Friday, February 25th, 2011
Looking at the fall fashion show round-ups one trend I was interested in trying was bright colorful pants (no patterns – I’m not talking about Zoobas here!) Perfect for transforming a simple minimal outfit into a statement with one bold splash of color.
Which got me thinking, why are we so afraid of color in kitchens? So I rounded up a few favorite kitchens belonging to homeowners who embraced color with arms outstretched. I’d love to hear what YOU think! Could you be this bold?
Why does the adage “it’s only paint” apply to painting walls but not painting cupboards? Come on, let’s be adventurous!
To slowly transition into colorful cabinets, consider having some of your cabinets in a color while others are wood or white. Perhaps a pantry unit on one wall is red like a great Chinese cabinet that serves as an accent and conversation piece in a living room. Or you could paint just the island cabinets in an accent color.
Or you can go all out in one shade, head to toe (or ceiling to floor, crown molding to toekick, as the case may be.)
Apple green? Yes please!
Love this glossy turquoise color.
This kitchen has so much going for it. Gorgeous walnut butcher block countertops, a wall of subway tile in a warm cream tone that keeps it light and open feeling to balance the dark green base cabinets, and the green and cream floor tiles that pull together both the color palette and connect the indoors and outdoors in one continuous flow.
Isn’t this just like a pair of colorful pants with a cream blouse and brown belt and great shoes (maybe a strappy pair of wedges with green and white overlapping bands)?
Look what a difference the wall tile can make in a room - compare this space with green base cabinets and no wall cabinets to the kitchen above. Obviously the rooms have different spatial qualities, but the colorful tile on the walls here shifts the attention from the colorful cabinets. But the cabinet color supports the tile – imagine this with maple or white cabinets. Ehh. The dark green cabinets ground the room.
Still love this red base cabinet.
This is what I would call modern english country. The cabinet pulls are definitely not traditional. I love that the background is all crisp white and I could see popping just about ANY color on those cabinets and having it all still work. Though you might need to coordinate with a different cereal bowl.
This is exactly the way I think of the fashion trend – bright pants with a light simple top. Maybe a few pins on the shirt to balance the bright lower half (the art on the walls in the room plays the same role here.)
This kitchen is right on trend with Pantone’s Color of the Year – Honeysuckle. Honestly, I’m not sure I’m loving it on kitchen cabinets.
And finally, the piece de resistance, why not paint every door a different color?! You have endless options for accessorizing the room, and I doubt you could feel sad in a fun space like this! Perfect for those afraid to commit to one color… pick 10 instead!
But if you are stuck with a kitchen where you can’t paint the cabinets (aka. a rental property), painting the walls is still a great way to bring in your personality with color. Here inky deep blue walls add a moody quality to an otherwise plain kitchen.
Tags: cabinets, color, interior design, Kitchen, paint, rental, tile, twin cities, white
Posted in Color Pulse | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Exciting changes are visible at the construction project I’ve shown you in past posts. (See the January 18th and January 20th posts for the backstory on this project.)
Here are the living room floors after the old carpet was removed, before the subfloor was evened out.
And here are the new wood floors with the newly painted walls before the new baseboards were installed. Quite an improvement, eh?
Here are the guys hard at work installing the cabinets in the kitchen. It was gray t-shirt and jeans day. Accessory of choice? A pencil behind the ear, of course.
And here it is with the majority of the cabinets installed. We relocated the sprinklerheads above the cabinets today to allow them to sit flush in the trim above the cabinets to maintain their full functional range. (This change is not visible in this photo which was taken the day before.) Those are the types of details that can really make a difference on a project if you don’t factor them into your design from the very beginning of the process.
I can’t wait to show it to you again after the tile has been installed. It’s inspired by their time in Morocco and it’s gonna inject a huge dose of colorful personality into that kitchen!
Tags: construction, interior design, Kitchen, remodeling, twin cities, wood floors
Posted in Sneak Peak | No Comments »
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
It’s time for another edition of my favorite photos from House Beautiful. You can tell we’re deep in the depths of dreary winter when magazine covers look like this. A light-filled room in bright cheerful colors helps remind us sunny days will return, even if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and we’re stuck with plenty more winter ahead of us.
I really like these rooms by Alexandra Angle because they all have intesting but subtle details that add to the rooms rather than detracting. The top left image is a reading nook. It’s difficult to tell with the cropped photo, but it seems like the cushion is much larger than a typical window seat cushion, so you could really relax and spread out like on a full size mattress. I could see a pile of kids on here reading books when they are little, and a group of teen girls gathered here gabbing, reading magazines, and talking about boys. Or maybe it’s where mom escapes to read a little Jane Austen (or Jonathan Franzen) in peace and quiet.
The double office would be a great little space to take care of personal documents, and with a desk for each person you don’t have to worry about someone moving that bill on you. Clearly these aren’t home offices, but most people don’t need that much space and storage for managing their home life. A low bookshelf or cabinet fitted with file storage and boxes for basic supplies would be sufficient to provide a functional work space with these desks. I really like the legs on those desks, the small lamp and the artwork leaning on the desks.
There is a nice symmetry to the bedroom with the matching dressers and rugs, but the different lamps and artwork mix it up. I’m loving the green lamp on the left by John Derian. Where can I fit that in my house? (That’s one of the biggest dangers in being an interior designer – we see soo many beautiful objects, fabrics, etc and it’s difficult to not want to enjoy it all in our own homes.)
The detail on these kitchen cabinets by Garrow Kedigian were inspired by the details on the windows in this NYC pre-war apartment. Paired with slab Calcacatta Gold marble countertops and backsplash the look is fresh but timeless. Pairing this look with an Artemide glass fixture (top left corner of the photo), 18th century bamboo chairs and a modern wood and steel table is truly a contemporary spin.
This is a fun feature they have added to the magazine that really shows how a room can be transformed by design professionals in one (long) day into a more functional and beautiful space, even utilizing mostly off the shelf items. What’s really nice is they break the process down into all the steps that took place over the course of that one day, from analyzing the space, to shopping, to setting up the space and trying out different pieces in different locations, to final staging details. These are the steps we take with our clients but the process is not as condensed, which allows us the time to develop custom solutions and evolve the design over a series of meetings with our clients in which we get to know their lifestyle and personal style in more detail.
Would you allow a designer to make over a room in your home (other than a kitchen) in one day? Would you feel it was a benefit utilizing retail products or would you prefer to mix them with custom or to-the-trade pieces?
Tags: bedroom, desk, House Beautiful, interior design, Kitchen, living room, makeover, marble, office, twin cities, white, window, window seat
Posted in Hot off the Press | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
I’ve always focused on inspiring you with images and color palettes on this blog, but I realize I rarely include my own work. After the reaction I got when I posted a couple of sneak peak photos of some bathrooms I did this fall, I realized you might enjoy seeing more of the process involved in my remodeling projects for clients.
Since I have a fun remodel in process right now, I think I’ll share a few photos with you so you can see how the space is evolving as we move through the construction process.
This is a view of the kitchen from the living room on my first visit to meet with the clients.
Here is a wrap around view of the kitchen, moving from the left side to the right side.
And a view of the wall between the kitchen and the living room (to the left) and the entry (straight ahead).
The challenge with this space is that all the walls and openings between the kitchen and the rest of the unit chopped up the sight lines and hid their amazing views of the Cathedral and the State Capital. We wanted to open the space up, increase the functionality of it, and provide a better flow for both entertaining and hanging out at home alone.
Here is the kitchen on construction day #1, all cleared out and ready for demolition!
And after a bit of demo (to say the least) the walls are opened up, the electrical work is exposed, and we get to come up with solutions.
The view from the kitchen to the living room and dining room is suddenly vastly improved as sight lines are opened up.
A few days later, a new half wall opens up the kitchen to the rest of the unit even more. All the electrical has been rerouted to maintain an uninterrupted view from the kitchen all the way to the State Capital.
Isn’t it amazing how different it looks once the drywall is installed? The beams conceal the electrical work and accommodate new pendant lighting over the future raised breakfast counter. Now when guests walk in the front door they won’t be trapped in a narrow hall with no view – they’ll walk into a open space with views in every direction.
Next steps: painting, installing flooring, installing cabinetry, installing countertops and appliances, finalizing updates to the bathrooms, installing new blinds, and installing new lighting. (You don’t want to see the actual super detailed list of steps involved in each of these tasks, but trust me, we’re so on top of it!)
We still have a lot of work to do, but you can see how much work has been accomplished already. The messy phase is almost complete, and now we get to start bringing in the color, texture and patterns. I can’t wait to see it all pulled together!
Did you enjoy this sneak peak behind the scenes of a construction project? Would you like to see more?
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Tags: construction, dining room, entry, interior design, Kitchen, living room, remodel, twin cities
Posted in Sneak Peak | 2 Comments »
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Above: the professional sheep shearer is hard at work. Maryfaith takes the giant fleece and puts it in the bag.
So I went to help a local farm with their sheep shearing a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. I’ve always loved lambies since I was a little girl, and sheep aren’t quite the same (bigger and less cuddly) but it was still a great experience to try to wrangle sheep on the farm for an afternoon.
The farmers also have a lot of chickens roaming around that come running when people approach in the hope for more food. I was taking pictures of the chickens because their heritage varieties have really beautiful subtle coloring. Unfortunately, it didn’t come through as well as I’d hoped in the photos. As I was taking the pictures my mom jokingly said “You’ll probably turn this into a blog post.” Challenge? I think so.
So here is my ”Heritage Chicken Inspired Rooms” post. I always say you can find inspiration all around you. Here’s my proof.
Notice that the chickens are not one solid color. They have a tonal range of colors across their body, plus an occasional accent color on their tail feathers. These rooms employ the same philosophy to create visually interesting rooms. Here we have the different tones of browns and reds of one breed of chickens with accents of black from the other breed. Plus you have to have the pop of red from the chickens’ faces!
More tonal brown and red rooms, but I love how the concrete pulls in the gray of the paths on which the chickens run around the farm by their coop. The green and cream of the painting in the living room on the right reference the building behind the chickens and the grass (or what was left of the grass in Minnesota in October). The rough materials and broken in finishes in these rooms give the relaxed vibe that subtly references the chickens’ habitat.
A kitchen can be refined or rustic, and I love them both. On the left, the granite countertops remind me of the pebbly gray ground the chickens hang out on. The copper hood is similar to the color of the cabinets, but the sheen adds variation. I’d love to see this with a patina (did you know that copper turns brown before it turns blue-green?)
In the kitchen on the right we have the dark brown-black cabinets that remind me of the darker breed of chickens. The wood slats on the walls convey a rustic farm feeling. The cream ceiling warms up the room and pulls in the color of the farm building behind the chickens in my photo. I’m sure they don’t gather the chicken eggs in a wicker basket, but isn’t it fun to think they do? Those high back wicker chairs are a great casual accent. Just add a wicker basket filled with fresh picked brown eggs in the middle of the table and you are set!
Finally, these are two rooms that really show off the power of tonal variation and texture. On the left, the graining in the wood floor is highlighted by the medium brown stain. The wood on the walls looks to be a shade lighter than the floors, which helps to keep the room from feeling like a brown box. The textural stone on the fireplace pulls in the organic and rough feel of the pebbly pathways. The lights over the table remind me of the fluffy sheep. And the red cabinet in the foreground? That definitely gives you the pop of the rooster’s red comb.
On the right we have a wide open space with oodles of natural light pouring in. And you can see there are a lots of trees outside, so this must feel like a kitchen tucked in the woods. Because of all that natural light they were able to use dark colors throughout the space without it feeling like a cave. (Notice how different the small rustic kitchen above looks with the same color palette in a much smaller and darker space.) The angled soffit over the cabinetry is a darker brown than the wood paneling over the refrigeraotr (to the left of the stove). They also mixed in black cabinetry, stainless steel and a fun mix of black chairs (love those Panton curved profile chairs!) I think the clock on the soffit is brilliant, except when the battery dies and you need a huge ladder to change it. But it’s the deep orange-persimmon ceiling color that makes this room special. It might be a plaster finish because it has such beautiful color variation as the light hits it.
So, do you see the chicken inspiration in these pictures? What inspires you in nature?
Tags: black, brown, chickens, concrete, Grey, Kitchen, living room, Red, texture, Wood
Posted in Inspiration Boards | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Well, this month Elle Decor has redeemed itself. There is a lot of good content to inspire this month, so let’s get right to it!
White kitchens continue to be universally appealing, judging by the countless versions I see each month in various publications. And this house is no different. But the designer Miles Redd convinced the client to trust him with a bold color choice in the adjacent butler’s pantry: marine-blue! It reads almost teal in photos, but I love it regardless. Obviously this would be too much for most people’s main kitchen, but in this secondary space it glows in the most brilliant way. The natural light from the window (which some butler’s pantries don’t have) allowed him to use this darker color.
In contrast, this Valcucine kitchen features minimal dark cabinetry balanced by the open structure of steel shelves against light walls. The color of the glass in the Niche Modern pendant over the island references the glassware on the open shelves beautifully.
The restrained modernism of the kitchen continues into the bedroom of the same home. Natural elements (branch, basket under bed, shearling throw on floor) add texture to the crisp narrow lines of the bed and nightstands. The crystals on the small bedside lamp is a fun pop of feminity in what I would consider a rather gender neutral room.
This dining room has a similarly neutral palette with a splash of sparkle thanks to the C. Jere sculpture over the fireplace. The floating box shelves on either side of the fireplace are a fresh update of the usual built-ins you see surrounding fireplaces in most homes.
Finally we have this living room in Ossining, New York (not far from where I went to college… I always remember the conductor calling this station on the train ride from NYC.) This room features a lot of mid-century modern classics, but the textured walls and corner sofa keep the space from feeling like a DWR catalog come to life (which was the case for many homes featured in Dwell magazine in the past.) The swing arm lamp to the right of the fireplace makes me want to curl up in that corner with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows, and a cozy blanket.
Tags: bedroom, Blue, bookshelves, dining room, fireplace, Kitchen, living room, midecentury modern, texture
Posted in Hot off the Press | No Comments »
Colleen Fox Slack | email: colleen@colleenfoxinteriors.com | phone: 612.868.0348
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