Color Buzz

Pantone Spring 2010 Paint Color Inspirations

by Michèle Coppin

  

The Pantone selection for spring is a collection of neutral and bold hues that balance each other out beautifully. While classic neutrals are elegant and reassuring, zesty splashes of brighter hues will  lend a sense of excitement and exoticism to any palette.

Child-Friendly DIY Mother's Day Gift: "Tree" Jewelry Display

by Veronique Habermann

Kids love to make gifts themselves, especially for their moms. Here is a fun and easy project that kids will love as it involves a  favorite child's past time: gathering sticks and stones! Many thanks to Ann’s adorable son Jack who helped me with this project!

Bold Accents for Neutral Backdrops

by Michèle Coppin

Image via Apartment Therapy
Spring Lawn 6006-9C	Ripe Melon 2002-1C

A bold splash of color in a neutral environment brings a room to life. It can energize the space with drama, elegance or whimsy depending on the palette. Master colorist and painter Henri Matisse used bold color combinations to create dynamic compositions. His beautiful paintings are a great source of inspiration.

The Colors of Art Nouveau - Valspar's Vintage Romance Palette

by Michèle Coppin

Toffee Cream 3001 – 3B	Maple Cream 3003 – 4B

Art Nouveau is a style rich in color as well as design, with nature as its source; if Art Nouveau’s language is form, its vocabulary is color.

Friday Project Series: Do-It-Yourself Fabergé Eggs

By Veronique Habermann

Russian jeweler Fabergé is most known for its exquisite jeweled eggs that were originally made for the Russian Tsars and are now worth quite a fortune. Here is a DIYversion of Fabergé eggs that are unbreakable (as I filled them with plaster) and won’t break the bank!

Friday Project Series: "Fool’s Gold” Umbrella Stand

by Veronique Habermann

April starts next week and two things come to my mind thinking about this month, April Fool’s day and April showers (Yes, I am leaving “tax day” in that other area of my brain called “denial”). So I thought this project would be perfect for this spring month! Jokes aside, The "Fool's Gold" umbrella stand uses a great technique that can be used on many different surfaces and produces a truly “fooling,” antique gold look. I recommend doing the spraying part outdoors.

Design Dilemma: Letisha's Kitchen

Hi,

I painted my kitchen a Valspar shade of brown. I love the color but do not know the name. Now that it is on my walls, I don't know what to do with the new color. I like calm greens, golden shades, and elegant jewel tones in any range and would like to incorporate it with my new wall color. Help me enjoy my kitchen! I appreciate your help.

Letisha

Friday Project Series: Recycled Gift Wrap

By Veronique Habermann

In these times of economic hardship and awareness of the environment, I thought it would be nice this year to wrap my gifts in the recycled boxes and bags I have been saving for a while. Here is what you need – but be creative. There is no limit here:

• Assorted sizes of recycled shipping boxes (with online shopping, we all end up with so many!)
• Assorted packing material
• Recycled ribbons (any color)
• Raffia strings (50 cents at craft store)
• Recycled jewelry boxes
• Assorted sizes of recycled paper bags
• Valspar spray paint in metal silver
• Valspar spray paint in glitter gold
• Valspar spray paint in metal glitter copper

Make sure you tear off all shipping labels on boxes. Also, work in a well-ventilated area and unlike me, wear latex gloves!

Let your creativity guide you and spray paint your gift wrapping and packages in solid colors or use our stencil templates from last week’s DIY holiday cards post to create a design. Add on bows, raffia strings and ribbons for extra flair. And remember, be sure sure to let everything properly dry before wrapping all of your presents!

 

 

Voila! Have fun!

Design Dilemma: Donna's Living Room Sofa

Hi Designers!  

The color of the sofa in this living room is teal. It doesn't photograph well, but it's very similar to Valspar’s Spa Green. Although I like the gold in this room I would like another colorful option other then gold. What would you recommend when working with teals?

Thanks, 

Donna

   
     Spa Green 5004-6A
   

Color of the Week - Hubble House Golden Maize

Hubbell House Golden Maize is a rich golden color that reflects the colors of the changing leaves and harvest moon. This would be a beautiful color for your entry, dining room or small-sized family room. Try it with Fairmont Penthouse Stone on the trim and Shoreline Haze on the ceiling. Bring in accents of cinnamons and silvers.

                   
        Hubbell House          Fairmont Penthouse Stone   Shoreline Haze 6008-1B
   Golden Maize 3004-5C                6008-1C