Painting has been done

For those of you have been following along with me on my Little Sweeties Project here. I thought you might like to see the Fun and Bright colors she chose. As I shared with you she found this room as her inspiration

This room was designed by the talented, Judith Balis of Nest Interiors. I was very excited to see her inspiration picture because it has a black and white stripe on the sofa and that is one of my all time favorite patterns. I was equally excited that she wanted my guidance along the way.  After talking to her at length I came up with a color story.  The living room was going to be a very bright fresh turquoise . Off of the living room is the dining room which will be a darker value of the same turquoise used in the living room.  She wanted a bright yellow in her kitchen so we are going to introduce the yellow by using 3 art glass vases on the dining room table. You can read more about it here. The hallways and two of the bedrooms are in a white, one will be an office and the other will be a guest room. She wanted her bedroom to be romantic so I suggested a dusty lavender.

She did her homework, got her swatches and sample paints. She painted the sample colors on poster board and then she and her darling hubby made their choices.  I only guided her along the way she made the final decision.  I can not tell you how perfect these colors are for her. She is young, fun and full of life and so are her color choices.  This has been so fun for me to work with her. So without further ado here are my Little Sweeties final choices ……………

Living room

The living room will have the IKEA Ektorp white slip covered sofa with the striped rug from IKEA in black and white. All end tables are going to be a shiny black finish. The coffee table will be painted in shiny white to make it look lacquered. In the bay window these two chairs will sit next to a round black table……

The legs will be painted a shiny black. She and her sweet Hubby did this together.  It is the first time that they covered a chair. I think they did a great job. I am very proud of them. She got each chair for $10 on Craig's list. The total project cost them $30. Now that is what I call ingenuity and working on a budget!!

This room has amazing light coming from the bay window and two side windows flanking a fireplace. Aren’t the old fir wood floors wonderful. Nothing has patina like older wooden floors. Next is the dining room….

Dining Room

The dining room is done in a darker value of the living room color. It is almost a peacock blue.  I love the richness of this color.  In this room they will have their dining room table which I have not seen, but she explained it to me as having a somewhat silverish finish, (Is that a word, silverish, it is now, I guess).  She had a large mirror that I have suggested painting a bright silver and a low storage piece that was a wood tone that I suggested painting white. I have not seen any of this yet. All of this has been done via emails and cell phones. On the dining room table they will have 3 bright yellow vases as shown in this picture to introduce the bright yellow in the kitchen……….

I even like the print behind the vases. These will introduce you too this……
Kitchen

The kitchen is a bright light filled room. Most of it has white cupboards so the pop of the bright yellow is fun!

Now we will go down the hallway and enter into the romantic Master bedroom with its dusty lavender walls…………

In this room they have a dark brown sleigh bed and they will use this bedding…………

Won’t this look amazing. I have suggested Hotel sheets with the black stitching. She would like a pop of turquoise so I suggested maybe the night stands would be fun in that color.

Now you have seen what my Little Sweetie and her hubby have been doing.

I  hope you have: “Enjoyed seeing the Process unfold.”

Kathysue

Progress Report !! Moving right along!!

With every decorating project we need inspiration. In working with my Little Sweetie, I had the colors she wanted to work with. Now we had to come up with a plan on how to use those colors in the right manner.  I sent her some inspiration in the form of different pillows and even some art to show that accent colors could be used in the living room and dining room. None of these inspirations were to be taken literally. They were only for a study on how you can pull colors together and make them work. At this point ,we had not picked out the exact colors yet we were still brainstorming. We knew she wanted turquoise, yellow, orange and some lavender.  Here are some of the pictures I used to show her how we could possibly pull together her desired colors………..

I know she wants turquoise walls and accents of black and white stripes. The IKEA Ektorp sofa is such an easy and economical slip covered sofa that brightly colored pillows can be added to give her that lively pop of color she loves. I had mentioned the striped slipcover from Bemz but this striped rug from IKEA is another way to get the black and white striped  look for less. She and Hubby have decided the white slip-covered sofa will work the best for their needs.

Keep in mind this is to only show her how mixing pillows can give her the colors she is wanting to use throughout her home. The upper left pillow from Pier I incorporates the turquoise, yellow and orange that she wants to have in other parts of the house that will be connected to this room. It is what I like to call the combiner fabric. It is the jumping off point and also it combines all other colors. We have a touch of zebra which she likes and it keeps the black and white going on.
 The round bright pink silk gives her the pop of pink that is also going to be used in the room. The embroidered turquoise floral mimics the wall color. See, we  now have a color story by using pillows!! The top combiner pillow is from Pier I for $24.99 the other three are from Wal-Mart for under $13.00. I am trying to show how a room can be done on a tight budget and still give her the colors and feel she would like.
Some inexpensive large artwork is another way to pull colors together in a room. It also helps reference the colors from rooms that are connected like a dining room and living room. Here are just a few examples of some possibilities as far as the colors go. Art is totally subjective and these are only examples of how colors can work to join a room together with another room.

All of these pieces will incorporate the colors she wants to use. As I said before, none of these are to be taken as a literal choice only as how colors can be pulled from artwork. Since we are still in the planning, not buying, stage it is a good idea to get a grip on how colors play off of each other and to decide how you want to make them work. Whether it be in fabric or in art, or maybe both.

Do you see how this can work? Once you decide on the colors you want, start looking for fabric or art that will pull all the colors together. You also need to keep in mind what will be going on in the adjacent rooms.

We know that the living room walls will be turquoise with a white sofa and black and white striped pillows. We will add patterned or floral pillows as they are found. They also have two over-sized bright pink chairs to go in the living room. Off of the living room is the dining room. Little Sweetie thought she wanted a lavender for the dining room.  I tried to paint a color story with words for her and this is what we decided to do in the dining room.

We are going to do  darker turquoise walls in the dining room. We are going to add a pop of bright yellow in accent pieces to the darker turquoise we are using.  We are introducing yellow accents in the dining room as an introduction to the yellow walls that you will be seeing in  the kitchen.  Here are a few of the pictures that show how yellow can be introduced that I showed you in previous post……..

Large panel of wallpaper or fabric will be inexpensive and make a wonderfully large statement.

Maybe a couple of bright yellow chairs in the mix would work.

Crate and Barrel vases ranging from $7.95 to$14.95

A group of art glass vases in the center of the dining room table. Simple but it would give them the pop of color and the introduction to the yellow that will be in the kitchen.

As we go from the dining room to the kitchen we can now have yellow walls and it will make sense. Accessories added in her bright colors can be added as they live in the home. There is a plate rack so I suggested to check out Big Lots and the dollar stores for plain plates in the colors she is using in her home. I also told her that Macy’s carries reproduction Fiesta ware dishes that is a perfect look for the kitchen. ( they are even on sale right not.)

All the hallways going to the bedrooms will be in a bright white as well as all the molding throughout the house. Two guest rooms will be in a soft cream so they can add accents as they decide how they would like to use these rooms.

The master bedroom is where she will be getting her heathered lavender. I found an amazing deal on a duvet cover here. It has already been ordered so we are on our way!

We now have a color story:

Living room: A medium value of bright turquoise for the living room walls. A White slip covered sofa. Black and white striped pillows. Two bright pink covered chairs. Pillows in patterns with accent colors of pink, yellow, orange and lavender. Artwork in a black and white print or one with all or some the colors that will be in the room.

Dining room: A darker value of the bright turquoise that was used in the living room for the walls. Black and white accents with a pop of yellow used on the dining room table.

Kitchen: Yellow walls with white cupboards and appliances. Accent color in turquoise,orange,pink, yellow in the dishes in the hanging plate rack.

Master bedroom: A heathered lavender for the walls in a medium value. Bedding will be all white with a scroll pattern in black.

Since we are doing this long distance via emails and on the phone I made suggestions on what colors to look for. I gave her guidance and she took the trip to Lowes and got her samples. I always suggest sampling on poster board and look at the colors throughout the day. Colors can change dramatically with different lighting. A color that you love on the small swatch may look totally different on a larger piece of poster board and in different lighting. She did her homework and chose the colors she liked best. I have not seen them yet but she is so excited to get them up on the wall.
 It is very important to me that whom ever I am working with loves what they are getting. I am here to guide, teach, direct but never to force or demand what I prefer. It is their home not mine so it needs to make them smile. She has a gorgeous smile so it is nice to hear that she is happy and smiling a lot with her choices.

I will keep you posted on the progress. This weekend painting is going on!!!

“ Enjoy the Process” Of : Researching and Planning Ideas for your home.

 Kathysue

“ Effortlessly Stylish”

I was reading a blog post over at Nest Egg the other day. If you have a chance be sure and visit her blog. It is written by the very talented interior designer from Nashville Tennessee, Rachel Halvorson. Her design aesthetics are exactly what I am writing about today. In one of her post she used a phrase that stuck in my brain, Effortlessly Stylish!! I liked that phrase. I pondered on it for awhile and I thought, "That is exactly what a room should look like!" Not contrived, but a room that was a process over time with the outcome   Effortlessly Stylish. You know, the kind of room you look into and then  have to take a second look to take it all in because there is something different , something special, something effortless?  I know design is subjective, but I thought I would show you what is Effortlessly Stylish to me and what is contrived or obvious. IMHO!

First, I am going to show you a room that looks contrived to me. You know -the room where it is obvious why they put a certain pillow to match a certain lamp to go with the color in the painting etc……

Contrived:

I have actually used this picture as an interesting color combination but everything in this room is an obvious choice. Don’t you think? Just because it feels contrived to me does not mean that it is still not done tastefully. This is still a gorgeous room, just a little predictable.

Next, lets look at a room that is Effortlessly Stylish……….

Interesting:

 

This lovely room was designed by Julia Buckingham Edelmann of Buckingham Interiors. You can go here to see her portfolio, she does amazing designs. She is also one of the author's of Material girls blog be sure and visit her blog.

Now in this room we also have matching sofas, matching ottomans. Why is this room more interesting? When I look at this room I notice the easel. Is the homeowner an artist? Is the painting on the wall an original piece by the homeowner. Is the armoire an inherited piece or is it an antique? Do they like to collect unusual baskets or did they get that on antiquing trip? Is that a sculpture on the little side table? What is that side table made out of? Notice how many questions of interest this room evokes. I think that is part of having an Effortlessly Stylish room. A room that makes the viewer think.

Contrived:

Another beautifully colored room, but there is no element of surprise or interest. It is all very obvious why each piece was picked out and placed where it was placed. Although it is a beautiful room, it does not have the qualities to be Effortlessly Stylish.

Interesting:Everything in this room is interesting!  I wonder who lives here? Notice the purse in the chair with a coat tossed on its arm. The lighting fixtures alone give this room so much style. I really want to know who lives here and did they get their lighting in Europe?  This room makes me take pause and I want to look at every little nuance.

Contrived: 

As much as I love a blue and white room and a blue and white striped rug this room is so obvious in its decor. Notice the pillows match the valance on the window. They have a sailboat picture with a lantern and of course a seashell. If this room had some interesting artwork or a coffee table that did not match the sofa it would look so much more interesting. This looks as if they purchased the furniture off the show room floor. Are you starting to get the picture between contrived and Effortlessly styled?

Interesting:

Every piece in this room looks as if it could tell me a story. Even the matching urns look as if they have a story to tell. This, too me, has that Effortlessly styled quality.

Contrived:

In this room we have the red lamp that goes with the red lacquer tray that goes with the reddish leather chairs that go with the magazine holder in the corner. I find this room to be very contrived.

Interesting:

In this room we have two matching chairs and an ottoman, but look at all the interest in this room. The texture alone is amazing. The beamed ceiling the old stone fireplace with the amazing oversized damask wall paper!  On the floor a cowhide rug. A beautiful piece of artwork over the sofa. Effortlessly stylish.

Contrived:

As much as I love the colors in this room, oh my! It matches to the hilt!! Even the flowers are matching the blue hues in the furniture and the rug. I love symmetry and I have admitted that in previous post, but this is a bit too much for even me.

Interesting:

This last room is done by Suzanne Kasler!! What can I say the room speaks for itself. Effortlessly Stylish.

I hope in showing you all of these rooms and comparing them, you will start viewing rooms from a different perspective. I know I will. I must admit I think some of the rooms in my home are contrived. I need to shake it up a little bit and add more interest. One thing I learned in thinking about this is that a room has to have texture and interesting form and some wonderful art or art objects to make it have that Effortlessly Stylish look that we all hope our rooms have achieved.

“Enjoy the Process” Of: Finding an Effortlessly Stylish look for your own home.

Kathysue