Color Buzz

Baby Nursery Colors

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There certainly aren’t too many things more exciting than a new baby. Preparing for a baby is fun, but sometimes a little scary. A nursery project is a great way to involve family or friends in the welcoming of a new child.  Small accents or larger projects can be a relaxing way to get ready for the new arrival. Now, there are many different ways one could decorate a nursery. You might choose an accent wall, a border, or even an overall landscape. (Oh-heck, let’s just say babyscape for fun!) 

First, carefully look at the manpower (awesome friends and family that will help) as well as your timeline. Choose a project that is well within your power to complete before baby’s arrival.  Plan tasks strategically so each person is aware of their duties.  Employ some friends for the basic wall color and others for the more creative or complex duties.  Also you will want to take a careful look at color swatches. There are those of us who know our babies sex before they are born and those of us who stay giddy at the thought of the surprise. Some of us really like gender specific decorating, and others prefer a more unilateral approach.  Decide who you are!

For your own information, babies can see color when they are born, but not fully and clearly until they are four months old. They can see high contrast (colors very different from one another) early on, by three months they can see color with more clarity and pay closer attention to edges. By four months their sense of color has fully developed.

Do these factors play a role in your color choices for the nursery- It certainly doesn’t have to- remember you make the rules around here!  Make sure that it is a space that you appreciate and enjoy.

Below are some color choices I have come up with from the Valspar line for a baby boy, baby girl and if you're keeping it a surprise.

A Little Mister

Playful Pool 5005-7C	Tropical Mist 5002-7A
Filoili Honey 3005-6B	Night Scape 5002-HC

A Sweet Lil' Miss

Pink Taffy 1006-4C	Moonbeam 4005-7A
Sprig of Mint 6004-7B	Gossamer Curtains 1002-6C

Soon to be Revealed!

Serenity 4005-7B	Coconut Scent 3003-4B
Buttery Pink 2005-8C	River Mist 5003-9A

If you'd like to go the mural route, here are some beautiful nursery mural examples from three different companies

Aki Murals of Chicago

MuralMax

McLamarre Murals*

And the Winner is...

by Veronique Habermann

 

What a night it was! After an endless pass of one gorgeously gowned star after another, Kathryn Bigelow, beautifully dressed herself, wins both awards for best director and best movie.

There were a lot of blue gowns—perhaps Avatar influenced? But, here are my favorite dresses of the evening paired with some room ideas and color swatches. 

Kathryn Bigelow

Gray Expose 5007-2A	Lincoln White Sash 7004-14

Zoe Saldaña

Lavender Moon 4001-9	Simply Lavender 4001-9B
Raspberry Wine 1009-9	Chickery Chick 3008-2A

Vera Farminga

 

Pink Burst 1003-1A	Lemon Edge 7003-23	Angel Touch 7004-24

Demi Moore

 

Golden Chime 3006-5C	Sheer Light 7004-16	Apricot Fluff 7001-24

Color of the Week - Beach Sparkle

Are you feeling the winter blues?  I know I am, so to welcome the month of March, and the anticipation of spring, we chose Beach Sparkle as the Color of the Week.  Introducing the perfect marriage of green and blue, this warm-weather inspired hue can brighten up any room.  Try it on a living room accent wall to transform bland to bold!  Add splashes of a misted green, like Garden Fresh, or mix it with a crisp, clean neutral, like Anthem White for a fresh new look.

So while I’m looking out my window watching the snow melt, I can only dream of colors this bright.

         

Beach Sparkle 5004-9C   Garden Fresh 6008-7C  Anthem White 7006-24

 

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      

Late Summer Blooms

By Megan Leblond

Late summer blooms are so vibrant and beautiful! It would be a crime not to recognize their intense, powerful palette. The deep and daring yellow, orange and red flowers just can't be ignored. The colors of late summer flowers can brighten and warm our chilly winters, so please do not let the intensity of the hues scare you off!   

As we close our eyes and bask in the last few days of warm summer sun, consider how an intensely warm palette might awaken your home.  We at the Beehive Studios ask you to remember that paint is temporary. You can transform a section of your home for a few years with bright or contrasting colors. Interior walls can easily be repainted, so if you are considering a bold move—and we encourage you to take the plunge—an astonishingly unique and beautiful space will be your reward! 

If you have made a successful bold color move in your home and would like to share the results, we'd love to hear from you! In the meanwhile please let your late summer eyes fall on these hot, sultry summer hues:















And here are a few Valspar colors that will help you bring the vibrancies of these flowers into your home all year:

    
  Sunglow 3003-2B     Filoli Honey 3005-6B    Ripe Melon 2002-1C

                      
           Autumn Blaze 2002-1A        Hacienda Tile 2010-4   

                                  
                         Oatlands Upholstery Red 1008-3A

Color Me Happy

Color plays a huge part in affecting our mood and emotions. Drab, muted tones can have a calming effect, but if you're already feeling a little down, you might want to spice it up with a few pops of bright color.

Sunshine Daydream
Bring in colors that are rich and saturated, like bright yellow. Pair this with a milky white and a fiery orange to add bold sunshine to your room. To maintain balance in the room, add touches of gray, silver and light violet.

For a splash of orange, try this Dandelion Field Silk Pillow from Target:

                                               

             

 Sunny Jonquil 3010-1  Elizabethan Yellow 3009-1  Fresh Persimmons 2009-1

Burst of Red
Red is an ultra fun color, especially if used sparingly. Try it on one wall of a room, or hang red drapes. You could even anchor a room with a racy red couch like the Hampton sofa in Cardinal or a warm, cozy red rug like the Medina rug from West Elm. It will add a little fire to your life.

 

                            
                        La Fonda Fireberry 1010-1

The Colors of John Deere

By Michèle Coppin

In spring and summer, the countryside comes alive with the chirping of birds, the buzzing of insects and the low hum of those beautiful green and yellow tractors.

This is the season for John Deeres to go back to work after a long winter's rest. I love watching these powerful machines plowing the fields like giant toys, sturdy and American as the flag.

The story of John Deere, the man who developed the world's first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow, closely parallels the settlement and development of the Midwestern United States, an area the homesteaders of the 19th century considered the Golden Land.

No one really knows why John Deere tractors are green and yellow. The earliest illustration of John Deere equipment with the green and yellow color scheme is of a plow in the 1905 Deere and Weber catalog.

I think Mr. Deere was inspired by the ground under his feet: yellow flowers, green grass and weeds.  What a wonderful choice, as the green and yellow combination is reminiscent of nature. It is fresh, fun and totally unexpected for machinery.

This palette from "color lovers" speaks of spring and illustrates perfectly the John Deere colors.

My fondness for tractors has led me to read a very good book entitled, "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian," Marina Lewycka. This novel is a comic look at family bonds and a vehicle for social satire. The surprisingly fascinating and philosophical history of tractors interweaves throughout the text, a true delight and a wonderful summer read.

Cheerful Effects of Yellow

By Michèle Coppin

Vincent Van Gogh once said, "How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." For Vincent, yellow represented happiness, love and hope. Many of his paintings have an abundance of yellow. He was fascinated with color and its effects, often experimenting with different ranges of tone, like in his famous Sunflower painting.

  

Completed in 1887, this painting was eventually sold in 1987 at an auction at Christie's in London for a record $39,921,750!

Indeed, yellow is cheerful, warm and uplifting, which is why I love this yellow house:

In a drab city street, this yellow stands as a celebration to light, an ode to color, a testimony to the owner’s cheerful composition, and happiness. It also seems to be contagious, as the neighbors’ color choice for their curtains and window flower boxes are becoming more daring.

They have also painted their tiny courtyard yellow, decorating it with Mexican tiles and plants.

Wedding Colors Part II

By Michèle Coppin

In Monday’s post I explored the role that color played in weddings throughout the ages. As I mentioned, in the last few years, colors for weddings tended to lean towards soft shades of pinks, greens and lilacs. Although soft pastel color schemes are always in fashion, experts agree that bright, bold colors and even exotic combinations are the new trend.

Here are the hottest wedding colors for 2009:

Red and Orange: vibrant, fun and exotic.

Red and Pink: exiting combination mixing romance and passion.

Red and Yellow: Modern and hip

Orange: Elegant and radiant with shades of peach and ivory.

[Courtesy of Kim Fuller Photography]

Yellow and Turquoise: Summery and tropical.

 
Green and Yellow: Fresh and young.

Green and Lavender: Soft and sensual



Brown and Pink: Elegant and sensual  - one of 2009's hottest combinations.



I also questioned wedding photographer Kim Fuller for some additional insight. She noted:
 
"Purple is in! The jewel tones seem to be back in fashion this year for bridesmaid dresses. It makes for great photos, especially when you add a bold-colored flower to really make the color pop. Brown and pewter are still popular for the Fall, with a touch of orange or pink as an accent.  Both color palettes go well with most skin types, which is nice."



For more photos and ideas, please check out Kim Fuller Photography’s website.

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!

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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!