Color Buzz

Desert Colors

By Michèle Coppin

Summer is mostly associated with the beach, but at the other end of the spectrum lie deserts – fantastic, wild landscapes with sandstone spines, rocky mountain, sandy dunes and valleys.

Deserts are painted with palettes of soft pinks, tans, golden yellows, rich browns, deep oranges and fiery reds with deep purple shadows. The light has a different quality in the desert. Its long rays turn pale tans and ocher into shades of flamboyant crimson.

Many national parks are home to these dry treasures, which are well worth a detour, if not a destination. My favorites are: Monument Valley, Arizona, Anza Borrego, California and Zion, Utah. They are spectacular jewels of nature.

Deserts have been inspiring artists for millennia, but to date, no one has captured the desert's colors, atmosphere and flowing combination of flora and geology better than Georgia O'Keeffe, who painted the landscapes of her beloved New Mexico.

The colors of the desert provide great palettes for warm, earthy interiors that can be beautifully enhanced with Valspar's Sandstone technique. Sandstone's soft, sandy texture and distinctive granular appearance adds unique style and quiet sophistication to walls, while also hiding imperfections in three easy steps. Follow Valspar's Sandstone instructions to give it a try.

Color of the Week - Blushing Bride

Last week's Color of the Week, Blushing Bride is a slightly pink gray-beige. It's a very sophisticated color and would look beautiful with silvers and ivories. This would be beautiful in a bedroom trimmed with Pam's Lace and Santa Fe Spirit on the ceiling.

                   
Blushing Bride 2001-10B       Pam's Lace 7006-7A       Santa Fe Spirit 3005-10A

Newlywed Styles Merged

I've been working with a client who recently got married. She loves her new husband but also really loves her style, which she would describe as Romantic. She and her husband have been having a great time setting up their new home together. The one piece they had a problem with was an old armoire that she has dragged around with her since college. She really wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons (did I mention she's a romantic?) but also because it's great for storage. 

The armoire has been a deep burgundy for most of its life. In the couple's new home it needed to change. He has more of a Classic style and really appreciates things that have a traditional feel to them.

When looking at the armoire, it seemed obvious what to do. First, it needed to be lightened up to work better in the new environment. To do this, we sanded the entire piece and then primed it. 

Then we had a blank canvass. I thought a light color would be best because it sits in a dark corner. We picked the color Stony Path. It reads white but it has a bit of sage/green to it that will set the armoire apart from the white trim.

   

   
    Stony Path 5007-1B

To take the armoire in a classic direction, I painted out the curved frames of the door panels. For the sides of the armoire, I measured the outline of a panel.

The outline measures ½” wide and runs along the entire length and width of the side. This helps bring some dimension to it.

Since my client loves romance, we went with a soft gray blue: Cincinnatian Hotel Ashley Atrium.

           
Cincinnati Hotel Ashley Atrium 4007-5C

I went back and gently brushed on a little of the Stony Path to soften the edges.  Here's the final result:

Color Me Happy

Color plays a huge part in affecting our mood and emotions. Drab, muted tones can have a calming effect, but if you're already feeling a little down, you might want to spice it up with a few pops of bright color.

Sunshine Daydream
Bring in colors that are rich and saturated, like bright yellow. Pair this with a milky white and a fiery orange to add bold sunshine to your room. To maintain balance in the room, add touches of gray, silver and light violet.

For a splash of orange, try this Dandelion Field Silk Pillow from Target:

                                               

             

 Sunny Jonquil 3010-1  Elizabethan Yellow 3009-1  Fresh Persimmons 2009-1

Burst of Red
Red is an ultra fun color, especially if used sparingly. Try it on one wall of a room, or hang red drapes. You could even anchor a room with a racy red couch like the Hampton sofa in Cardinal or a warm, cozy red rug like the Medina rug from West Elm. It will add a little fire to your life.

 

                            
                        La Fonda Fireberry 1010-1

Love Our Style

We are so excited to embark on a special project with Valspar paint! We are reaching out to America’s newlyweds and asking them to send us their design dilemmas. One of the first challenges people face as a couple is merging two styles into one great look for the home. So, each week, from Aug. 24 to Oct. 16, we will select one couple to receive a virtual color consultation to help bridge individual styles into a cohesive design. These couples will automatically be entered to win a real room/decorative paint makeover by us! 

To get started, visit Valspar’s “Love, Our Style” site, where you’ll find a fun interactive quiz that reveals your combined couple style and learn how to enter the contest. For the next month and a half, some of our blog entries will focus on issues many new couples face, as well as some easy DIY projects you can do together, such as painting your bedroom, making your own artwork, wedding frames and many more. So, come back often and let us know what you think!

*Please note, our "Ask the Expert" program will be on hold until mid-October as we focus our efforts on this program. Thanks for your understanding!

Friday Project Series: A Little Bit of Home

By Veronique Habermann

One of my best friends has a son named Jason who is entering college this week. He grew up in Hawaii and is an avid and talented surfer. Fortunately for his surfing skills, he got accepted to a very good California college.

His mom lost her job this summer and on top of that was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of having her son away from home. So she asked me for simple advice on how to bring a little bit of home to Jason's very bare room he was going to share – all on a very tight budget.

First, we learned that Jason wanted to store his surfboard in the room. So with the help of two very inexpensive hooks ($1.50 each at IKEA), we were able to store his beloved surfboard in the dorm room as a decoration piece.

As a side table, we used this old table she was about to throw out.

I first painted on a coat of La Fonda Ecru in satin. Then, to give it a more weathered look, I used very watered down acrylic paint in burnt umber (you can get this at any art store for $2).

   
  La Fonda Ecru 3006-8C

I wiped it off almost immediately with a cloth. You can leave more or less brown showing, according to your taste.

I did the same procedure with two lamp shades.

I downloaded images of a stylized turtle and a hibiscus flower that I found by doing a Google search for   "Hawaii stencil image.” I copied them on some Mylar paper and cut two stencils, one for the table, and one for the shades.

I then stenciled them on the table and shades; I kept the colors simple and used the same tube of burnt umber, so as not to offend the roommate.

I also stenciled a thin stripe on the table center to give it a surfboard feel.

A little goes a long way when sharing a room and I think we succeeded at bringing a little bit of Hawaii into Jason's room. Have a good school year Jason!

Tattooed Mom’s

By Megan Leblond

Philadelphia has a great restaurant, Tattooed Mom's, located at 530 South Street. The fabulous menu includes corndogs, tater tots, mac and cheese, pirogues and tacos. The eatery provides comfort food to many local and visiting patrons. Listed as a dive bar, Tattooed Mom's is, in my words, 'basically fantastic'. The simple food, bowls of candy, cheap drinks and sensational green walls lends to conversation and fun.

The best part is that friends can wander into the joint and have a truly relaxing afternoon in the low-key atmosphere. The bright green walls were calm and soothing with an air of fancy. When I’m there, I feel like I’m in a punked-out American version of an absinthe bar. I was surprised how reassuring the bright green seemed and how the walls evoked a sense of well-being with just the right amount of edge – like being enveloped in a chic urban forest. The color is stimulating and creates a sense of place I won't soon forget. You should really check it out if you are ever in Philly.  

Here are some images of Tattooed Mom's and some other gloriously green rooms:

The Colors of John Deere

By Michèle Coppin

In spring and summer, the countryside comes alive with the chirping of birds, the buzzing of insects and the low hum of those beautiful green and yellow tractors.

This is the season for John Deeres to go back to work after a long winter's rest. I love watching these powerful machines plowing the fields like giant toys, sturdy and American as the flag.

The story of John Deere, the man who developed the world's first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow, closely parallels the settlement and development of the Midwestern United States, an area the homesteaders of the 19th century considered the Golden Land.

No one really knows why John Deere tractors are green and yellow. The earliest illustration of John Deere equipment with the green and yellow color scheme is of a plow in the 1905 Deere and Weber catalog.

I think Mr. Deere was inspired by the ground under his feet: yellow flowers, green grass and weeds.  What a wonderful choice, as the green and yellow combination is reminiscent of nature. It is fresh, fun and totally unexpected for machinery.

This palette from "color lovers" speaks of spring and illustrates perfectly the John Deere colors.

My fondness for tractors has led me to read a very good book entitled, "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian," Marina Lewycka. This novel is a comic look at family bonds and a vehicle for social satire. The surprisingly fascinating and philosophical history of tractors interweaves throughout the text, a true delight and a wonderful summer read.

Color of the Week - Sea Wave

Last week's Color of the Week, Sea Wave is a light and airy blue-green that captures the joy of summer fun. Trim it with Whitewashed Oak and accents of Wild Frontier, La Fonda Ecru and Peach Taffy.

                   
     Sea Wave 5006-9C      Whitewashed Oak 7006-23    Wild Frontier 2001-9C        
                                   
                      La Fonda Ecru 3006-8C           Peach Taffy 2006-4A

Interior Transformation of a Doctor’s Office

By Megan Leblond

Dated and unappealing, this office space needed to be transformed into a contemporary doctor’s office. To do so, the room was gutted of existing walls and the wallpaper and border were painstakingly removed.

Our next step was to determine our design palette. We placed samples of tile, carpet and wood flooring next to each other and next to paint chips. The goal was to create a sophisticated and natural feel.

On the unfinished floor we mapped out the space to understand where different elements would meet and add to the overall feel. This is a great way to better understand space and make simple modifications before the pieces of the puzzle are installed.

Next, we primed the walls in order to better understand the light in the space and make color decisions without the influence of the old cornflower blue.

Golds, forest greens, and a teal blues were present in the carpet we selected. Honey-colored wood flooring and a cool, gray-toned tiles were chosen. We constructed an exam room, several report rooms and a theater space with a rounded wall.

To create a confidant, stable and intimate feel, darker colors were chosen for the exam and report spaces. Because the large open room had less natural light, we chose a light sage and cream color for the common area used by the secretary, doctor and patients.

The colors we used were Panacea 6002-3A, Belle Grove Moss 6002-3C, Woodlawn Lace 3006-10C and Fairmont Suite Gold 3003-8A.

Please Remember: When attempting a project of any scale, make sure to record evidence of friends and loved ones who help you. It’s always fun to reminisce about hard work completed!