Color Buzz

Hip, Hot, Cool Grey

By Michèle Coppin

Grey is finally getting the recognition it deserves as one of the hottest colors for the New Year! Greys started regaining popularity in 2008, and as noted by my fellow Beehive designer, Ann McGuire, in her Kansas City Star interview, grey is the “new neutral” and can easily be paired with many colors to achieve different effects.

No one seemed to pay much attention to grey until last March when supermodel turned singer and First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, accompanied her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, on his first official visit to England. The trip was a great success, and Carla won the hearts and minds of the British with her elegance, poise and array of gorgeous grey ensembles! The Queen was reportedly impressed, the press went wild and grey made its fashion comeback.

Grey has a long history rooted in the nostalgic beauty of grey seas and grey skies, with its depth and mystery inspiring artists and designers for centuries.

                                  
 
Forget about dull battleship grey, midway between white and black. Grey is a soothing color that exudes tranquility and calmness. Grey can create harmonious and gentle atmospheres that are reassuring, comforting and discreet—a true relief in these tumultuous times.

For those in need of a simple and cost-effective way to restore harmony and balance in your home, a new shade of this soothing color can make a big difference. Take a look at this romantic and quiet space by Layla Grayce decorators that used a combination of pale greys and soft blues: 

                    

This comfortable modern interior blends greys and whites to create a relaxing and tranquil place:

                      

The most beautiful greys are created by mixing two complementary colors—colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel, like blue and orange, yellow and purple, or red and green.

Indeed, grey can range from soft lavenders to cool misty greens and sophisticated blues. For example:

For a warm grey: March Breeze
For a greener, fresh grey: Cliveden Mist
For a cool grey: Tempered Grey

To explore additional grays, go to Valspar’s online paint palette, choose a family of colors and select the "Neutral” tab at the bottom for “grayed” versions of those colors.
 
Greys are enhanced by other colors and are easily matched:

• All greys go with white
• Blue-greys go well with blues and greens
• Reddish greys go well with pinks
• Brownish greys go well with oranges, pinks and turquoises
  

*Carla has a lovely soft and smoky voice, I recommend her latest CD – all the proceeds go to charity.

               
  March Breeze 1001-10C   Cliveden Mist 6007-1A    Tempered Grey 1004-14

Color of the Week - Frankincense

Last week's color of the week was Frankincense. It was a week for celebrating the joys of giving and being together. What better color than gold to reflect the richness of sharing our hearts with friends and family?

It's bold and warm.  Try it in a dining room and let your guest sit aglow in it.  Pair it with a warm gray beige like Shoreline Haze.

             

                                   
                   Frankincense 3002-5C             Shoreline Haze 6008-1B

Holiday Silver

By Michèle Coppin

Now that we are in the midst of the holiday season, I thought it would be a good idea to explore the majestic qualities of the color silver. This shimmering color is seen frequently this time of year in everything from freshly fallen snow to traditional holiday accents, like a menorah or sleigh bells. My favorite is old fashioned silver tinsel on a Christmas tree. Tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1610, and comes from the old French word 'estincele,' meaning ‘sparkle.’

We have the Victorians to thank for many of our current Christmas and holiday customs such as carols, Christmas cards and elaborate tree decorating. Back then, trees were decorated with toys, miniature drums, candy canes, ginger breads, gilded nuts, colored glass and paper ornaments. Lastly, strands of sparkling tinsel would accent the glow of lit hand-dipped candles. Of course today tinsel is no longer made of genuine silver, but it still brings trees to life with its shimmering reflections and glitter.

The color silver is not only found in home décor this time of year, but it might also show up in your wine glass. Celebrities like Madonna indulge in a silver wine from Spain each holiday season, which is made with tiny specks of the precious metal. What a festive and delicious way to celebrate the holidays and this metallic color!

                    

Golden Inspiration

By Michèle Coppin

The sparkle of the holidays and a recent trip to Vienna have put me in a golden mood.

Vienna glitters and shimmers with gold. This Baroque city celebrates its opulence and history with golden statues, store fronts, fountains, monuments and churches.

The statue of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, for example, stands proudly before the Austrian parliament, decked in a golden helmet and breast plate.

 

But the most prominent Viennese artist to use gold is surely the symbolist, Gustav Klimt. His best-known paintings are the lavishly decorated pieces from his "golden" period - sumptuous mosaic- like creations with jeweled rectangles and exquisite discs of gold and silver spilling down the pictures like showers of coins. His work can be seen everywhere and his famous and passionate, "The Kiss," is hugely popular.

My favorite Klimt painting is "Danae.” This beautiful sensual painting illustrates the fate of the Greek princess of Argos, who's father found out from a prophecy that he was destined to be killed by his daughter’s child. This painting is about love and gold, pale curves and tangled hair, patterns and motifs, flowing lines and curvilinear forms.

Just as in fine art, interiors also come to life with a touch of gold. A cousin to yellow (and orange and brown), gold is the color of riches and extravagance.

It shares many of the attributes of yellow. It is a warm color that can be cheerful as well as classic and traditional. Because gold is a precious metal, it is associated with wealth, prosperity and grandeur. It is best used as an accent and will dress up any interior. Bright gold catches the eye like in this living room. The gold emphasizes the moldings, lending it an air of wealth and elegance. Paired with royal blue, it is reminiscent of the French monarchy and it's medieval coat of arms. A very regal effect.

Subdued shades of gold can add a touch of warmth to walls as in this bedroom. The stripe of orangey gold glows as it perks up the purple palette while remaining subtle.

You can also dress up an earthy palette (orange - brown) with gold or use it with burgundy or red to double the richness.

This golden effect is easy to create using Valspar’s Brushed Pearl Technique. As mentioned in Valspar's instruction guide, "…it imparts a dimensional iridescent finish to walls, is simple to apply and will add elegance and sophistication to any room.”

So, why not give a little gift of gold to your walls? They will pay you back in beauty.

Make a Bold Move

One way to enlarge a small space is by setting off areas with a bold color. 

On HGTV’s website, one of the readers sent in a great image of her dining area.  In it, she took a white wall and painted a bold yellow vertical rectangle. 

To do this yourself, identify an area of a room that has a specific function. 

Let’s say, for example, you have a home office/work space in the corner of a room.  Take the wall of that area and pick a great color you would love to look at while working.  Measure out a rectangle that will frame the work area nicely.  Tape out the lines with blue masking tape.  Secure the edges with an old credit card so the paint won’t bleed. 

Take a color like Valspar Soft Duckling 3001-2A and brush it on.  You don’t want to get out the roller for  such a small job.

Be sure to gently paint along the blue tape.  Before the paint completely dries, pull the tape.  And voila! You’re good to go.  

What brilliant ideas do you think you’ll come up with in your new space?

Color of the Week - Twilight Meadow

Last week's color of the week, Twilight Meadow, is a refreshing green that can act as a great background color for holiday cheer, and also be a gentle reminder of the joys of spring after the last ornament is put away. Try pairing it with Milestone 6007-1B and Dakota Trail 6008-3B for a soft, sophisticated look. We're also throwing in Toasted Cranberry 2001-5A as an accent color, because we're in a festive mood.

                                       Twilight Meadow 5007-8A

        
Milestone 6007-1B         Dakota Trail 6008-3B

      Toasted Cranberry 2001-5A

Inspiring Colors Pop for the Holidays

I was just emailed a photo tour of John and Heidi Scanlon's Georgetown house, which appeared on WashingtonPost.com on December 18.  It's decorated with some of the most lively and inspiring bold colors!

It's as if Lili Pulitzer brought over her magic wand and had a field day.  I love the fun and energy of this house.  When reading the article, you learn about the Scanlon's penchant for entertaining.  

Who wouldn't want to be invited over for cocktails?  

For the holidays, this house has special appeal.  The colors are already festive, and Heidi Scanlon has done an amazing job adding decorations that pop against the heading backdrops. 

Photo credit - Washington Post

My favorite photo is the one you get at the end; the living room is bright bold and alive in one of my favorite color combinations - Pink and Orange.  I can't imagine any day seeming dreary in this beautiful gem.

Photo credit - Washington Post

Lanterns

Light is a traditional part of the holidays. The warm glow of candles, fires and votives is so comforting when it becomes much colder outside.  With the holidays upon us, I recently invited my friends Mickey and Blanca to make these great paper lanterns.

Make sure you have the following supplies:

    Construction paper
    Scissors
    Exacto Knife
    Pencil
    Glue
    Small Candle

Optional Supplies:

    Valspar Gold Glitter Spray
    Gold Leaf Paint
    Decorative Paint
    Paper Doilies

We began by drawing shapes and patterns on the construction paper. Blanca drew shooting stars, Mickey was inspired by palm trees and I chose a snow flake theme. Then we cut them out carefully with the exacto knife.

 

Once we had the designs cut, I painted my lantern red to emphasize its white interior. Mickey sprayed the inside of hers golden to make the paper sparkle against the flame of the candle, and Blanca outlined her stars with gold paint to create a very charming effect. 

 

Once the paper and accents were in place, we glued the two edges of the paper together to form a cylinder.  Once the glue was dry, we placed little candles inside the lanterns*.  We were so pleased with our beautiful crafts, we celebrated with cups of hot chocolate!

*Never leave lit candles in lanterns unattended

Books on Color for Christmas

I love books, especially in the winter! You can curl up with a hot cup and read, read, read. Books make wonderful Christmas gifts. They tell a person you appreciate their interests and want to support what they love. When you're thinking of what to get your favorite artist, aspiring designer, color enthusiast or do-it-yourself guru, try taking a look at some of these beauties.

For the fine arts painter:

Color Theory by Jose Parramon

This amazing book explains how color works in nature and gives examples of how color can be manipulated, mixed and juxtaposed. It talks about color harmonies, complements, contrasts and how to work with cool and warm hues.


For the total color-lover:

Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finaly

You can eat this book up; it's a rich and engaging look at color. The author brilliantly breaks the book into chapters by color, each dedicated to the history, lore and use of a particular color. 

Black: The History of a Color by Michel Pastooureau

The author takes us from the very beginnings of our exploration of painting when our ancestors turned to carbon for their pigment. This beautiful and generous image-filled book takes us through the ages, up to current culture, and how and why color still holds such power.

Blue: The History of a Color by Michel Pastooureau

“Pastoureau's text moves us through one fascinating area of activity to another. The jacket, cover and end papers of this luscious book are, appropriately, blue; its double-columned text breathes easily in the space of its pages. It is o well sewn it opens flat at any place. The fascinating, aptly chosen color plates, not confined to the title color, will please even those eyes denied the good luck of being blue.”
(Synopsis by William Gass, Los Angeles Times Book Review)

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield

"Elusive, expensive and invested with powerful symbolism, red cloth became the prize possession of the wealthy and well-born," Greenfield writes in her intricate, fully researched and stylishly written history of Europe's centuries-long clamor for cochineal, a dye capable of producing the "brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen."
(Synopsis by Publisher's Weekly)

Color of the Week - Fabulous Red

Last week's color of the week was Fabulous Red. We were in a festive mood. Dining rooms take a starring role this time of year, so we put together a palette that would add magic to any holiday gathering. With this intense rich red, try a deep warm neutral for the trim. We chose Wild Hawk. For accent colors, we went with Jekyll Club Cherokee Tan, Deep Earth and Lush Sage. Make your house festive, and celebrate color.

                 
               Fabulous Red 1011-2              Wild Hawk 6007-2B

                 
     Jekyll Club Cherokee Tan 6008-2A      Deep Earth 6010-2   

                                
                                    Lush Sage 5003-2B

        
                      Dining Room Painted in Fabulous Red