Posts for 'Colors' Category

Orange cars and red washing machines don't necessarily appeal to the widest audience of buyers, but there's a reason you see them featured in magazine ads, TV commercials and on the showroom floor. Manufacturers and designers believe that bright, intense colors attract interest and help consumers feel better about themselves in trying economic times -- even if they end up purchasing the white washer-dryer set after all.

"The big, hot thing ... is a craving for color: great, big, fun colors," said Josette Buisson, artistic director for Pittsburgh Paints' Voice of Color. Ms. Buisson is a color and design specialist who helps PPG Industries predict from year to year what shades of paint people want in their living rooms and which colors will help sell consumer items such as cars, computers, appliances and cell phones.

In the next few years, expect more products to turn up in bold colors, such as orange, yellow and blue, because they "bring fun back into design and life," said Ms. Buisson. "Life can be hard and we are submerged with bad news and we like to think about something fun."

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Angelo Surmelis is a designer and host of HGTV's new series, Rate My Space. This weekly show is inspired by HGTV.com's popular virtual design community of the same name, where people can upload photos of their spaces and others get to rate them, as well as give advice and recommendations.

In the TV series, which airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays, Surmelis helps homeowners who have earned low ratings on the "Rate My Space" site, to choose three rooms from that site and identify the objects or finishes in that space they'd like to have in their own. He then uses these elements to make over their room. Visitors then get to rate the final makeover online.

Surmelis also hosts a series of two-minute "Spacecasts," offering critiques and recommendations for dozens of rooms on the Rate My Space site.

Here is Surmelis' list of common home design mistakes.

1. Not understanding your home. Before you do anything in terms of design or decorating, understand your home's architecture (what most designers refer to as "the bones" of the house.) Architecture can give you clues to make your design decisions easier. Don't fight the nature of your space; let it be the springboard to your style.

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Seven professionally renovated homes in five suburbs will be open for viewing this weekend during the third annual Remodel Chicagoland home tour.

"Homeowners are seeking innovative strategies and creative ideas on how they can transform everyday rooms and ordinary areas into dramatic living spaces," said Lisa Pickell, president of the HBAGC, a council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, the event's sponsor. "Walking through these distinctively different homes can spark your ambitions and suggest colorful new concepts and inventive approaches that you can apply to your own home. There's an assortment of renovation projects on display, representing a good cross-section of styles and budgets."
In a Barrington home, the kitchen and adjacent laundry room were combined into one large space by Insignia Kitchen and Bath Design Group Ltd. The project included two bi-level islands, all-new high-end appliances and an armoire-style refrigerator.

A Highland Park empty-nester house was built in the early 1980s. Design Construction Concepts Ltd. opened up several walls and created a more open floor.

A River Forest Mediterranean-style residence received an 800-square-foot addition, consisting of a kitchen, an expanded casual dining area and a finished basement by Oak Design & Construction.

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Decorating your home can be a very exciting experience. Although some people find this task difficult or challenging, most people welcome the experience. Most people have a different idea of what kind of home decor they want, but the word "elegant" is usually a very popular scheme that they're looking to achieve.

So what's the best way to achieve this elegant decor scheme in your home? Let's go through the top 3 ways to do this right now.

1. Know the exact look you're after

The first thing to do is make sure you know what type of look you want before you begin selecting wall art or furniture. Look at interior design magazines or online stores to get some ideas. You may want to visit interior decor showrooms or new model homes, which will also give you some great ideas. When you're out shopping, you need to know what you're looking for and have a list. The more organized you are, the quicker you'll get what you want.

2. Know your budget for the project as well

Budget is also something you need to consider carefully. You don't want to be in a store ready to purchase something you fell in love with only to discover you couldn't afford other parts of your renovation or makeover plans. It just takes a little planning and organization. Therefore, once you make a list of the items you want, you'll need to write out a budget to achieve your decorating goals.

3. Use one of the 2 most sought after 'Elegant' styles

Two very popular styles of elegant interior decor are classical French interior and Manhattan apartment style. While these two styles have similarities, they're each unique as well. Both styles are elegant, yet will appeal to both sexes. Yes, it's important that everyone in the home enjoys the style you're going for.

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Flapper dancers and a Charleston orchestra performing vintage classics provided the entertainment at the recent launch of the Art Deco style foyer in Wallis House, a Barratt West London restoration project, part of the regeneration of Great West Quarter, Brentford.

Peter Dorelli's world famous Martini and Manhattan cocktails, an oyster bar and mouth-watering high society cuisine combined for an immersive experience of the Roaring Twenties. Guests were even conveyed between the marketing suite and the foyer in an authentic 1920s' bus.

The Mayor of Hounslow, Andy Morgan-Watts, was among those celebrating the completion of Wallis House's new foyer, on which work had begun in January 2007. The launch of the foyer was also the first opportunity for Barratt to exhibit Wallis House's two show apartments, including a stunning one-bedroom apartment and an innovative studio.

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Where can color make the difference? Everywhere!
Why do we find one place appealing and are uneasy in another? Why are we attracted to one product over another? Color whether architectural or in products accounts for 60% of our response to an object or a place.

Applied Color Psychology
The "buzz" about color is usually called "color psychology." But the effects of color are subtle and significant; physical and psychological. Color use is not something that results in a definitive equation between "color and our moods," as is a currently popular expression. Wherever we go we respond to color, but the importance of color is often underestimated. Color use is important to us personally in our homes and in the places where we work. Exterior color architectural color gives context and appeal to our buildings from the outside. In interior design a keen understanding of the function of color is essential for creating supportive spaces. For business owners, color makes a difference in product development, and business marketing and branding.

Color Design and Decorative Finishes for the Home and Business
As a Color and Design resource for homeowners, design professionals, and business owners, my work takes two related directions. Through supportive color design, I help you make decisions about color for interiors and exteriors while considering your preference for specific paint products or building materials. Through decorative finishes, I create unique ways of expressing your color choices. Through murals I can add an avenue of expression for clients who want to incorporate another art form into their daily living and working environments.

The one-room, steel-and-glass house designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe that has been called one of the most important works of 20th century architecture. Located in a beautiful meadow on the banks of the Fox River two miles south of Plano, the Farnsworth House has been called “sculptural” in its simplicity and a masterpiece of design. Mies’ temple-like pavilion both invites and challenges visitors. Its unsurpassed views through transparent walls will cause you to consider anew how a man-made object best relates to nature. It’s not like any house you have ever been in. The Farnsworth House is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and operated as a house museum by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. Transcending any traditional domestic function or program, the importance of the house lies rather in the absolute purity and consistency of its architectural idea.

From Pure Contemporary, Caroline Kooshoian has written an article Choosing the Right Colors for Your Home and Yourself
that is an excellent start to the use of color in your home.

The article is for those "do it yourselfers" or DIYs. So why is Landfair Furniture, which caters to the design trade, featuring such an article?

First of all, every time you turn around there is a show or article about design.

Target is democratizing design, women’s magazines break from runways to run issues dedicated solely to interior fashions, and clichés of paint brush wielding, HGTV watching moms have replaced the soap opera viewing, bonbon eating set of the 1980s.
One of the new popular shows on HGTV features Candice Olson who may be the new "Martha Stewart".
Caroline says

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As seen in InStyle and House Beautiful Magazine
A new twist on the traditional wooden chest, these colorful lacquered boxes are the latest chic storage solution for your flatware. Accenting your home decor in four sumptuous hues: Ivory, Chinese red, Pistachio Green and Chocolate Brown, each box holds two tarnish-resistant compartments inside for place settings, serving pieces and entertaining accessories such as napkin rings and place card holders. The measurements are 17 inches long by 12 wide by 6 1/2 high. Will hold 12 place settings plus serving pieces. The inside of the Decor Box is black felt-like lining with tarnish resistant.

When choosing dried flowers for an arrangement, there are several parameters to consider. Keep your home décor in mind as you choose three or four different bunches of flowers. Focus on color, texture and shape. Your bouquet should consist of at least one line, focal and filler flower.

Items you'll need
A container for dried flowers should be neutral and complement your arrangement, not overpower it. It should suit the types of flowers you plan to use. You should also consider where you plan to place the arrangement in your home. Consider your home décor, colors, textures and desired mood. Other materials you'll need include foam, floral tape, a glue gun, 18-gauge stem wire and wood picks.

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