Blue and White * Bright * Bold * Beautiful

Bright, bold, beautiful are all ways to describe using a blue and white palette. Crisp, clean, confident can also be used to describe this powerful duo. Whether you use it for the entire room or as an accent, bold blue and white will lift your rooms decor.

Blue and white, crisp and clean on dinnerware and tiles.

 This room's strong blue palette is bright and bold.

 The deep blue walls are a strong background to the white furniture and bedding.

 A modern take on a blue and white lamp.

 The more traditional version.

 Adding another strong color can intensify the blue and white combination.
photo from Absolutely Beautiful Things.

 An otherwise sedate setting is enlivened with deep blue walls.

 Blue and white can bring summer into a room.
photo from Designers Guild

 Chic white furniture becomes more vibrant with the contrast of a rich blue wall.

 In this bedroom varies shades of blue are unified by the stark white.

 I love the bold blue and white stripe on the chair.

 This is a gorgeous room. The soft palette accentuated with blue creates a beautiful, inviting setting.

This water color, by Muriel Eulich,is a stunning tribute to the power of blue and white.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of the fabulous Moms out there (and Moms-to-be!), I hope your day is blessed with peace and happiness!  Today was a perfect Mother's Day...my son Nate helped me spring clean, and my daughter, Erica, booked her tickets home for a July visit (she lives in Denver).  I'm so grateful to have such beautiful children, inside and out! 

Combining Colors

 If you love color and want to go for it selecting the right combination can be a bit daunting. So here are a few photos that I hope will clarify what is best for you.

 This vibrant color combination is from Designers Guild. The red, pink and blue work wonderfully with lots of white.

 The Iola Rose wallcovering is from Harlequin. I love the black and tan paired with the glorious pinks. The more subtle tan and black keep the pink from overwhelming a space. It's all about color and balance.

 

 This Victorian home has a stunning color palette. The use of black to outline the green and red of the windows and door gives the house a tailored, refined look.

 The pillow fabric, designed by Nina Campbell, has great color and balance. The textures of the fabric adds more interest to the setting.

 When I started designing this living room and dining room my client wanted to keep the palette neutral. Over time she discovered she wanted more color. So the palette was expanded. Red, blue, green, turquoise and even purple were added as accent colors. The neutral walls, window treatments, sofa and wood floors keep the colors from taking over the rooms.

 This series of water colors by Muriel Eulich has repeated colors that are used in each individual painting. The paintings work as a group or on their own.  The palette for your interiors should flow through each space but not every color has to be repeated in each room.

Pretty in Pink - bedroom makeover

The winds of change are blowing in at my cottage.  A self-professed "earth-tone girl", my home is primarily in shades of beige, burgundy, sage green, black, etc.  While I'll never completely abandon that palette, I've been craving a girly bedroom lately...you know, not a five-year-old's room, but a vintage inspired, soft look with some sophistication.  I've decided on a palette of pink (Benjamin Moore's "Boudoir"), taupe, white, and a little black.  Still haven't decided whether to do the walls in pink with taupe accents, or the walls in taupe with pink accents.  What do you think?  I will be posting "before and after" photographs as I go, but for now, here are some inspiration bedrooms that I found during my internet wanderings...stay tuned!

just love this look..the black wrought iron bed really pops!

another favorite look!

yummy bed linens

Spring Showings From Designer Guild Osborne & Little Zoffany Harlequin

I was recently presented new fabrics and wallcoverings by rep Jennifer Boschert. Jennifer was showing the latest from Designers Guild, Osborne & Little, Zoffany and Harlequin. It was an amazing collection.

First up, Designers Guild

 Rosenholm is a gorgeous pattern pf climbing roses. I love the combination of the blue background with the florals in neutral.

 Borgolm is a deep cut velvet with a geometric pattern.

 Tistad is a soft linen with a detailed pattern taken from oval frames.

 And from Osborne & Little we have Nizam. This is a stunning embroidered paisley pattern. The detail is wonderful.

 The Laguna pattern has a Venentian influence that includes birds and island flora.

 Kolam is a sophisticated embroidered silk medallion on linen.

 Zamindan's silk embroidery shimmers on linen.

 Moving on to Zofffany, we have Embroidery Trail, which features couching. Couching is a technique that creates a three dimensional effect. Beautifully done.

 This large scale pattern is from Harlequin's Juniper Collection. I like it because it's bold but not over whelming.

 Harlequin has wallcovering that is vibrant with a perfect scale. I think these patterns are amazing.

Either of these patterns would make a great feature wall in a bedroom. I would also use them in a dining room on all walls. Gorgeous.

...and the livin' is easy....

Spring weather has me thinking about outdoor living...grabbing a good book, cheese and bread, a little wine...

Color Bloom 2011

The Color Bloom Designer Event was a tremendous success despite a continuing down pour and a closed road (because of the downpour.)  The event was to celebrate the colors of the year. Sherwin Williams Paints was a co sponsor of Color Bloom. The colors used were 6855 Dragon Fruit and 6531 Indigo, beautiful colors to work and create with.

Design Speak was a local sponsor and creator of the event. Colt Industries provided a wonderful space. Other contributors were Pottery Barn, Paper Dolls Boutique, Design & Detail, Traveling Tea by Kateri Meyer and Stimulus Baking Company. Beautiful photography is from J Pollack Photography.

One of Color Bloom's elements was creating a Royal Wedding table featuring the colors of the year.

 The background for the table was made from showroom length fabric samples. Fabric companies represented are Osborne & Little, Designers Guild, Scalamandre, Zoffany, and Harlequin. The samples were borrowed from Design & Detail.

 As a team member of Design Speak my roll in the event included floral arrangements, gift box designs (with  the help of Tricia Heliker) and general whatever.

 The colors, Dragon Fruit and Indigo were used throughout the space. Gift boxes were made using designer wallcovering samples.

 Even the cupcakes were made in the colors of the year.

 More of the gorgeous fabrics that were the background for the event.

 A fashion show was provided by Paper Dolls Boutique. The colors of the year were stunning on the models.

Color Bloom was a visually beautiful event full of friends, food and fashion.  What I found impressive was the way companies and people came together to create this happening. Congratulations to all involved.  I am looking forward to the next Color Bloom.