Color Buzz

Finding Your Favorite Color Combinations

By Megan Leblond
                                

If you are thinking about making changes in your home’s décor, color combinations can seem challenging and overwhelming. Fret not! You are your best compass.

From bold color combinations to the palest of hues, your sensibilities will reveal themselves. One way that I guide myself through color combinations is to simply recognize and take note of combinations that I like. There are often colors or combinations of colors that we “respond” to, but it doesn’t necessarily  mean that we “like” or “enjoy” them.

As a starting point, snip images of color combinations or styles of home décor that you like when you see them in magazines or catalogs. Print color images off the computer, or make copies from books whenever you feel compelled. You can also take photographs of colors or architectural elements you notice in your everyday activities. Please don’t wait until you are working on a project to do this!  It may seem elementary, but it is so helpful. 

 By gathering a stockpile of color combinations that you like, you will already have a great reference when the time comes to begin a project! Not only will this activity help you to recognize your taste, but it may also help you recognize how existing elements in your home can be reinvigorated. This collection will also help you create a visual when working with others working on the project.  

My own collection is filled with tons of snippets from Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, Horticulture Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple and Dwell. These clippings can also help to narrow down, not only color combinations you love, but styles and elements you refuse to live without!  

Whatever you do, do not miss out on Valspar’s amazing collection of color palettes online. You can  maneuver through all types of palettes and paint a virtual room to see how your choices will appear together. This is a fantastic resource that anyone working on a DIY project should utilize. If you have any questions you would like to ask us, or if you have any images you would like to share of color combinations or projects you have completed, please send them along!

Hip, Hot, Cool Grey

By Michèle Coppin

Grey is finally getting the recognition it deserves as one of the hottest colors for the New Year! Greys started regaining popularity in 2008, and as noted by my fellow Beehive designer, Ann McGuire, in her Kansas City Star interview, grey is the “new neutral” and can easily be paired with many colors to achieve different effects.

No one seemed to pay much attention to grey until last March when supermodel turned singer and First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, accompanied her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, on his first official visit to England. The trip was a great success, and Carla won the hearts and minds of the British with her elegance, poise and array of gorgeous grey ensembles! The Queen was reportedly impressed, the press went wild and grey made its fashion comeback.

Grey has a long history rooted in the nostalgic beauty of grey seas and grey skies, with its depth and mystery inspiring artists and designers for centuries.

                                  
 
Forget about dull battleship grey, midway between white and black. Grey is a soothing color that exudes tranquility and calmness. Grey can create harmonious and gentle atmospheres that are reassuring, comforting and discreet—a true relief in these tumultuous times.

For those in need of a simple and cost-effective way to restore harmony and balance in your home, a new shade of this soothing color can make a big difference. Take a look at this romantic and quiet space by Layla Grayce decorators that used a combination of pale greys and soft blues: 

                    

This comfortable modern interior blends greys and whites to create a relaxing and tranquil place:

                      

The most beautiful greys are created by mixing two complementary colors—colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel, like blue and orange, yellow and purple, or red and green.

Indeed, grey can range from soft lavenders to cool misty greens and sophisticated blues. For example:

For a warm grey: March Breeze
For a greener, fresh grey: Cliveden Mist
For a cool grey: Tempered Grey

To explore additional grays, go to Valspar’s online paint palette, choose a family of colors and select the "Neutral” tab at the bottom for “grayed” versions of those colors.
 
Greys are enhanced by other colors and are easily matched:

• All greys go with white
• Blue-greys go well with blues and greens
• Reddish greys go well with pinks
• Brownish greys go well with oranges, pinks and turquoises
  

*Carla has a lovely soft and smoky voice, I recommend her latest CD – all the proceeds go to charity.

               
  March Breeze 1001-10C   Cliveden Mist 6007-1A    Tempered Grey 1004-14

How to Create Harmony with Color

In a room where we spend the most time, it is important to our well-being and happiness to create a sense of balance and serenity in the space. Our surrounding environment can affect us greatly, so a poor choice of colors that is bland and boring, can make us feel depressed and chaotic. However, a harmonious color palette can be uplifting and relaxing.

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, in music, poetry, color or even food. Indeed, creating harmony with color is similar to composing harmony in music. Music is arranged in scales, represented by the notes in a particular succession that sound perfect together.

Color harmony begins in nature. Picture a sunlit landscape with a multitude of different colors. Under the luminous red and orange rays of dusk, the site is tinged by the warm glow of the setting sun, the colors harmonizing under its golden palette. This cohesion of color can be a great source of inspiration when searching for paint.

In this lovely soothing sunset, the sky, clouds and water are all are variations of orange.

              

Similar to musical harmony, colors are arranged in a succession creating a perfect order which can be found on the Color Wheel.
          
                              
These similar colors are analogous, meaning they belong to the same family and they sit next to one another on the Color Wheel. 

For example:     Yellow - yellow/orange - orange
                          Green - green /blue - blue.

What makes analogous colors harmonious is simply that they go well together. They are pleasing to the eye. Take, for example, this beautiful selection of yellows, oranges, browns and their variations by colorlovers.com:

                       

A simple alternative to the Color Wheel when trying to select paint is Valspar's online color palettes. They are easy to use and offer a variety of selections within color families that can help you find harmonious colors. 

Simply go to "choose colors" to begin. Select your color tone: Brights OR Misted OR Muted OR Neutrals OR Whites... (better not to mix these up!). Then choose 2 or 3 colors that are near each other, but not necessarily next to one another.

It is a good idea to choose lighter colors adding a slightly darker or brighter one as an accent. Go ahead, give it a try! It’s really fun and you may find your dream color combination.

(Please note that the appearance and shade of each color chip may vary depending on your computer - so be sure to verify chips in person prior to making a purchase to ensure the color corresponds)

Colourlovers.com

By Michele Coppin

Few things get me as excited as color, so I was thrilled to recently discover an interactive website entirely devoted to color schemes, complete with blogs and articles.

About Colourlovers.com: Colourlovers.com is a color and design community for creative inspiration and sharing the love of color. Here you will find over one million color names, hundreds of thousands of color palettes and patterns, comments and ratings. Interviews with top creative professionals regarding color and articles covering current trends and news are uploaded daily.

I have spent hours browsing through the beautiful color creations posted by creative color lovers - some unusual and shocking, some beautiful and luscious, some soothing and gentle.

Have a peek and get inspired... http://www.colourlovers.com

Here are some of my favorite color palettes:

Beautiful – this is my favorite purple palette

Soft 

 

Shocking 

Sexy 

 

Serious

 

 

 

Exploring the World of Design Blogs

Over a cup of coffee this morning I was checking out Blog Watch by Washington Post’s Terri Sapienza. It led me to this great blog- Making It Lovely. Check it out!! You get to watch Nicole Balch transform her Illinois bungalow into a stylish, clean-edge home. It has beautiful photography and offers a chance to get involved with the process. I’ll certainly continue to check in on the lovely transformation…

 

Finding Your Color Personality

This blog is written by Beehive Studios designer Veronique Habermann. 

Out of curiosity, I took this color personality test on Canada's Style at Home. It was very interesting because while there are not that many questions specifically on color, it somehow produced results that were really true to my general sense of taste. It’s a useful test to take if you find yourself in doubt about the general direction you want to take when redecorating your home. Try it for yourself and tell us what you think!