Friday, February 24th, 2012
This bright bedroom caught my eye when I was flipping through my files, and it made me wonder what other bold, colorful bedrooms I had to inspire this winter afternoon with the snow swirling outside my window.
I love the crisp, classic color palette in this room with plenty of white to break up the large expanses of color, such as the bench at the foot of the bed. The inlay design on the nightstands works well with the pattern on the bedskirt. The red detail on the roman shades echos the red border on the sheets. And did you notice they framed the red bench with blue twill tape under the nailheads? Nice detail.
This is an old example from Domino magazine, but I love that they embraced the raspberry and lime palette in a way that could easily be updated down the line. The headboard is faux – a nice detailing using a lighter shade of the wall color. And the bed linens could easily be swapped out for a neutral linen duvet (like this one by Room and Board) to allow the walls to shine. Or a bold green and blue pattern like this duvet from Serena & Lily would emphasize the wall color while introducing a new accent color.
This purple and pale pink room is an odd mix with the bold large scale pattern on the rug and a medium scale more traditional floral print on the upholstered screen acting as a headboard. The pink trim is unexpected, but help to tie in the lighter tones in the floral print. I couldn’t rest in this room, but to each their own.
I love the mood of this bedroom. The Chaing Mai dragon wallpaper from Schumacher is one of my favorite crazy prints, and the almost chartreuse headboard is bold on it’s own, but also serves to break up this bold print. The vintage looking bedside lamp has great personality, and really adds to the room’s style. I wish the nightstand was a bit larger so the lamp didn’t take up the majority of the surface so there was room for a glass of water, a clock and book.
Finally, we have this palm beach vibe bedroom by Celerie Kemble. To me it looks crisp and fresh, just like the first bedroom above. You can see there is pattern introduced both in the headboard (what a task to get those leaves to line up across the creases!) and the wallpaper by the vanity (upper left). Again, simple bed linens with an accent border color were utilized to balance all the green on the window treatments and side chair. I’m guessing this room is typically flooded with light and can handle all this brightness.
So the question is: do you prefer a bright, bold bedroom or a calm softer color palette to ease you into sleep? Or does a balance of the two suit you best?
Photo credits:
1. House Beautiful 2-12 by Lindsey Coral Harper.
2. Domino
3. Living Etc. 3-09
4. Schumacher, Design by Christopher Kennedy.
5. Celerie Kemble, “To Your Taste”
Tags: bedroom, Blue, color palette, green, headboard, interior design, purple, Red, twin cities, wallpaper, white
Posted in Color Pulse, Inspiration Boards | 1 Comment »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
To wrap up a week of purple we’re going for saturation. I’m talking about deep, royal purples. There’s nothing bashful about this color. It says “I’m purple. Like me or don’t like me, I don’t care.”
Look at these deep purple walls. They add drama all on their own. In the dining room the furnishings have minimal lines and silvery accessories add a restrained touch of modern glamour. You could be bold and choose a saturated purple velvet for your sofa and mix it up with old shutters as wall art to create an unexpected pairing. Or stick with a neutral sofa and let the wall color, mirrored tile and artwork be the focal point of your room.
Incorporating purple in your bedroom could be an exercise in all out layering (see the bedroom on the left) or just a couple of accessories could be added to a otherwise quiet palette (see the bedroom on the right). Notice how they upholstered a folding screen to create a headboard, and pulled the pale pink color from the fabric for the trim color. Unexpected but interesting. The living room in the middle has deep purple layered in the rugs, throw pillows and wall art. Mixed with gold, chartreuse, violet, silvery grey on the couch and charcoal on the armchair the palette feels balanced and not focused on one specific color. It feels like it has evolved over time, which is always a good quality to achieve in a room.
So, have these purple posts made you a convert yet? Are you itching to paint or run out and pick up a couple of new purple accessories to update a room? I’m actually thinking about painting my own bathroom!
Have a great weekend. I hope you get to enjoy fun decorating projects to give you a fresh look for the new year. And if you want a designer’s perspective and ideas, I’m here as always to help make your home a place you truly enjoy living in day after day.
Tags: bedroom, dining room, interior design, living room, pillows, purple, rugs, sofa, trim
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Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Continuing our purple theme for the week, I’ve created two sets of inspirational room images that feature furnishings and accessories in shades of violet.
I love how the chartreuse accents pop against the purple in these rooms!
As you can see in these photos, this color can be incorporated into rooms with very different styles based on where you apply it. Whether you use the color for sumptuous silk drapery, a bold wall color, or to brighten up a classic Saarinen Womb chair, you will be adding a statement to your room.
Tags: chartreuse, drapes, interior design, purple, twin cities, violet, Womb chair
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Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
I was flipping through the Benjamin Moore Affinity paint deck the other day and stumbled across a palette of four colors that made me surprisingly happy. Why surprisingly? Because three of the colors were shades of purple (not one of my favorite colors normally). The fun feature of the BM Affinity paint deck is that you can pick any 3 colors at random and they will all work together! They might not be your favorite combination, but the tones and shades of the 144 colors have been carefully selected to coordinate (these colors are available in the Aura paint base). Check out the palette at your local Benjamin Moore store to see for yourself (Hirshfield’s in the Twin Cities carries Benjamin Moore).
But what makes this palette different than the purples I’m used to seeing is they all have a more complex grey or brown undertone. This is what makes them modern and appealing to me. Anchored by a lovely coffee brown (the “barrista” must have put a lot of milk in that espresso!) this palette could work easily in a living room or bedroom for a warm and luxurious vibe.
The key to a palette like this is to mix in metallic accessories for shimmer, add velvets and silks for a variety of sheens and textures, and ground it with dark wood floors. How about a distressed oak floor covered in textured wool rugs? I realize that this might not be easy for you to visualize (I can see it clear as day in my head), so I whipped up this room concept to show you how you could pull together the colors, textures and furnishings for a living room.
What do you think? Would you enjoy hanging out in this room? I think the transitional style of this room would work well in both a suburban home and an urban condo. The furnishings have clean lines that reference traditional forms. A Hollywood Regency sideboard with midcentury lamps adds an unexpected touch, and the silk curtains sweeping across the floor like a ballgown add a bit of glamour. The light finish on the sideboard balances the darker colors and finishes throughout the room. The ceiling fixture adds a playful modern silhouette that keeps them guessing. Hang it over a reading area off the main seating area rather than centered over it so that both the light and the reading area are highlighted.
Since there are so many shades of purple out there to play with, I’ve also pulled together 3 inspiration boards featuring lavender, violet and deep purple rooms to inspire you. Check back tomorrow for the first board!
Tags: Affinity, Aura, Benjamin Moore, fabric, Hirshfield's, interior design, living room, metallic, paint, purple, twin cities
Posted in Color Pulse, Inspiration Boards | No Comments »
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Inspiration, round 2. I find it fascinating that someone I know thought this was the best issue of Elle Decor they’d seen in a while. But when I scanned through it to find my top pictures, I was underwhelmed. Maybe it’s more of a slow burn issue: I’ll get into reading all the articles in depth and suddenly get new appreciation for the designs. Or not.
Case in point: this is one of my favorite images – and it’s an ad. Granted, I’ve had favorites that I wanted to share in previous magazines that were ads, but there was always too much good editorial content to waste a spot on an ad. But this kitchen is beautiful in it’s own right, plus it’s well staged, well lit, and the copy tells a story. Doesn’t that stroller throw it off from expectation just right? It’s showing the viewer that this kitchen is not only beautiful but it’s functional for real life. There’s food in the cupboards that requires real cooking. Those copper pots aren’t just a collection for display, they get used. And you thought it was just a cabinetry ad.
How lovely is this Alpine retreat? I’m not a hunter, so as much as I appreciate the beauty of animal hides, I’m not always completely comfortable around them. But this room pushes the limit. The pillows and stools covered in springbok pelts are still beautiful in all their natural coloration. But I’d feel odd leaning against those pillows, I can’t lie. Nonetheless, there is something so chic and clean about this room. The Serge Mouille floor lamp and navy sectional against the rough hewn wood walls, antlers and stacks of firewood framed in white is a beautiful balance. The bleached floors keep the room from feeling too dark.
I’m not normally a purple girl. But this room has a sofa warm quality thanks to those gray couches and amazing window treatments. The flounces on the valances remind me of a wedding dress, in the best way possible.
This is a punchy living room with a great mix of styles. Bold contemporary art influences the color palette, but the furniture pulls from diverse periods. A 1940s sofa, a contemporary faceted coffee table in three laquered finishes, a traditional table lamp from the 1950s, and an 18th century chair. A difficult mix to achieve without it feeling choppy and disjointed, but when it’s done right, it works. What’s interesting is that this is just one side of a double sided living room. There are two sofas back to back across from this sofa, and there are chairs upholstered in orange velvet on the other side of the room, to tie in with the oriental rug.
Tags: antlers, art, Elle Decor, gray, hides, Kitchen, living room, October, purple, sectional, Serge Mouille, sofa, window treatments, Wood
Posted in Hot off the Press | No Comments »
Friday, August 20th, 2010
Time for a new issue of Elle Decor to drool over. Here’s my favorite pictures from the current issue.
This is a cool column that Elle Decor does every issue: it focuses on one area of the house and pulls together examples of these spaces from previous issues.
I love books. I love shelving. I love the different ways you can mix books and decorative objects together on shelves. My parents are both librarians by training, so it’s no surprise that when I was a kid I turned my own book collection into a library (complete with checkout cards in inside pockets – remember those? – and library cards which I passed out to all my family members.) I don’t follow the Dewey Decimal system in my own library, but I definitely group by subject matter. How would you find anything otherwise? Color coding your books is a recent trend, and it can look great, but I like to find my books with minimal effort.
I think this feature shows a nice mix of traditional to contemporary libraries. Notice how artwork is hung directly on the shelves in the bottom two photos.
What a peaceful bedroom. I’m not always interested in leaving a room white, but this is a great example of how to do it well. Love the texture and color of those bedside lamps. Simple clean linens are unfussy. But it’s the photos over the bed that pull me in every time. I like that it’s a collection of images, and they are a nice size for that wall.
What a great kid’s room! The colors are bold but yet they don’t overwhelm since pattern is used to tie the colors together. The big basket with lacrosse sticks, golf clubs and hockey sticks is a great example of how to corral their gear. This basket was probably used for toys when they were younger and easily transitioned to gear as they picked up new hobbies. Plus I love the transportation map on the wall! (I’ll never forget my background in transit planning.)
What a gorgeous kitchen. The palette is restrained and it floats like an island inside this massive Miami house. The textured tile on the outside of the walls adds some interest and frames the kitchen. I really like the use of wood paneling on the back wall to break up the white cabinetry without using two finishes on the cabinets. And the toekick on the island is extra high and looks like it’s stainless steel, which is a neat touch you don’t notice at first.
Finally, I like the arrangement of artwork in this living room, which ties the color palette together (with that purple-pink-black painting). I like the finish on the cabinets in the kitchen and the fun colorful rug they added which really adds fun personality to the space (in a non-permanent way). And how adorable is that dog bed?!
What shelter magazines do you read? Are their ones you’d like me to feature? Just wondering. Have a great weekend.
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Tags: bedroom, bookshelf, dog bed, Elle Decor, kid's bedroom, Kitchen, library, purple, rug, stainless steel, tile, Wood
Posted in Hot off the Press | No Comments »
Colleen Fox Slack | email: colleen@colleenfoxinteriors.com | phone: 612.868.0348
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