Pantone Color of the Year 2014

Pantone's color for 2014 is Radiant Orchid.

Or as I like to call it, the color of my upstairs bathroom.

Which I painted 2 1/2 years ago.

Am I the only one who doesn't see Pantone as setting the trends but capitalizing on them? Honeysuckle Pink was the last one that seemed real. Tangerine Tango was an obvious grab at product placement, complete with Sephora tie-ins. It felt really forced, like they picked this color just because it would make a good lipstick. Did they get a new CEO or something? And then with 2013's color, it was so obvious - emerald was already popping up all over the place towards the end of 2012.

So yeah, not surprised at all that 2014's color is purple. It's the hot color right now and I LOVE it in my bathroom (makes my eyes look so green!), but purple isn't exactly new. House Beautiful has been featuring purple for years now. Apartment Therapy picked up on that back in 2009. And this year, many designers are realizing that they do actually like purple after all.  Two of my favorite blogs, Bossy Color and Centsational Girl, both did posts on purple this year.

Next year, I hope Pantone steps it up and picks a color that will start a trend, not copy one. Otherwise, they're basically just Andy from The Devil Wears Prada.

#upholsteryproblems

I bought a new-to-me couch the day before Thanksgiving.

It's an Ethan Allen Chippendale-style couch that I got from Salvation Army for $150. It's very similar to their current Chippendale sofa, which starts at $1,700. So yeah, I got a good deal :)

There's a bit of wear on the legs, but nothing some light sanding and new stain couldn't help and the fabric is in perfect condition. Unfortunately, I really don't like the fabric. It's a bit grandmotherly and doesn't go with my style. It's especially awful with my pillows.

So I'm going to get it reupholstered very soon. Meanwhile, I've been looking at fabrics online to get some ideas. It's a big decision because I know I'm not going to get it recovered anytime soon. Plus unless I stick with solid off-white, it's going to change the look of the room so I have to decide how much of a difference I want, if any.

I do like my curtains, but wish I had another pair and Anthropologie doesn't carry the green anymore. I've looked on ebay but haven't seen them there either. So if the new fabric doesn't go with the curtains, that's okay.

I've been down on the color of my walls for a while, but the idea of repainting makes me want to curl up in the corner and cry. And even if I hire someone (which is probably what I'd do), what color? I've thought seriously about a darker turquoise like Hague Blue. And possibly doing the woodwork the same color instead of keeping it white.

I've also thought seriously about going white or just barely off-white.

But then maybe I'll keep the current turquoise. There's nothing wrong with it and it does go nicely with just about any color I throw against it. I like bright colors that act as neutrals.

 I'm not sure I like having a couch full of pillows anymore so I'm fine with getting a fabric that doesn't go with all of my current ones. It'd be nice for it to go with some of them, maybe the Kelly Wearstler ones, but then I don't mind the idea of getting new ones, either. I think I could reuse these in my guest bedroom and shake that room up a bit. Or maybe switch so my bedroom is more blues and greens instead of pink. Ideas, so many ideas!

The one thing I do know is that I'm leaning heavily towards a printed fabric. And I want something that makes me smile, like the wallpaper in my powder room (which I also use for the background of this blog and my twitter page and have yet to tire)

So something a bit bold and geometric over floral. Flamestich patterns have especially been calling out to me, though I have yet to find one that's perfect. Or even close to perfect. And of course the ones I'm most drawn to are the most expensive. But I'm not going to pay $150, 250 or 350/yard (yes, I picked one out that was $350 - I've since started sorting by price). Even $100/yard is too much. I'd like to keep it well under $50/yard, though for something spectacular I'd go higher. The couch was dirt cheap, after all. I was thinking that a new couch would be $2,000 - 2,500 so ideally when all is said and done, this couch won't cost more than that.

I'm almost finished with my new TV stand and am pretty darn excited for that. I think once I have that installed and my living room cleaned up and the old couch taken away, I'll be able to get a better vision on what's right.

And if I can't find the perfect print, I'll just go with solid off-white. It has made me pretty happy for the past three years!

color thoughts

For about a month now, I've hated pink. HATED. When I wear pink to work, I can't wait to get home to tear it off my body. I really want to finish my bedroom - and all I really need is to paint the walls, buy a new accent pillow and maybe some new lamps - but I can't help thinking about replacing the coverlet and repainting the side tables so it's all not so pink and purple.

This picture, that made me so ridiculously happy when I took it, makes me recoil just a bit right now.

 (though now my sheets are orange-y peach & pink paisley, which takes out the candy-ness of the room a LOT and I only use one of the pillows)

This is kind of shocking for me because I've loved pink for years. It's my happy color. Feeling sad? Put on some more pink blush. Feeling happy? Put on a pink sweater. But I'm not unhappy at all right now so what's with the pink hate?

At the same time, I'm incredibly drawn towards yellow. Bright, sunshiney yellow, drab mustard, even this neon-ish yellow-y acid green cardigan that's much more yellow than green that completely washes me out gives me a thrill when I put it on.

I want some yellow in my house. My kitchen is the obvious choice since it doesn't have a color yet, except that I have orange-y maple cabinets and I don't think yellow would work. But maybe I just haven't found the right shade of yellow. Yellow would be pretty with the blues and greens I have going on in my living and powder rooms. It'd be a good transition. Or maybe I could paint my kitchen navy and have yellow accents. Hmmmm...

But what I really want is a yellow couch. Like a yellow & white ikat or chevron - something completely impractical and unrealistic. Impractical not because the light colors would show dirt, but because I'd want to repaint my walls since I think bold walls & bold couch would be overwhelming in my tiny house

And then I'd probably want new curtains since the pattern may not play well with my current curtains. Unrealistic because  know I wouldn't be satisfied with a bargain priced fabric. But it'd be really really really pretty. It is in my head. Swear.

I couldn't find any pictures of yellow-print couches that I liked, but here are some pretty rooms with solid-yellow couches. And I would be happy with any of these.

Of course, less than a year ago, I would have sworn that I'd be happy forever with a pink couch. So maybe there is some truth to the conventional wisdom that one should have neutral couches and jazz it up with pillows. Though I do still love my pillows (and they'd be pretty with yellow!)

bad magazine reader

So I'm sitting here procrastinating doing real work and catching up on House of Turquoise, thinking how I seem to read more DIY and real-life blogs instead of pretty-pictures blogs and maybe that should change when I see this picture

LOVE

The turquoise with the dark red candelier. The dramatic picture on the wall adding that perfect, purposeful touch of black.

And then the rest of the room? C'mon. It's so freaking fabulous it almost hurts to look at it.

Finally on the third picture I notice the House Beautiful in the lower corner and I'm totally ashamed. And it's a house in DC, too! I have three or four issues of this magazine sitting on my coffee table. I also have three or four Martha Stewarts, about 6 Vanity Fairs (suckers are dense!) and god knows how many Spins. I also haven't read an issue of Lonny in forever and a day, forget about any other online mag.

I love magazines. I love seeing the perfect rooms. They keep me focused in decorating my own house. The DIY/real-life bloggers also have gorgeous homes, but they're often a bit more cutesy than is my taste. Well, I'm not sure if cutesy is the right word. But definitely not as sleek. The room above is sleek and it's what I ultimately want. There are some sleek elements to my house, but not enough because it's a lot easier to not be sleek. To buy that bright, roundish floral-printed whatever that's calling out to me at Target. To half-finish some crafty DIYish project.

So I need to get back to reading my magazines and need to resubscribe to a few pretty-picture blogs and get my head back in the game. Keep my eye on the prize. And no, I don't think athletic references are out of place in a design blog whatsoever.

I Want! I Want! I Want!

One of my favorite parts of Jonathan Adler's website is the "I Want!" section. Style icons list their three favorite JA items and it's pretty cool to see how Jonathan can be so perfect for both Iman and Lara Spencer. And because I love JA so much, I decided to do my own.

Keep in mind, I dream big.

1. Lampert sectional in Tanzania Indigo, $5,490
C'mon, a sectional in navy zebra? Of course I need this! I would have no problem redecorating my living room around this couch (think navy zebra on top of turquoise walls would be too much, even for me).

2. Chippendale chair in Ireland Avocado, $645 x 4
This chair is how I found Jonathan Adler. I don't even know where I first saw it, but it was instant love. I need four of them to go around my faux-Saarien table (and around the real one once I can afford it).

3. Large Fontana bowl, $198
Lately I've been keeping my fruit in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I've been using the pretty floral one I found at Salvation Army last year, but it's very round and thus takes up a lot of space. This one is oval so will fit better - and it's gold striped.


But you know what, I also love all of the little JA items. The smaller bits of pottery, the various things dosed in flamestitch patterns and wildly bright colors. So I'm going to do a second set. And since this is my blog, I'm going to do four more items, not three. Basically because I couldn't think of which one to not include.

1. Utopia Elephant mug, $26 x 2
I've never been much of a brown girl. My dinner plates are bright white, my salad plates are various bright colors on white backgrounds. But my mugs are brown-based. I don't really know why, but it makes me very happy to have them be brown. Maybe it's because all the things you drink in them are brown? Coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Even green tea is an earthy shade. So these elephant mugs would fit in quite nicely because you can see the brown clay through the glaze. Plus I get a kick out of the little faces.

And why two? Because while I like things to be mismatched when I'm hosting a big party, for just two, I like being matchy-matchy. And the person I have most often for tea tete-a-tete is my mom and she'd get a kick out of the little faces, too.

2. Blue Boxed matches, $5.95
I'm so getting these on my own. $6 for a little brightness inside my junk drawer? Yes, please! And the match tips are pink! I might have to buy a box for everyone I know. (sorry, just ruined Christmas)

3. Peacock coasters, $68
With my old coffee table, wet drinks never bothered me. I stained the table myself and it looked like it. Plus I didn't apply the stain until after using it for a while unstained - and didn't bother sanding out the pen marks and other dark blobs. It was rustic, it was fine, and glass rings weren't really noticeable.

But on my glass table? I notice - and am bothered by - every single random mark. I need coasters, bad. And ones with shiny gold graphic peacock feathers would be quite perfect.

4. Flame umbrella, $28.95
This is also going into my shopping basket. 30 bucks for such prettiness? Total bargain! Plus it will go with my green scarf. This will definitely have me wishing for rainy days.


So what do you think of my picks? What would be yours?

rant of the day

I'm going to use this term a lot in this post so I just want to get out of the way that I hate it. And it's related to my rant, but not the actual subject.

pop of color

Ugh.

I used to like it. Pop is such a bright and happy word, but man is it overused. Everything is considered a "pop of color" including the actual subject of my rant.

And because the term is so popular (pun intended), temporary accessories being used to justify color schemes.

House Beautiful did this recently. Talked about how a house had so much pink in it. But in almost every room, the pink "pops" were flowers or other accessories that just screamed "the stylist added me!"

The worst offender, to me, is the dining room.

Yes, the pink livens up the space, but how likely do you think it is that the homeowner buys a bunch of hot pink hydrangeas every week? A better "pop" would have been hot pink dishes or a large hot pink glass bowl in the center of the table. Something that at least pretended to be permanent. You know, like the pillows and throw in the living room.

I do think they're pretty fun, but I also have my doubts as to their existence before this photo shoot.

And while I'm sure the orchids in the kitchen were also brought in for the shoot, at least they're plants and could theoretically be considered an integral component to the room.

Now, the faux accents in this house are not all pink. In another dining area, the accent is green and - again - to me, this is how flowers should be used in a photo shoot.

I'm going to assume that the large green cabinet was already there. And, yes, I know that it could have been brought in as easily as the flowers, but it at least seems more permanent. So then the greens in the floral arrangement just highlight the green cabinet and the green in the little painting on the other side of the doorway.

So yes, flowers are very important for photo shoots and make rooms more enjoyable in real life. But they shouldn't be considered the accent color, they should be used to bring out the actual accent colors.

But wait - this isn't even my real rant. All of this is also just background.

My REAL rant is that since magazines do this, now bloggers and blog-followers do this as well. And it's not just design blogs. I remember one blogger - who I no longer follow so can't remember her name - talking about her "pop of color" for her outfit being her orange watch. That she was pairing with a long-sleeved shirt. Which meant that the only way one could see her "pop" was if she happened to move her arm in the right way.

To me, this isn't a pop of color. That's like saying your pop of color is the pink lining of your shoes. Or, back to the home design world, the back of your throw pillows. Sure, it's a fun little surprise (and I highly encourage fun little surprises), but it shouldn't be considered an actual part of your color scheme. A better half-hidden pop would have been a necklace that you tucked inside the open neckline of your button-down shirt. From the back or even the side, it's not seen. But full-on, it's obvious. Or instead of the backs of your pillows, have one or two actually be a color (or a different color). Throw a few colored vases into your bookcase, keeping the rest of the room neutral. Something purposeful and that you don't need to rebuy every week.

It's also like reading a fashion magazine and trying to emulate the models or celebrities, many of whom were airbrushed. And even if they weren't airbrushed, the hairdresser might have back-combed their hair so it looks fuller than normal from the front.

Magazines are about inspiration and one shouldn't try to completely copy the look. It just isn't realistic and, frankly, looks as much a hot mess in real life as that overly back-combed hair.

trend prediction: red, white & blue

Around Memorial Day and Independence Day I always see magazine spreads and blog posts full of red, white and blue decor. Sailboats, beach houses and little boys' rooms also often feature this color combination. It's patriotic, nautical and beachy all at the same time.

So what makes me think this will be a trend? This room from February's House Beautiful:

It's almost shocking because it's NOT patriotic or nautical or designed for kids. It's just a really lovely, grown-up room.

The traditional pairing for blue is yellow

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The current darling is orange

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And then pink is always bright and fun

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But red? It's different and daring BECAUSE it's usually just used for patriotic or nautical themes. This room makes you realize that of course it's the perfect accent color because red and blue are natural partners.

I love blue. It's pretty, it's soothing, it's almost universally liked. In my office, we ask new employees 5 questions - what's your favorite color, favorite book and/or movie, birth order, where were you born and what were you doing before you came to our company. I've been there for 11 years now and it's always a surprise when someone picks a color other than blue. Blue is just an easy color to love.

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Red is harder to love. It's such an active color. It's the color of anger and of passion.  It's bold and fearless and calls attention to itself. It's incredibly fun and fabulous, but it takes a strong personality to pull it off in large doses.

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And that's what makes it the perfect antidote to blue. Wearing blue makes people like you while wearing red makes people respect you. Blue is calming, red is energizing. Putting the two together creates balance.

Look at Diana Vreeland's room again. Do you see it? I'm pretty darn sure the leaves are blue (don't tell me if I'm wrong!). Just a subtle touch that helps make all of that red easier to handle. The white does the same thing. Both cool off the fiery red and make it playful and fun. Wouldn't you want to go to a party in Diana's apartment?

And wouldn't you just love to sleep in this bedroom?

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And then this living room is loved across the blogosphere, but it so wouldn't be as much fun if the red wasn't red or the blue wasn't blue.

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Red, white and blue - not just for holidays anymore.

Do you agree?

Room for Color outtakes

Hopefully you've already voted for me in Apartment Therapy's Room for Color contest. But maybe you're still wavering. Or maybe you just want to see more of the faaaaabulous photos my brother-in-law took of my living room. I've talked about the various pieces of my living room a lot so in this post I'm going to highlight the newer pieces.

I'll start with my throw pillows and am finally, FINALLY, done with shopping for throw pillows. I bought them from etsy seller labdesigns. She did some fantastic work on these pillows - even the color of the zippers are coordinated. How awesome is that? 

 

This peacock pillow isn't from labdesigns, it's from Target. But it plays nicely with the designer fabrics while keeping things from being too matchy.

Of course, the very newest member of my household is my faux cowhide rug. But first I have to start with the coffee table. See, I've wanted a gold & glass coffee table for a while because the wood one was just too heavy and visually bulky. I searched all over the place at all sorts of price points for a version that also had a shelf underneath and couldn't find one anywhere. I had seen Bossy Color paint one from Ikea gold and it was quite pretty in her living room, but it was the same size as my wood one and I wanted smaller. Plus I was iffy about the floral pattern on the shelf. Would that be goofy in real life? More searching and the best I could come up with was a $1k version that was mirrored, not glass. So I caved. Bought the Ikea one and painted it gold. And I love it. I don't notice how big it is anymore and I use the shelf constantly so I don't have papers piled up on top, which means I can actually put decorative objects up there like my glass platter or some flowers. Or both!

But it was almost too airy now. I needed a rug to ground the space, but I didn't want a rectangle. I wanted to soften the angles of the room and my seating arrangement a bit and a rectangle would have cut off the dining area and the room's small enough as is. So I thought - oooh, cowhide! And then I found this fake one on Overstock for a great price. Done.

I love the mottled look through the glass on top. And somehow the flowers work so much better in gold.

Moving back over to my doorway now. It was still warm the day Karl took these pictures so instead of coats, I have my collection of LL Bean boat and tote bags hanging up. I still have them all here as they're perfect to grab before trips to the market or for bringing stuff into work, but they're covered up by coats.

But they're not new. What's new is over to the right. The doorknob to the powder room.

How freaking pretty is this? It's from Anthropologie, bought on sale, and I adore it. It's the perfect thing to bridge the turquoise of my living room with the green of my powder room. It makes me insanely happy.

All of these items also brought more patterns into the room, made it more of a collage, made it cozier, made it more me.

So if you haven't voted for me yet, what are you waiting for??!!

vote for me!

Every year, Apartment Therapy has a contest called Room for Color. I love it because, hello, I love color! All of the rooms are so inspiring and when I first learned of it, I knew I had to enter my living room. Last year something went wrong with my submission and it didn't go through, but this year I got the confirmation email right away and this morning my room was posted! Woo hoo!

So you have to vote for me. I mean, come on, you're reading my blog! Plus look at this room. Does it not just scream "COLOR!" All you have to do is go to this page and click on the big red button that says "Add to favorites." Easy.

This is the first round of voting and it's done by region. As I write this, there are only two entries in my region (East), but more will be added until the 11/8 and then this round of voting closes on 11/21. Then the top vote-getters in each region then compete against each other.

Ask all of your friends to vote for me as well. Ask all of your relatives and coworkers. Ask strangers on the street. Vote early, vote often. Ha - I kid with that last part. You can only vote for a room once.

Did you miss the link? Here it is again: http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/color/2011/entries/3131

thanks!

Guestroom ideas: the ideal guestroom

What's the ideal guestroom? Well, I actually don't think there is One Perfect Guestroom. So much depends on the personality of the homeowner and of the house.

I do admit that I like it when a guestroom is a little different from the rest of the house. Like if the house is bright and colorful, the guestroom is soft and soothing.

If the house is all about neutrals, the guestroom could be floor-to-ceiling wallpaper.

Or shocking pink.

Or maybe you want the guestroom to be the showplace of the house, the place where you perfect the lovely combination of grays and creams you have going on in the rest of the place. Why not? It's your house. Just because I tell you to be different doesn't mean you have to be.

Guestrooms tucked into the eaves can be especially comforting. A room-as-quilt sort of thing. These always make me think of Anne of Green Gables and Anne getting so excited over Aunt Josephine's spare room. Why do you think I call MY guestroom the spare room?

Guestrooms are also the perfect place to try out that slightly scary design idea you saw on Apartment Therapy or Design*Sponge. Much like powder rooms, one doesn't spend a lot of time there so you can go a little crazy. Like painting the walls deepest navy or even black. It's very dramatic but also quite cozy.

Or be like Martha and paint all of the furniture in the room the same shade. I kinda really love this.

I'll always remember the spread where she painted all the furniture in her Turkey Hill guestroom black. And the result was surprisingly restful and cheery since everything else was light (also love the darker trim!). Bonus is that it all could be cheapo thrift store finds with the scratches sanded down and the not-so-great wood hidden under the paint. It doesn't look matchy-matchy because each piece is a different style.

And if you often have singles or kids staying over, why not have two twin beds instead of a queen or full? They can be pushed up against the walls since only one person has to get out of the bed and they can also share a single nightstand for more room. And you know, a couple can deal with not sleeping in the same bed for a night or two. They might even relish not having to share the blankets!

I know I've been lax about getting pictures of the spare room in my house on here. Seems like every time I get the room somewhat presentable, I go on a trip or start a project and that room becomes a glorified storeroom again. But it is a lovely little room with cucumber-green walls (I won't listen to anyone who calls them sage!), my childhood bed, a big bookcase full of books and the loveliest Northern light. It's very different from the rest of my house and makes me completely happy.

What's your guestroom like? Or what do you wish it were like?

All pictures (except Martha's) from Pinterest Are you following me there yet? You should. I pin some fantabulous stuff.

small updates to my bedroom

My mom was over for a visit last week and commented that every time she comes over, my bedroom is different and it's true. I had a general idea in my head of what I wanted the room to look like, but it was pretty vague, which has left a lot of space for switching things up. The constants have been my pink bedspread, the purple end tables and the overall layout of the room. And then the bed and chiffonier aren't going anywhere. The bed is 12 years old, from Ikea and threatens to break with every move, but when it does finally fall apart (for good - I've repaired it twice), I will run out to Ikea and buy their new version of it. I just love it.

So what changes are the accents. First I paired brown & orange with the pink. I kinda loved it, but the comforter was too hot and then I discovered my love of patterned sheets. I tried out some green and white ones, but I didn't like the consistency of the fabric. It was just too slippery.

Then I found a pink paisley Ralph Lauren sateen set at Marshall's. I was a little concerned about the sateen - would it also be too slippery?  Nope, it was just as crisp as crisp could be - and doesn't wrinkle a bit. I do feel like it's starting to fade, but that could be my imagination.

I also swap out the pillows. Seems like whenever I tire of a pillow in my living room, it ends up being perfect in my bedroom and then I'm always on the hunt for the perfect rectangular pillow so I can have just one long one. For now, I'm down to two small rectangles which give the right effect.

To add warmth and the weight I love, I have a gray quilt from Target. Maybe it'd be a darker shade of gray, but it works. And I'm a big fan of gray with the brown furniture and the gold pulls.

See how a bigger rectangle of just one pattern would be better? Now if I can only find it...

Then I FINALLY hung more art in the room! I've always had the small painting above one of the end tables, but the other side of the room was just hungry for something big. And then my mom offered up a painting of my grandfather's that had always hung in our cellar (he was such a prolific painter that we had 1/2 a dozen paintings in the cellar growing up, just overflow from the rest of the house). The colors and size were right and it even has a gold frame! How perfect!

This side of my bedroom is never perfectly styled and even though my box of scarves is overflowing, I consider this a fairly successful shoot. At least all of my camisoles and tank tops are actually IN the baskets in the little white bookcase at the right!

Still need to paint and I still want to make it a super pale, almost white, inside-a-shell pink. Now that I have the painting, it's really helping me narrow down the options. Stay tuned!