Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Rather than move to a new home, more and more people are investing in their current homes. The classic conundrum is whether to design with a neutral palette to make sure that when the client is ready to sell it won’t scare off potential buyers, or to design without thought to a future owner and just do what makes you happy.
I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy that it’s YOUR home NOW, so enjoy it while you live in it!
If a future homeowner doesn’t like your style, they can change it. Frankly, often the potential buyers don’t like the overly neutral spaces that are devoid of personality, and they’ll want to change it up when they move in anyway. Certainly it’s possible to go overboard and make a home so custom that it will be a challenge to find a buyer that fits it as well. But there is a lot of ground in between these extremes.
Products that are installed in a home tend to make people especially cautious. But injecting personality doesn’t have to overwhelm a space if there is a good balance established between pattern and solids.
For example, this is a bathroom shower that I worked on with Mercury Mosaics recently that achieves that balance well.
Here is the Before condition. They have since ripped out all the tile and tub (the previous tile installation was bad and the walls are falling apart behind it) and built a new shower in the same location.
We started with elevations in AutoCAD for each wall and surface in the shower to show the client how the tile would work around the existing glass block window.
But let’s be honest. With a shower as complex as this, it’s hard for most people to visualize how all these pieces would look put together.
So we created a special perspective rendering of the shower in SketchUp so we could show the client what the shower would look like from several angles.
Now isn’t that easier to understand?!
We even did a version with the glass walls and shower door so that they could see where the glass would be placed in relation to the tile design on the top of the knee wall.
Now comes the fun part where you see how pattern vs. solids, colors vs. neutrals plays out.
Here are some shots of the tiles laid out and ready for the tile installer to pick up. All the mosaics are mesh mounted for easy installation.
Here is the tile which will run over the top and down the front of the knee wall. The gap in the middle is where the two planes of the wall will meet, so they were about to add edge glazed tiles to the end of the top surface where they would be exposed.
Here are the three sections of Bubbles that will wrap around the main walls of the shower. Don’t you love that bold mix of colors that wind like a river through the riverbed of darker tiles?!
And a detail of the bullnose half Bubbles created for the ends of the walls to correspond to the bullnose edged field tiles that will surround the band.
Here is a shot of two pieces of cove base molding with edge glazing for the bottom front corner of the knee wall. This is the color of the main field tile in the shower. This is the level of detail required on a project like this to make it really work smoothly for everyone involved (especially the installer).
Excited to see the final installation shots? So are we! Once we get photos I’ll be sure to share with you.
Now the final question to mull over is: is this design bold enough in personality to make the homeowner thrilled without being so overdone that it would scare away potential buyers if they ever decide to sell? (But why would they want to sell with a bathroom like this?!)
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Tags: Bathroom, Bubbles, color palette, Mercury Mosaics, shower, white
Posted in Design & Home Living Tips | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Celerie Kemble is an rising star in the interior design community. Based in NYC but raised in Palm Beach, her mother is an interior designer as well, so she was exposed to great design from an early age. I had the chance to meet her a few years back at an event promoting a line of textiles she designed, and I even got a photo with her! Unfortunately, the person who took the photo gave the camera to her techie, who deleted my picture with Celerie (sadness!) But I’m sure I’ll get the chance to fix that in the future.
I finally got around to reading Celerie’s book “To Your Taste: Creating Modern Rooms with a Traditional Twist,” and while our styles can be very different at times, I love both her bold use of color and her restrained application of color and pattern. The book explores her own personal design evolution, and then covers how you can create your own personal style. It’s worth checking out from the library and seeing what inspires you.
Here are a few of my favorite images from the book.
Last week I wrote about using bold greens, and here is a great example of incorporating a bold green and bold patterns, but tempering them with restful expanses of white. It’s fun and playful, but still retains a polished hint of traditional.
Don’t you just love these palettes? I love the use of orange in different color palettes, either as a dominant element or a supporting player. It’s always fun to see the paint, fabric, wallcovering, and trim details pulled together to tell the story.
Lest you think all she can do is bold, check out the lighter palette of this breakfast nook. Spring yellows, greens and white are layered with textures. The chandelier, the bamboo style chairs, tweedy fabrics on the banquette, ruffle edged plates on the wall, and wainscotting on the wall and ceiling add layers of interest that the eye only observes slowly.
Can I just say I love the mix in this small dining room? The morse code like dots pattern on the banquette and drapes is fabulous! The tree like base on the table is textural but subtle in black. The metalic finish on the slim chairs is unexpected, but works. And the faux snakeskin fabric on the chairs is one of my favorites from her line of fabrics. I can’t wait to have dining room chairs that I can reupholster in something similar. They look so fancy, but wipe clean with a wet cloth. Excellent!
So can you relate to any of these rooms? Do you like the mix of traditional and modern elements? How do YOU define your personal style? I’d love to hear your definitions!
Tags: Celerie Kemble, color palette, dining room, green, midecentury modern, sunny yellow, To Your Taste, traditional, white
Posted in Reading List | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
The long Minnesota winter has hidden the grass, trees and flowers for too long. I’m itching for bright green as far as the eye can see. But since Mother Nature isn’t ready to start spring, I guess these rooms filled with bold greens will have to inspire me for now.
It’s easy to see the power of tile in these kitchens – talk about a wow factor! But are you bold enough to not only tile the walls to the ceiling in shades of green and blue but also paint your cabinets a bold green? It may be too much for some, but that kitchen certainly packs a lot of personality.
These living rooms have just the right balance of green and neutrals. The armoire and coffee table add punch to this casual living room on the left. The pillows on the couch serve to pull the palette together.
The living room in the middle might be one of my favorites, if only for that kelly green armchair. I would consider breaking and entering to make that mine (if I knew where the house was in the first place). But I guess the look could be achieved with no criminal activity by finding the right vintage chair and reupholstering it in the perfect shade of silk velvet. Notice how the large plant adds height, drawing your eyes up to the high ceilings, accentuated by those silky spring green curtains. Wonderful!
Finally, why not treat green as the focal point – upholster a sofa and ottoman in rich shades of green, add coordinating pillows and window treatments, and then top it all off with plants that provide the variations of green that nature does best.
Now these bedrooms clearly demonstrate the power of paint. Without that vivid saturated green on the left, the bedroom would be nice, but not eye catching. By using two shades of green paint, a “headboard” was created on the right to give height and interest to an otherwise simple bed (though the bold pink bedding is hardly tame). But it is the kelly green bed in the middle that I can most see recreating in my own home. The bold color is perfect for a guest room, where it won’t overwhelm, especially when tempered with lots of white. I appreciate how the woven shades on the windows and the cowhide pillows add texture and whimsy, respectively.
Green can add a punch to other rooms as well. A bright cushion, throw and accessories liven up this corner of a home office. Kids tend to be more comfortable with bold colors, so their rooms are a perfect place to experiment with mixing together bright shades. But since they tend to tire of a look quickly, be sure to implement this palette in easy to update accessories, like the bedding and stool, as seen above.
Finally, green can be incorporated into a home in truly breathtakingly surprising ways. For pure wow factor, the winner would have to be this ivy wall in a Manhattan apartment! The (all-white) kitchen is just up the stairs, where the homeowner can look down on their reflecting pond and enjoy their own private calm oasis in the city.
So how can you going to bring green into your home? Or how have you already incorporated green in your home? For example, I’m sitting in my office with walls in two shades of bright green with accents in white, brown, pink and orange. It’s bold, cheerful, and stimulating (just what an office should be, especially in a dreary Minnesota winter).
Tags: bedroom, chocolate brown, color palette, green, Guest Bedroom, kid's room, Kitchen, living room, office, paint, texture, vintage, white
Posted in Color Pulse | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The other night I had a very vivid dream involving a giant cinnamon roll – you know the kind that are the size of a dinner plate? Needless to say, I woke up with quite a craving for cinnamon rolls. After staring at the beauty that is a well crafted cinnamon roll, I realized it would be fun to use it as a source of inspiration.
So here are rooms that incorporate the colors of the cinnamon roll – the glossy white of the icing, the deep brown of the cinnamon filling, and the shades of golden brown of the bread. This palette can work in every style of room – contemporary, cottage, rustic, traditional.
Bedrooms
I like this mix of bedrooms. Notice the use of texture in these subtle palettes helps to add layers and interest.
Kitchens and Bathrooms
Bathrooms can be traditional – with marble counters and cream inset cabinetry, or rustic – with exposed beams, distressed cabinetry, crisp white walls and a creamy tub meant for hours of soaking.
Kitchens can be the new transitional – with a mix of vintage inspired stools, exposed beams, creamy walls, and sisal rugs balanced by crisp white cabinetry. Or this palette can be applied to a traditional kitchen with buttery yellow walls (more butter isn’t really necessary on a cinnamon roll, but it sometimes tastes really good, admit it!), creamy inset cabinetry, a crisp white exposed sink and the warm tan of a butcher block countertop.
Living Rooms and Dining Rooms
Here you can see the range of this palette. Contemporary living rooms and dining rooms from sunny LA to NYC. A clean lined midcentury modern living room from the midwest. Axel Vervoordt’s Belgian antique filled dining room and living room with those great textural walls in such an enveloping shade of cream.
However you live, there’s always a way to incorporate the cinnamon roll palette in your home. It results in such calm, inviting spaces, just like the bliss I feel after a cinnamon roll and a big glass of milk. Has food every inspired your color palette?
Tags: Axel Vervoordt, Bathroom, bedroom, chocolate brown, cinnamon rolls, color palette, contemporary, dining room, Kitchen, living room, midecentury modern, tan, traditional, transitional, white
Posted in Design & Home Living Tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Color Palette - Sunny Yellow with Greys, Bright Blues and Crisp Whites
So last week I showed you how chocolate brown and white can ground a palette with accents in sunny yellow. This week is about taking that sunny yellow and balancing it with saturated blues, all layered over a backdrop of muted greys and whites. It’s amazing how different it looks in these rooms with the added drama of those bold blues. As you can see, you can go more towards the turquoise end of the spectrum, or stay with a true blue, just don’t pick a washed out shade…. it needs to stand up to the saturation of the yellow as an equal.
Tags: Blue, color palette, Grey, sunny yellow, white
Posted in Color Pulse | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Baby it’s FREEZING outside here in Minnesota, so I decided to warm things up with a cheerful sunny yellow color palette to remind me of warmer places.
The chocolate brown and white elements in these rooms help ground the vivid splashes of yellow. In most of the rooms the yellow is used as an accent in the accessories and artwork selections. But I’ve always loved the bold choice of the yellow dining room chairs at the top. It looks so inviting, and the glossy white floors and crisp table cloths offset them perfectly. Bonus: they’re probably really kid friendly with a quick wipe up after a messy meal.
Tags: chocolate brown, color palette, sunny yellow, white
Posted in Color Pulse | No Comments »
Colleen Fox Slack | email: colleen@colleenfoxinteriors.com | phone: 612.868.0348
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