Color Buzz

And the Oscar for Best Color goes to...

by Veronique Haberman

Excitement builds as the Academy Awards approach and like many, the reason I enjoy watching is to find out who will wear what. This is it; one "faux pas" and a celebrity can stay on the worst dressed list for years to come, or the right choice and a barely known starlet can be catapulted to the top.

I can't wait for next Monday to report my take on color trends, but I would like to pay homage to what this event is really about: cinema. The following nominated movies' colors inspired me the most this year. I created a few palettes for each movie according to a scene that moved me the most. Let the colors talk!

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Grand Hotel Mackinac Blue	Peach Champagne 2006-4C	Lime Kiss 6008-9A

Colors of Academy Award Nominated Films

by Michele Coppin

Two of my favorite movies nominated for Oscars this year tell the stories of strong independent women--Coco Before Chanel and Young Victoria.

    
 
The colors, sets and photography are magnificent, while the exquisite costumes and their respective styles can be great sources of inspiration.

Styles of Romance

By Michèle Coppin

Decorating can be daunting and confusing with so many styles to choose from. Knowing which style you are or like can be very helpful. Here are some visual aids to help you identify where you fit in:
 
If this is your ideal home:


If you like floral wall paper and lots of flowers:


If you like soft muted colors and pretty furniture:


If you like delicate window treatments and diffused light:


If you like pretty embroidered pillows:


If you like pale linens with delicate patterns:


If you Love paintings by the "Pre-Raphaelites" of lovely maidens playing the harp with flowers in their hair:


And beautiful Japanese prints of birds and flowers:


If this is your ideal get away:


And finally, if you named your cat Ophelia, you have read Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" more than once and your favorite movie is "Doctor Zhivago":
 


Then, congratulations… you are a hopeless ROMANTIC!
 
As a romantic you might like these palettes:
 
Warm:
                   
  Pretty Orchid 1002-8B         Lilac Intuition 7001-1        Dust Bunny 2005-10B

Cool:
                   
    Ocean Buff 7005-7           Betsy's Linen 7005-16       Seashore Fog 7004-22

Earthy:
                   
 Bungalow White 2005-1C    Dust Bunny 2005-10B        Modest Silver 4002-1A
 

Romantic palettes work best with shades of one color and very subtle accents.

Couples, remember to check out Valspar's "Love, Our Style" site for tips on merging styles AND a chance to win a room/paint makeover from Beehive Studios! This is the last week to enter the makeover contest, so don't forget to send in your stories!

An Oscar Look-Back

By Michèle Coppin

Sunday night was the Oscars and a chance to revisit some of my all-time favorite movies. I love period pieces for their extravagant costumes, make up and hair styles. I delight in the attention to detail in the interiors, accessories and jewelry. For me, a movie has to be visually beautiful, tell a great story, have great acting and have wonderful music (no car chases, shoot outs or boxing please....).

So here are my choices for best period pieces of all times - They are Academy Award winners or nominees, historical and biographical, tragic and elegant. They all share similar themes of injustice, resistance, and search for love, and following their success, have influenced fashion and interior decorating.
 
1 - BARRY LYNDON
1975 - Directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Ryan O'Neal and Marisa Berenson - This stunning movie recounts the story of Barry Lyndon, an unscrupulous 18th century adventurer, including his rise and fall in English society, his marriage to Lady Lyndon and his love for his son. In recent years, it has come to be regarded as one of Kubrick's finest films, as well as a classic example of world cinema. The entire movie uses only natural and candle light. The photography is breathtaking and the story heart-wrenching. The Baroque music, including pieces by Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, is moving and gorgeous. Musical director Leonard Rosenman won the Academy Award for best musical score.

         

2 – FARINELLI
1994 - Directed by Belgian director Gerard Corbiau, starring Stefano Dionisi - Glorious and tragic, this movie tells the real-life story and career of Italian singer Farinelli who is  considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all times. As a young boy, Carlo Broshi was castrated in order to preserve his voice. The story recounts his subsequent rise to fame, fortune and tragedy. This film is about theater, performances, glory and, of course, music. It was nominated for an Academy award and won the 1995 Best Foreign Film Golden Globe.

                       

3 - MARIE ANTOINETTE
2006 - Directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Kristen Dunst. This biographical film is loosely based on the life of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It follows the young woman's trials and tribulations as she learns her role of queen, wife and mother and her complete disconnect from the world outside the palace walls. Tragic and moving, this movie combines a strange anachronistic mixture of music from Baroque (Vivaldi) to New wave (The Cure). It won an Academy award for best costume design by Milena Canonero.

                       

4 - THE DUCHESS
2008 - Directed by Saul Dibb, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. This biographical movie is based on the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgina Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. While her beauty and charisma made her name, her extravagant tastes for gambling and love made her infamous. Married young to the older distant Duke of Devonshire who was blatantly unfaithful, Georgina became a fashion icon, a doting mother, a shrewd political operator and darling of the common people. The core of the story, however, is a desperate search for love. The late Diana Princess of Wales is a direct descendant of Georgina and critics have drawn similarities between the two. Award winning composer Emma Portman's musical score is beautiful, the scenery is breath taking, the set design is spectacular and the acting superb. The film won an Oscar Sunday night for best costume design.