Color Buzz

Monet’s Garden Palette

by Michèle Coppin

Magic Wand 1001-2A	Tidal Basin 5001-7C	Green Shimmer 6004-10A	Tropical Rain Forest 6002-8B

French painter Claude Monet’s paintings are synonymous with color. He once said "Color is my day long obsession, joy and torment” (something we at Beehive understand well).

Brussels’ Public Murals

by Michèle Coppin

Public murals can really jazz up a city, which makes Brussels one of the jazziest cities around with its particularly quirky works. Most people associate cartoons with characters like Mickey Mouse, Snoopy or Superman. In Europe, however, there is a whole different appreciation for comic strips or "Bande Dessinée” (or BD for short). The undisputed capital of this surreal, absurd  and often political medium officially recognized as the 9th art, is the city of Brussels.

International Inspiration: Colored Shutters

by Veronique Habermann

Someday 4006-10B	Acropolis 7005-4

I grew up in an area of France on the Atlantic coast were houses are white and shutters are different shades of blue, the streets are paved with stones and the flowers are pink. In Europe colored shutters colors have been for used for centuries to give character and beauty to your house. The colors are often determined by regional tradition, but also by the owner's personal interpretation.

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.

San Francisco's Painted Ladies

by Michèle Coppin

Image Courtesy of Flicker
Plumberry 1004-3A	Misty Morning Dew 4003-3C	Tidal Basin 5001-7C

San Francisco’s architectural treasures line the city's streets in row-like palettes, they are the soul of old neighborhoods and the pride of the city; they are coquettish and colorful “Painted Ladies”.

Miami Art Deco Color and Architecture

by Megan Leblond

Art Deco Pink 1007-4C	La Fonda Fiesta Blue 5003-10A	Sonny Jonquil 3010-1	La Fonda Plaza Green 5007-6B

Here at Color Buzz we love to inform you about color specific topics, so you can surely understand my need to inform you about Miami Beach, a colorful tropic. Not only does Miami Beach have fabulous weather, its unique architecture melds to form a fantastic destination spot filled with history and contemporary fun. It is impossible to ignore the colorful buildings and their effect on the eye and heart. 

Red Front Doors

By Megan Leblond

People create red doors all over the world. Where did this colorful practice originate? Like many design traditions, it was formed by religious practices—the most notable: feng shui and Catholicism.

Thought to be a feng shui tradition, a red door is believed to be a bringer of stability and fortune. My sources tell me that this is an Americanized interpretation of the importance of a door in feng shui practice. Red is considered to be the most auspicious (of good omen, indicating future success) of all colors. But to say that a red door is good for any home would be a remedial interpretation of the practice of feng shui.

In Catholicism, a red door signifies that a sacrifice has been made and that ill fortune should pass by. The North, South, East and West doors of the church were painted red to signify the sacrifice of Jesus, and that those who enter would be safe from harm.  It was upon a red church door that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses, thus marking reformed churches and giving specific meaning to the red door for Protestants and Lutherans.

Red doors are simply popular in the U.S. and all over the world. They are believed by many cultures to be welcoming and inviting. My own home was purchased with red doors and I have not had the urge to change them.

My Front Door

Below are some thoughtful reds for doors from the Valspar collection. You can use any finish for a door, but most people use gloss or semi gloss for doors for easy cleaning and a nice, crisp look.

For a Dark Brown or Black home try:

Fabulous Red 1011-2

For a white home try:

Classic Red 1009-2

For a light neutral or cream colored home try:

Baked Bahama 1006-3A

For a yellow or green home try:

La Fonda Antique Red 2002-5A

For a blue or grey home try:

Jekyll Clubhouse Terra Cotta 2002-5C

Love Paintings

By Michele Coppin

February is the month of love. To celebrate, here are a few paintings that embody love with their romantic palettes. Each color scheme is characteristic of the artist’s particular style. These harmonious color combinations are great references and very inspirational.

The Kiss - Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt (1862 – 1918), founder of the Austrian Art Nouveau movement is best know for his decorative symbolic works and his flat un-shadowed surfaces, translucent, mosaic colors and forms surrounded by sinuous, curling background line and patterns. His painting “The Kiss” describes the sensual embrace of two bodies melding together in a golden glow of love and  dissolving into abstract patterns and  motifs.



This palette is reminiscent of Valspar’s 2010 Retro Retreat color trend palette–soft, earthy and sensual.

                   
     Nostalgia 4007-6A          Lyndhurst Shady Grove     Cloudy Sunset 3005-8A
                                                    5006-3B

                                   
                         Nice Berry 1005-3B               Fired Earth 6011-1

Designing the Biltmore Estate

By Megan Leblond

It was Richard Morris Hunt who was credited with bringing the Beaux-Arts school to architecture.  His designs mirroring the French Renaissance are part of the most luxurious in America.





In Asheville, North Carolina lies one of the United States largest homes. The Biltmore, named for the Vanderbilt family, specifically George Vanderbilt, was completed in 1895. It was built on a plot of land spanning over 175,000 acres. The project was completed with the help of landscape architect, Frederick Lawrence Olmstead. The residential estate features many unique architectural and design features, including a gymnasium and a façade of 780 square feet of Indiana Limestone. Also, the home was one of the first homes to sport Thomas Edison’s light bulb.





The home features over four acres of floor space, including over two-hundred rooms and forty-three bathrooms in the Nouveau-Riche style. Above, you’ll see an image of George Vanderbilt’s bedroom, adorned with a Grand Baroque style in a cream and scarlet color palette. The warm walnut interior offers a strong base for this deep and majestic color palette.



Of the more than 200 rooms, this yellow and black bedroom most appeals to me. The deep yellows are soothing, while the blacks are sensual. For balance, the white provides a pure and gentle femininity. To me the room seems happy, pure, innocent and dramatic. I would love to live in this room!



I’m sure you will agree that the estate is incredible. The next time you are considering a color palette for your home, why not take inspiration from The Biltmore?

Art Nouveau

By Michele Coppin

Art Nouveau is back! Its colors and patterns are reappearing in fashion and in interior decorating.



Intrigued by this beautiful and unusual style, I traveled to Brussels, the birth place of Art Nouveau, to learn more about it.

Brussels is the capital of lovely little Belgium, and of Europe as host to the seat of the EU (European Union).

It is a very international, cultural and vibrant metropolis with a long history, shown in its Medieval city walls, Romanesque churches, Gothic cathedrals and squares, Baroque palaces, Neoclassic and Art Deco edifices as well as many Art Nouveau architectural splendors – enough to keep any visitor going for days.

Brussels is very proud of its Art Nouveau heritage which it celebrates regularly. Last October, the Art Nouveau Biennial offered various exhibits and visits to private homes.