Color Buzz

Color of the Week - Ivory Brown

Ivory Brown is a soft, mid-toned chalk brown. It has beautiful undertones of platinum and is a very elegant color for a dining room. Try it with City Steam on the trim and Oatbran on the ceiling. Bring in silvers and deep chocolates with hints of copper.

                   
    Ivory Brown 6006-1C          City Steam 7006-5              Oatbran 6006-1B

A Brush with Kindness

By Michele Coppin

While in Minneapolis, I discovered a charming neighborhood that is experiencing a true revival. Many homes have been recently renovated; several are currently being fixed up. Still, many are in need of repair. The community exudes a sense of pride, many touting signs encouraging neighbors to maintain tidy front yards.

I discovered that these inspiring transformations are due to a wonderful program called "A Brush With Kindness." Its founder and manager Pat Lund explained that A Brush with Kindness is a special program of the Twin Cities’ Habitat for Humanity organization. It is a volunteer program that transforms neighborhoods by assisting qualifying low income home owners in their efforts to live independently and secularly in their homes. It works in cooperation with churches, business and neighborhood associations. Volunteer crews adopt specific homes where they do exterior and interior painting as well as minor repairs. Homeowners work along side the volunteer crews. This program works year round serving about 100 families with 2,000 volunteers.

Valspar, the national paint partner for Habitat conceived the "Brush With Kindness" program, which started in 1998. Valspar donates large amounts of cash and paint to the organization.

Pat Lund said, "Valspar has been a terrific partner. They donate paint, financially support us and come up with volunteers to help us. They understand the importance of having a home and keeping a home."

Many Valspar employees volunteer on these projects. Mike Dougherty, vice president of communication for Valspar, said employees come back to volunteer year after year.

This program clearly makes a huge difference in people’s lives and makes me proud to be associated with Valspar.

Holiday Food Color Inspiration

By Veronique Habermann

Inspiration for color palettes can come from anywhere. As I have been getting myself into cooking mode for the big Thanksgiving holiday, I also realized how inspiring browsing through cookbooks can be. On an empty stomach, all I could think about at first was lunch, but after I fixed myself a nice sandwich (turkey, of course), I let my senses take on the beautiful show of colors. I even researched paintings that were inspired by these foods. Here are some inspiring images along with color palettes inspired by each image:

                                   
                Orange Nut 2004-1C                   Autumn Blaze 2002-1A

                                   
               Golden Spell 3004-1B                  Almond Cream 3001-4C

                               
         Whipped Strawberry 1006-1A          Mystic Taupe 1002-9A

                                
               Autumn Fog 4007-1B         Lyndhurst Castle Sand 5008-1C

                   
     Plumberry 1004-3A        Market Flower 1005-3C         Homestead Resort
                                                                             Parlour Raspberry 1006-3B

                   
  Dusky Purple 1003-5A        Coffee Whip 2008-3A      Toasted Honey 2006-1B

                                
                      Carolina Inn                        Jekyll Grand Dining
              Lobby Yellow 3008-6B                  Sea Mist 5006-3C




                               
               Heirloom Red 1010-3                Pensive Plum 1002-3A

                                
                Perfect Plum 1011-7                Plum Passion 6007-5B




                   
   Berry Blush 1004-1A            Quite Red 1011-3          Hint of Cherry 1004-1B




                               
               Sassy Green 6009-10              Everglade Glen 6003-6A
                                
                Fresh Pear 6007-7C                 Desert Flower 6008-5A

Pilgrim Colors

Just in case any of you were wondering what colors the pilgrims would have been wearing for their first Thanksgiving in 1621... wonder no more! Yes, they had colors and not just the black and brown we’ve come to attribute to them.



Unlike the Puritans, the pilgrims were not forbidden to wear colors. Their dyed fabrics came from the home land so most of what they wore reflected the style of the post Elizabethan England. Reds, yellows, purples, greens, grays and, of course, blacks were all part of their fashion. Different colors signified different social standings. Black: solid respectability; blue: children and servants; russet: countrymen.





Of course, the Wampanoag wore animal skins so they were decked out in gorgeous browns, grays and ivories.  

All I know is that tomorrow, when putting together an outfit, I’m going to be very thankful for all the beautiful colors I get to choose from. Of course, I’ll probably end up in something blue...  guess I’ll be put to work in the kitchen...

All of us here at Color Buzz are very thankful for the opportunity to share our love of color with all of you.  We hope we are making your lives more beautiful and color more exciting and fun! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!! Enjoy...

Autumn Cornucopias

By Veronique Habermann

Cornucopias are, to me, the most appealing symbols of Thanksgiving. Cornucopia means horn of plenty in Latin. The traditional cornucopia was a goat’s horn filled to the brim with fruits and grains. In Greek mythology, Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus, broke one of her horns while playing with him. To make up for it, Zeus returned her horn with supernatural powers, which would give the person in possession of the horn whatever he or she wished for. Zeus also set the goat's image in the sky, which we know as the constellation Capricorn.

 

A weaved basket version, filled with miniature, assorted color gourds makes a great Thanksgiving table centerpiece, but when it comes to centerpieces, the sky is the limit. I like to have a set on the appetizer table filled with fruits and cheeses spilling out of the cornucopia onto a cutting board (I am French after all!). It is also a very festive way to display fall flower bouquets.

Color of the Week - Coral Gables Biltmore Mediterranean Mocha

Last week, we continued to explore great dining room colors. For an elegant, sophisticated look, try Coral Gables Biltmore Mediterranean Mocha. This color is a mid-tone neutral with lots of warmth and a hint of rose. Try this hue with Desert Fortress on the ceiling and Vanilla Steam for the trim. Bring in accents of plums, violets and silvers.

                    
  Coral Gables Biltmore     Desert Fortress 2008-10B    Vanilla Steam 2006-10C
  Mediterranean Mocha
           2005-10A

Friday Project Series: Simply Spray Paint Magic

I’m having dinner at my house over Thanksgiving weekend (I’m spared the actual Thanksgiving dinner thanks to my mother-in-law!). But don’t worry, people will still be coming over, and I want to give them something nice to eat and also something to feast their eyes on!

I couldn’t believe how gorgeous this project turned out!  I’m so excited. The real beauty is how easy it is... and how inexpensive!

It’s all in the art of spray paint. First, you go gather things from the yard, or in the case of my friend Susan, something from the produce section of the grocery store. You then pick a favorite metallic spray finish.  For this, I chose silver.



Get on the gloves and in a well-ventilated space, start spraying and let the magic happen. I spray painted leaves, branches and pine cones.



For the acorns, I went with copper, just to give a little dimension.



My friend used silver spray painted on apples, which turned out beautiful.




Then comes the fun of setting it out on the table and lighting the candles. Voila! The added beauty of working with objects from the yard is that you can pack them up and use them year after year. Even during these tough times, we have so much to be thankful for. Adding a little sparkle to the table reminds us of the good things ahead. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

A Lighter Shade of Ivory

I have some wonderful clients who recently remodeled their home.


Their family has grown and now grandchildren are filling their home. They've created a kitchen that is functional (he's an amazing cook), but also a place where the family can gather. They were happy with everything except the color of the walls.




They called me in to address this problem; they weren't sure what they wanted. "Something to make it look bigger," they kept saying, "We feel like we’re in a cave."

There were several elements in the room that had to be taken into consideration. First, one wall was made completely of field stone with lots of greens and blues. Their countertops were a gorgeous raw granite, which had ivories and golds. Also, they had lots of stainless steel throughout the space.

We pulled out the color chips from the neutral side of the deck – putties, taupes, grays, straws and honey colors. At first we wanted to pull colors from the stone, but that would have left them with a room that was cooler than the warm kitchen in their minds.


We all agreed on a milky warm palette of Shoreline Haze, Filoli Gold Ecru, Cloudy Sunset and Woodlawn Whitewash. Then to add just a touch of the stone, I added Oatlands Subtle Taupe.


For this finish, I used a 3" brush and washed over the existing terracotta-colored wall.


I went with a color wash because the walls have a grainy texture to them, which looks great with a color wash. Also, a color wash creates the illusion of expansion so the room looks bigger. Here are the results:






They are very pleased! But more importantly, their grandchildren love being in this room, especially when Pop is cooking up something good.

                   
  Shoreline Haze 6008-1B   Filoli Gold Ecru 3008-8C    Cloudy Sunset 3005-8A

                                   
            Woodlawn Whitewash 6008-1A  Oatlands Subtle Taupe 6005-1B

Color of the Week - Buckskin Pony

Last week’s Color of the Week was Buckskin Pony, a gorgeous color for a dining room. It's rich, deep honey color is not unlike the color of butternut squash soup. Delicious! Try it with Barcelona White on the trim and Churchill Hotel Wheat on the ceiling. Accent with sage green and rust colors.

                                      
                 Buckskin Pony 3004-7C     Barcelona White 7003-14

                                      

                               Churchill Hotel Wheat 3005-10B

Inspiring Design: Frank Lloyd Wright

By Megan Leblond

In 1894, in Frank Lloyd Wright’s first public address, he said, “Let your home appear to grow easily from it’s site and shape it to sympathize with the surroundings if nature manifest there, and if not, try and be quiet, substantial, and organic as she would have been if she had the chance.”

Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and design is known worldwide. From Falling Water (1935, seen above) to the famous Guggenheim Art Museum (1959, seen below), Wright’s designs are seen as the forefront of modern architecture. As a child I was privileged to visit the luxurious Susan Lawrence Dana House (1902) in the Illinois state capitol of Springfield. The early Wright home design was created so that the owner could entertain on a lavish scale. It quickly became an important Illinois social center.

If we look at Wright’s body of work—his homes, furniture, stained glass, sculpture, and buildings—we can see how the integrity of his designs provoke us. The vision of a man who believed the family hearth to be the center of the human experience, and place to be that which was only in harmony with the natural landscape, inspires and invigorates us. Wright wanted us to be inspired by nature and with our practice and regard, be “Not looking at, but looking in.”

The colors used in Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture reflect what Wright said was “appropriate to place.” The natural materials used in his designs create a basis for harmonies in the structure. His use of stucco, wood and brick in a single design was innovative for its time. Wright was always aware of the design site in which he was designing. If you have been intrigued by Wright’s designs, consider the following and take inspiration from your surroundings:

• What surrounds your home?
• Are you in a neighborhood, city, or countryside?
• What are some of the geographic features of your property and the surrounding areas?
• What type of nature, if any, is present?
• How could you reflect the tone of ‘family’ or ‘hearth’ in your space?
• How will your space serve you and others?
• How will your color choices verify your family goals and vision?

Wright believed that the mission of a building was to serve people. One of the sweetest examples of Wright’s vision is the playroom designed for his six children at his home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois. The large room with fireplace is designed with the children’s best interest at heart. A place spacious for the imaginings of children, dolls, plays, charades and parties, the space holds a beautiful mural created by Wright based on the Arabian Night tale, “The Fisherman and Genie.” His illustration of the genie is said to be his first stylized abstract-line pattern.
 
With our own projects, lets use some of the same purist philosophy of the master builder, Frank Lloyd Wright.
 
If your interested in learning more about the designs of FLW, there are many excellent publications. I recommend “Frank Lloyd Wright: Master Builder by Universe publishing.” Let us know what you think!