Color Buzz

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

President Reagan’s White House Bedroom

By Michele Coppin

I am not terribly impressed by the decorating styles of the eighties. However, I do recall one outstanding exception: Ronald and Nancy Reagan's White House bedroom.

When the Reagan's moved into the White House in 1981, Nancy called upon Ted Graber, an influential Hollywood society designer, to help redecorate.

"The Reagans liked the feeling of an English country house by way of California" said Paige Rense, editor in chief of Architectural Digest. "Nancy was especially concerned that everything was comfortable and cheerful for the President. She didn’t want any precious little French chairs. She wanted upholstered pieces that men would feel comfortable with."

For the master bedroom, Nancy and Ted chose a gorgeous 18th Century soft, yellow hand-painted Chinese wall paper, patterned with masses of birds flitting gracefully around the room. The print is light, uplifting, cheerful and elegant. Like Nancy, I love the "Chinoiserie" style. 

Chinoiserie refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the 17th Century that reflects Chinese artistic influences. It is characterized by the use of fanciful Chinese imagery, asymmetrical in format with whimsical contrasts of scale.

Photos courtesy of Architectural Digest

Chinese wall paper may appear quite feminine, but it works very well when offset with darker furniture like in this bedroom.

It is interesting to note that the Chinese invented paper, and they glued rice paper on their walls as early as 200 B.C. Around the 1700s, the first wallpapers were brought back to Europe from China and became immensely popular. Until the 19th Century, most of the monarchs in Europe had created their own Chinese interior complete with wallpaper, furnishings, paintings and porcelain.

Most wallpaper stores carry very pretty copies of 18th century hand painted originals. I find that one wall of these beautiful prints works well when balanced by one of its colors on other walls. For example:

  Pelican 4007 - 1A      

Design Dilemma – Designing Around Harvest Gold Fixtures

Dear Beehive Designers,

We have a somewhat small bathroom that has a harvest gold tub, shower and vanity top.

I have painted the vanity console "Country White" and the walls are a taupe/gray. I want to paint the walls a new color that will compliment the gold fixtures or make them blend in, rather than stand out.

There are no windows so I'm leery about using a dark color since the space is so small. Should I go with a pale yellow or maybe a shade of green? I need help!!!

Thanks,
Cheryl

………………………….

Dear Cheryl,

Don't give up hope! The harvest gold is actually not so bad. There's a reason so many of our homes were cove red in it in the mid-70s—it’s trying to "fix" what is already there that causes the problems. 

Your floor looks really cool. The red has a powerful punch. To compliment this, I would put a warm white on the walls like Whitewashed Oak. Try to find a white that will work with the grout, then have fun with accessories. 

 

I found this shower curtain at Target:

 

You could add something bold in a monochromatic tone will pack a punch. You want to keep the eye at play but not to over work it, especially in a bathroom. I recommend a navy and white print. The navy is a nice compliment to the harvest gold.  It stands up on its own and the complete palette offers a fun spin on all three primary colors.

If any of you readers out there have ever worked with Harvest Gold, jump in.  We'd love to hear your stories and ideas.

Good luck!

Ann McGuire

La Belle Vie

By Veronique Habermann 

Some people struggle to decide on a color for a room. Others get it right the first time; they seem to know exactly what they are looking for.

My friend Nona opened her first SPA (hair salon) a few weeks ago. It is a place she has dreamed of and worked hard for. The location is small, but after choosing the right wall color, she has made it very warm and cozy. It’s a place where you won’t mind spending a few hours with foil on your hair. Besides her warm staff, the expertise of her stylists and the wine, I think her color choice for the space has a lot to do with the relaxed atmosphere.

It seems like she had no hesitation with her choice. She knew what she wanted: a warm, pleasant, intimate and sensual place. But she also had an exact color in mind.

Nona grew up in St. Petersburg and her favorite place to visit there is the Yusupov Palace, a beautiful, long, yellow building on a quiet stretch of the Moika River. The palace was once the residence of the wealthy and respected Yusupov family and was the site of one of the most dramatic episodes in Russian history, the murder of Gregory Rasputin.

Nona has always loved the "red room" there, and while picking colors from a Valspar deck, she found the exact color: Jeweltone. She also used wild lavender for the hallway, and with the help of her very talented contractor, Sevdi Veliu, she chose a textured sandstone paint to add depth.

The wall color, in addition with her choice of dark chocolate wood, really achieves the goal she had in mind. And with a name like "La Belle Vie"...Bravo!

***

Now that spring is finally here, what item at your home is most in need of a fresh coat of paint? Plase, check out the right sidebar to cast your vote!

Of Bees and Honey

We at Beehive Studios are very fond of bees and honey. Bees are the most important pollinating insects and are even known as symbols of immortality. Their social structures and work skills have fascinated mankind for centuries, making them the emblem of industry and the inspiration for our blog. They also inspired Napoleon, who included the honeybee on his personal crest.



Beekeeping is also one of the oldest forms of animal husbandry, as bees were kept in beehives since antiquity. Indeed, Greek honey is delicious and quite famous.



Golden, sweet honey has always been held in high regard. The Bible refers to heaven as the "Land of Milk and Honey." In ancient times, honey was considered the food of the gods and the symbol of wealth and happiness. In the Middle Ages, honey was fermented and made into mead, one of the oldest alcoholic beverages.

Results of 1st Color Buzz Poll - Living Rooms

From our first readers' poll, we learned that many of you would place your living room first on your "to paint" list.  Living rooms are a great way to make the most of your painting time and money because they are the public space of the house, where you entertain friends and family. From cocktails to children's play dates, this room is the stage for so many of life's enjoyable moments. Putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls can make a big difference.

For most of us, we want a cozy or maybe rustic living room where we can unwind. To create a cozy space, try a deep, rich color that you can incorporate with fabrics and rugs. A red could go nicely with colors of sand or stone. For a bold statement, try a red like Oatlands Upholstery Red 1008-3A. Staining the ceiling a bone color keeps a sense of lightness in the space.

If you prefer light and airy, try lighter shades to make a room feel more spacious. In this living room, the creamy whites play off each other and the soft neutrals give some dimension. The charcoal coffee table anchors the space. When working with whites, try to find ones that have a bit of brown and gray to them so that the color isn't mistaken for a pastel. To achieve this look, try Snow Cap 7003-8 or Romano 7003-15. 

The third living room we wanted to share pairs a rich, warm gold with fabrics of subtly lighter shades. This gives the walls more drama, but maintains the sophisticated atmosphere, while the blue accents add some kick. The room appears bigger as the eye moves out into the hall to rest on the gray-blue matting of the bird prints.

There are many ways to approach this very social room. Let us know how you treat your living room and what colors and textures are of interest to you

Design Dilemma: Kamonda’s Guest Bedroom

Hi!

I am having problems deciding on a shade of purple for my guest bedroom. The pictures below are of the sham. The bedspread is the same pattern with gray/blue, olive, gold, purple and beige. You’ll also see a picture of the headboard - the wood has a cherry finish and the metal is black.

             

             

             

It is a small room, so I wanted to paint one wall a deeper shade than the other three to make the room appear larger. But I am open to using one color throughout.

The two colors I picked were Valspar Plum Burst, on the wall with the window and bed, and Purple Gala on the other three walls. 

     

Plum Burst 4002-10B   Purple Gala 4002-10A

After reading how hard the color purple is to use in design, I'm second guessing myself and really need some direction.
 
Please Help!
 
Sincerely,
Kamonda

…………………………………

Dear Kamonda,

Don't despair; you're on the right track. We’re really happy you've chosen to go with the deeper color on the windowed wall. Can you center the bed under the window? I could see the room looking very elegant with the bed there and floor-to-ceiling raw silk panels in a camel color. For a shade, try a light champagne color. What color is your trim? You may want to go with Cream in my Coffee or Hopsack. 

                

Cream in my Coffee 3003-10C   Hopsack 3033-10B

Let us know how it turns out!

Thanks,

The Beehives