDs are installed in a space, reducing the use of electric lights, it also reduces the room's heat gain, says SolaDesign Systems, another maker of TDDs. This can save even more electricity and money by lessening the need for air conditioning.
Remodeling Green Building Lighting Tubular Daylighting Devices Bring In Natural Light More advanced and less pricey than traditional skylights, TDDs are the most modern way to let the light in Follow Lindsey M. Roberts I write about interior design and architecture, and take what I learn into... More » 34 Bookmark Like Email Embed Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog. Share: Natural light is one of a home's best assets. It can make you see better and feel better. It can decrease depression and improve your health. As the Greek philosopher Plato said, albeit in a different context, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." The newest, sleekest way to bring natural light into your home is with a tubular daylighting device — a narrow tube that unobtrusively shines daylight into dark rooms. Tubular daylighting devices (TDD) also reduce the number of fixtures you need in a room, thereby saving you electricity and money. Solatube International, which manufactures TDDs, also says that the tubes are time and cost efficient: A professional can install one in two hours, and they cos...
Get help figuring out a lighting plan. Due to all of these factors, it can really pay off to have a designer help you with a lighting plan. Someone with knowledge about the lighting options will be able to maxmize energy efficiency and help you get the color in the room just right. Fluorescent tubes are placed behind the mirrors in this room. Incandescent recessed lighting and LED accents make for an interesting mix.
Using natural light. We've spent a lot of time talking about artificial light, but controlling and monitoring the natural light a room gets is also critical to selecting the right colors. Large windows are expensive and require blinds or curtains for privacy. For diffusing light on a large scale, consider Kalwall panels. These fiberglass panels are gaining in popularity in residential projects and can flood a room with light without the glare. Of course, just as with any source of natural light, colors will look different throughout the day, so don't pick a color you love at 10 in the morning, only to find it looks drab and dreary when you come home from work.
Adjust bulb color with fixtures. If the color of light produced by a bulb isn't quite to your liking, you can tweak it by picking a fixture shade that changes the light, like this glass shade from Schoolhouse Electric. But know that an enclosed shade on a fixture that hangs upside down like this has limited bulb options. LED bulbs will not last as long if they're exposed to the heat buildup in an enclosed shade. CFLs don't like to hang upside down — they will work and still generally last longer than an incandescent, but you won't get the full predicted life out of them.
Hubert le Gall Polyedres Chandelier » This cool modern chandelier has exposed bulbs that would look great with some of the interesting-looking LED bulbs that are out there now. If your fixture is on a dimmer, keep in mind that while the color produced by the LED at full strength will match that of its equivalent incandescent, when dimmed the incandescent will get much warmer in tone, while the LED will just dim and the color will stay pretty consistent.
Use light to your advantage. The light source you choose affects how colors appear in a room, but so does the way you use the light. On this project, the gold leaf wall is washed with light from a bright LED strip. This combination gives off a warm glow. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the longest-lasting bulbs out there, and they cost the least to operate. They have a greater up-front cost, though. Don't be surprised to pay $20 for an LED. Though the lifetime savings are worth the investment, if you don't like the quality of the light, it's all for naught. Go to a lighting showroom where you can see different bulbs in action, or buy one and use it in the basement or garage if you don't like the color. If you like the yellowish light cast by a traditional incandescent, try the Philips Ambient LED. At 8 watts, it uses 80 percent less electricity than an incandescent 40-watt bulb.
To warm up a room's color: Look for a bulb with a temperature close to 2,700 Kelvin. Halogens are a good choice, but all types of bulbs are available in warmer ratings. To cool down a room's color: Look for a bulb with a temperature close to 4,000 Kelvin. Standard fluorescents will generally cool down a room, but check the numbers. To most accurately replicate natural daylight: Midday sunlight is around 5,000 to 6,000 Kelvin, but keep in mind that this is very cool light — contrary to what you might expect.
Don't trust paint chips! This is especially true with exteriors. "There are so many different materials used on exteriors; never trust a paint chip, because materials like stucco, brick, cedar shake shingles, wood siding or vinyl siding will all absorb the paint in different ways. You can't see this from paint chips, which are printed on paper," Kling explains. She recommends observing paint samples over several days, at different times of the day, with different weather conditions. "Never underestimate the power of the sun. The sun reflects the color from different materials in different ways that you can't see on a paint chip," she says. "An overcast day will show the true color on the exterior."
The right trim color will help create flow. "Typically, trim should be consistent throughout the home; the exceptions are special statement rooms, like a bedroom," May says.
"Lighting is key," Nolte says. "Paint two coats of large swatches, at least 2 feet by 2 feet, in a light corner and a dark corner, and look at them at different times of day, with the natural light and lit up at night. Also, move key pieces of furniture near the swatches to see how they look together."
Example palette: Use several different shades of soft blues and greens to give your bathroom the look and feel of a spa. Clockwise from top left (all from Benjamin Moore): Caribbean Cool, Crystal Springs and Paradise View, with zebra wood.
2. Skinny trim. Please don't settle for 3-inch baseboards and 2¼-inch casings. Trim has so much to offer and can really make a room special. Solution (shown): Think about different profiles and go for the larger sizes. Doing so will add a richness to your rooms that you didn't think was possible.
Gray and yellow are a winning pair. Gray's subtleness allows yellow to shine in all its cheerful glory. The crazier the combination of bright and colorful patterns in your upholstery or home accessories, the more welcome a gray background becomes as a way to counterbalance all the visual activity with cool simplicity.
Gray used in bathrooms with white wainscoting and white ceramic plumbing fixtures feels crisp and classy. It complements the natural grays in the floor tile as well as the silvery tones of the fanciful mirror and lighting.
The newest direction in traditional kitchens is to retain the revered traditional sillouettes and cabinet hardware, but mix things up a bit by painting cabinets gray (instead of the expected white) and using brass (instead of the expected brushed nickel). Don't you love this twist?
Another gray wall, this time in the living room, is a sophisticated backdrop for enlarged black-and-white family photos. The white sofa with white curtains keep the space casual and on the lighter side.
In the bedroom, soothing dark gray walls and bedding keep it simple and provide a cocoon-like space to relax and shut out the bright lights and loud noises of the world — at least temporarily.
I can't get enough of gray. Whatever shade, warm or cool, whatever mood I am in. Gray is still one of the hottest go-to shade for designers. As a background neutral, it goes with any color. As the dominant color, it's a great choice for layering shade upon shade upon shade. The opposite of depressing, as its name implies, it is urban and compelling. Let me show you why: contemporary dining room by Amoroso Design Add to ideabook by Amoroso Design by Amoroso Design Tone-on-tone grays in the dining room are sophisticated. The weathered wood credenza takes on a gray hue, and silver metallics in the sputnik light, display objects, and even painted chairs provide a monotone sparkle. Gray paint and wallpaper on the walls all work together for a uniform designer look.
8. Warm white. The use of whites with khaki undertones, along with natural materials create an organic feel in this dining room. These types of colors are very warm and welcoming. Paint pick: Natural Choice 7011 by Sherwin-Williams
7. Gray white. A crisp, grayish-white wall color will always make a sophisticated, museum-like backdrop for artwork and vivid accent hues.
6. Ivory white. Many people like the look of white cabinetry in the kitchen, but they don't want the space to appear too cold. In this case, look for a white that has a slight ivory undertone. You can also add warmth to your kitchen with wood flooring, and by using clear halogen lighting. Paint pick: Atrium White by Benjamin Moore
5. Antique white. For a more traditional space, antique whites work best because they provide a lived-in feel to a room. In dining areas, this shade of vanilla is a great choice because it's considered a 'delicious' color. Paint pick: Antique White 6119 by Sherwin-Williams
4. Snow white. A very classic way to treat wainscoting is to paint it with a glossy, snow white paint color. This look also works great in a more contemporary space, as shown here. The same tone of white is seen on both the furniture and wainscoting, which creates a harmonious look. Paint pick: Super White by Benjamin Moore
3. Soft white. Pairing white with black creates a very elegant, Art Deco feel. Even with so much contrast, this look is still a blank canvas for adding any other color. To lessen the drama, choose a slightly-softer white. In this space, you see how the wall color is a bit more toned down as compared to the crisp white trim and doors. Paint pick: Pure White 7005 by Sherwin-Williams
2. Cool white. In this space, the cool white walls perfectly match the white furniture and window treatments. This creates a serene, homogenous space that has very little contrast and/or distraction. Cool, pure whites work well in contemporary spaces because they provide a feeling of newness. Paint pick: Extra White 7006 by Sherwin-Williams
1. Creamy white. A white bedroom can be a very relaxing haven. For best results, use a few different tones of white and layer them in the space. In this bedroom, creamy white walls are combined with crisp white curtains and ivory colored bedding. This type of variation will prevent your space from looking too stark. Paint pick: Dover White 6385 by Sherwin-Williams
Subtle gray. A subtle gray tint is a nice alternative to white. Gray tints will provide a feeling of openness to small or windowless rooms. Paint Pick: Cascade White 2127-70 by Benjamin Moore
Blue gray. Grays with blue undertones are very cool and almost have a steel-like appearance to them. Bluish grays are a wonderful way to 'cool off' a south-facing room where the sun is constant throughout the day.
Medium gray. I don't know why, but gray and yellow seem to be made for each other. Many people are hesitant to use yellow but when put with gray, it just works. You can create a cheery space by using a soft mid-tone gray with vivid yellow accents. Paint Pick: North Star 6246 by Sherwin-Williams
If you happen to have a stunning view from your bedroom window, you can make it really stand out by cladding your bedroom in a complementary color — a hue opposite on the color wheel. Orangish-pink is a complement to greenish-blue, so this wall color frames and showcases the sea view perfectly. by Jennifer Ott Interior Design Jennifer Ott Interior Design Get a similar look with Peppermint Pink from Glidden.
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