2011 Paint Trends - Part III, Orange

One of my new favorite colors is Orange. Most of the oranges you see now are a very citrusy version of the color (as opposed to the kind of burnt and rust oranges we saw in the 70s) - mostly tangerines and true oranges with nectarine thrown in now and again.

Orange looks great with modern and contemporary styling and architectural design!  I think it's one of the most 'now' colors you can use. 

love the gray and orange combo

several of the photos I have right now are wallpapers instead of paint, but that doesn't make it any less trendy

great with all the white

I think the only drawback to orange is that it might get tiring, but when paired with all the restful white, I think it works wonderfully. 

the orange and the blue together is an uber modern combination

Paint Picks (Peacock)- trends for 2011, part II

 Last time our blues focused on something I like to call "Tiffanyesque" - this time we focus on Peacock, or colors which are tonalities of a slight variation on Peacock.  I seriously adore this color.  I just haven't figured out how to incorporate it into my home yet.  I think someday when I start repainting everything again, I'd like to use this and orange, neither of which I have in my house right now.  I think if you're looking for something fun and hip and new to do in your house you really can't go wrong with these.  Wouldn't it look gorgeous in a living room - maybe with some of the walls white and then a very bold peacock?  I'd love to do that someday. 

It's a great color for a kids room too, and looks great with natural wood tones

love it here with the white accents

I also like it in this more turquoisey tone, looks great with black and whites and yellows

See how they've paired it with all the white - including the white wall - if you do that, you can go really bold like this.

From one of my favorite websites, young house love - they have excellent taste, I adore it with that lime green headboard!

this is a more subdued tone if you don't want to go quite so bold

Okay, this room is really white, but I had to put it here because of that headboard.  LOVE that.

love it with the subway tiles which from here look almost like glass tiles

I always think blue looks great in a bathroom and isn't that particular version of the color yummy?

Paint Picks for 2011

Paint colors tend to trend.  If you kind of think back to the 70s don't you conjure up images of gold carpet, avacado sinks and orange couches?  I'm a little vague on the 60s (somehow blue comes to mind) - but my house was built in the 1950s and when we moved in here our bathroom sink was pink, black and white were popular, as were pastel's of yellow, blue, and lavendar (I have another friend who had a lavendar sink in her 1950s ranch house).  The 80s were lots of pinks and greens or peach and mint, sometimes mauve and blue.  Some day we'll look back on this decade with some sort of definitive ideas about what colors it brings to mind.  In the meantime, each year within a decade has it's own trends.  Sometimes those trends stick around for a season, a year, or two - sometimes longer. 

So though there were predictions at the beginning of the year about what this years trends would be - really, those predictions are based on trying to push an agenda.  It's often what fashion designers, home decor, paint companies and dye companies would like us to start trending towards.  But sometimes reality doesn't quite match up with what we're really drawn to.  As I save images on the computer, it's easy for me to see the trends.  This year I can attest the colors you see in that image above are definitely THE trends in color.  And of those two are seen more often than any - and that is the two shades of blue (and some slight variations on those shades) and gray.  Next after those I would say is Orange.  Followed by purple and then yellow.  Though I see that bold yellow used as an accent color with some of the others (notably gray and blue) very frequently.  So I thought for the next few posts I'd devote some space to these colors specifically.

So to start off, one of my favorite colors for a few years now Tiffanyesque (there are quite a lot of variations on the shade, but at the end of the day they all have a slight resemblance to a Tiffany box).  I saw a recent scientific study on the psychology of color which said that this color is the one that tends to make women the happiest from a physiological stand-point (which bears in mind the question - does it just make us happier and somehow Tiffany & Co. managed to use this is a their signature color?  Or does it make us happy because it reminds us of those infamous "little blue boxes"?)

Bravo Does It Again - Million Dollar Decorator

My love for Bravo programming is no secret.  It is my one way to unwind at the end of the day.  I sort of have an unwritten rule about television.  I refuse to turn it on during the day.  Especially when my kids aren't home (when they are home, I sometimes have to suffer through them having it on) I love the peace and quiet of a completely silent house.  And prior to about 8 or 9 pm I keep myself busy with other things, but after that, I'll sink into my big comfy red couch and watch my DVR'd shows (aren't DVR's marvelous?).  And that pretty much consists of a steady diet of Bravo.  And there are so many favorites!  Jeff Lewis?  Rachel Zoe?  The Real Housewives (all of them!)?  There's always something on Bravo I'm watching at any given time.  So tonight was the first episode of their new series Million Dollar Decorator. 

Huzzah!  Spectactular!

We follow 5 high end decorators in California.  And what does this girl love more than Bravo TV and Design and Decor?....

So enjoy a taste of these 5 designers and set your DVR for Tuesday nights.

Nathan Turner's Style is very kind of California ease - 

Do you suppose he started the whole map trend which is so popular right now?

I've actually blogged this little girl's room before

His rooms tend towards this kind of creamy wall color with a lot of neutral's and some pops of color

Next up, Mary McDonald.  Her design often uses some lovely colors.  Slightly feminine (usually), her style tends towards the glamourous.  

Tiffany Blue with Black and White - Gorgeous!

Love the chinoiserrie style mirror & the pink

totally loving the orange

Next is Martyn Lawrence Bullard - from what I've seen of Martyn's work he seems very flexible and versatile.  Some designers tend to stick to a single style, but I like that he seems to be able to work in different genre's. 

 

 

 I like Kathryn Ireland possibly most of all.  I really like her easy use of colors and patterns and layers. 

And last Jeffrey Allen Marks style also seems quite versatile.  On the show, I love his home the most.  But  I could not find very many photos online of his spaces (well, I couldn't find many photos which were not protected and unable to copy)