Choosing paint colors can be challenging for anyone. Even as a designer, I’m faced with thousands of paint choices when selecting the perfect color.  I was intrigued when I first saw Benjamin Moore’s Color Stories™. Traditional paint fan decks (which make me feel like a kid in a candy store just opening one,) represent over 1,000 different colors. It’s amazing to have so many color choices in one place, but it can also be daunting.

When I first opened the Color Stories fan deck, I was excited at the idea of a smaller palette to work with, then I was overjoyed when I saw the gorgeous colors.  The Color Stories Collection really seemed to capture the rich-but-neutral color trend that my clients have been wanting lately — these are the colors you want in your home now.

With the simple-to-navigate palette, the soothing tones, it’s easy to stop there and start choosing colors.  But the Collection is more than those admirable qualities, and I wanted to know what made Color Stories different; the answer is in the technology.

Color Stories is a 240-color full spectrum collection. Unlike most paints, that use black or gray tints, these colors consist of five to seven pigments to create luscious paint colors.  I think that’s what gives the paint colors such depth.  The Color Stories colors can only be achieved using Benjamin Moore’s Aura Paint, which is another facet to the Color Stories’ appeal.

I work with thousands of colors every day, and recommend hundreds of them. I know that there is a perfect color or color scheme for every room, just waiting to be discovered. I’m so thrilled to have Benjamin Moore’s Color Stories Collection as another resource in my tool box.  If you’re looking for the “perfect color,” I invite you to take a look at Color Stories Collection.  I’ve put together my favorite color schemes using Color Stories, so you can see the possibilities.

Delicious

Handcrafted

Cheeky

Open Sea

I may have mentioned in the past that I love driving around and looking at homes. There is something so beautiful about a home that just shines from the curb.  Any home, from a tiny bungalow to a sprawling estate, can have that curb appeal star quality.  In my work helping people prepare their house for sale, the first place we start is with the curb appeal, as so many buyers will decide whether or not to even tour the inside, based on driving by or the first photo they see of the exterior. Whether you’re selling your home, or just wanting to improve the welcome that your house is giving, there are little and big things you can do this weekend to boost your  home’s curb appeal.

Here are some of my favorite curb appeal tips:

Paint or stain your front door. My recent blog post here talked about the huge change you can make to your home’s curb appeal, by painting the front door.  This remains my all time favorite tip for boosting curb appeal. It’s like jewelry for the outside of your house, and it’s definitely one of the quickest changes you can make.  The great thing about choosing a front door color, is that you have so many color options available.

Be sure your front yard isn’t a plant graveyard. I’ve been guilty of this. The plants that we so carefully chose last spring are now sitting there on the side of the porch, with nothing left but dried out sticks in dirt.  If they can be saved and replanted, then it’s time to relegate them to a less prominent place in the backyard. I really love the look of red Geraniums on a front porch, and they usually have good lasting power and stay looking nice longer than many other potted flowers.  The pots you choose for the front of your house, are also another opportunity for adding lively color.

Paint or stain your fence. If you have a wooden fence in the front of your home, it’s always a good idea to take a good look at it, to see if it’s time to paint or stain it again.  We so often stop seeing things when we pull up to the house day after day.  A fresh coat of paint or stain can really give a crisp look to the front of your home.

Revaluate your exterior color scheme. It’s easy for an exterior color scheme to seem dated, when tastes change over time. The latest exterior schemes are filled with earthy neutrals, without a hint of the pink and mauve that was so popular in the 90s.  Though a light neutral beige or gray is still very popular, I’m seeing a lot of rich colors with unexpected trim colors.  Start collecting magazine photos of homes with colors that appeal to you.  When you’re ready to paint, you’ll have a better idea of what your tastes are now, instead of repainting the same colors again.  Here is some exterior color inspiration, with a main color, trim, and accent (which can be used as a second trim, front door, or for painted accessories.)

Estate

Urban Harmonics

Weekend Away

So Welcome

One of my favorite low-cost projects to spruce up a home, is painting the front door.  It’s an easy way to express your style, without making a major change to the exterior of your home.  For those of us who love decorating our porches for the seasons, a painted door makes a great backdrop for any decorating theme.

A painted front door is a warm welcome.

This can be a DIY project, or done by a professional (I’ve done both.)   If you’re the DIY type, there are many great tutorials available online for painting your door.  Your first step whether you tackle this on your own, or hire a professional painter, is to choose a color.

While painting the door is a great opportunity to play with color, you’ll want to really look at the color details around your front door as you choose a color.  Things to consider are the house color and trim, the porch surface color, accessories you already have, the foliage in bloom near your porch, and of course the style of your home.  You do have a lot of leeway in choosing the door color, but be sure to sample those colors first, before you commit (as always.)

Here are my favorite front door colors for 2012:

Benjamin Moore Buttered Yam AF- 230

Benjamin Moore Wasabi AF- 430

Benjamin Moore Ray of Light CSP-910

Benjamin Moore Skydive CSP-700

Benjamin Moore Chambourd AF-645

I’m a morning person. If the day greets me with sunlight and singing birds, all is well in my world. What if I open my eyes and instead see gray, dark, skies? Or what if you’re not a morning person by nature?  Can we create that happy, perky, leap-out-bed smiling feeling with color?  Yes we can.

Sunny Side Up Color Scheme

If you need that extra push out of bed every morning, or if your bedroom is on the north side of the house, you can absolutely use paint color to turn your mornings around.  The first color that probably came to mind as you read this, is yellow.  If you don’t have, or don’t feel, the sunshine, then you can certainly create it with yellow paint.   You’ll want to choose a yellow that is not too much like the intensity of the sun (the idea is to wake up refreshed, not sunburned.)  For a fresh and contemporary look using yellow, pair it with crisp white trim, and either espresso or black accents.

Montecito Morning Color Scheme

Maybe we don’t want to be that obvious by choosing yellow to conjure up the sunlight. There are other cheerful colors that can wake up your morning routine.  I’m a fan of aqua, and find it very energetic.  The trend has been to pair a light aqua with pure white and black or dark brown.  I actually love pairing aqua with natural linen colors, and medium wood accents.  When you pair aqua paint on the walls with natural color accessories, it exudes that  ‘I’m waking up in a beach house,’ feeling.

Coral Morning Color Scheme

Coral is a bold color choice, and has been a favorite color for bedrooms in warmer climates for decades.  In the past few years, coral has made a resurgence in the design world, being named as a Color of the Year by many color and paint experts. It’s easy to see why it would be a favorite, and why it would work very well in a bedroom that needed perking up.  Coral bridges the divide between too-loud orange, and too-sweet pink.  A soft coral paired with a spring green is fresh, but soothing.

Velvet Glove Color Scheme

A great wake up color doesn’t have to be bright.  A gorgeous cream color can work with available morning light to create a glowing effect on your day.  The beauty of a neutral cream is that it allows you use existing accessories, or add your favorite accents without a lot of effort.  A rich cream paint on the walls can highlight a variety of decorating styles, too.  Cream is also a stylish choice for rooms with dark or medium wood trim — giving that crisp look that is usually reserved for rooms with white trim, without a stark contrast of plain white against wood trim and doors.

Whatever colors you choose to wake up your bedroom, be sure to test them first to see how they look in different light.  If the morning is when you spend the majority of time in a room, then first consider how the color looks in the morning. And, be sure to consider the lighting carefully, as it can really help to rev up the energy day or night.

Man Cave. This is one of those rooms that needs no other description. Two little words can conjure up an entire genre of decorating.  Of course, what goes into that man cave changes with the man that will be dwelling in there.

Probably the man cave of the past, was the garage. Filled with tools, maybe an old car or two, and “decorated” with peg boards, and beer and bikini posters. Today, creating the perfect cave is a billion dollar industry, with high tech entertainment systems, high end materials, and memorabilia.  But you can create a retreat in any room, for any guy, for much less.

The “cave” part of the man cave means just that this is a dedicated space. Could be a den, a spare bedroom, garage, attic, or basement.  All that’s needed is a place for a man to surround himself with what he loves, without a coaster or fringed throw pillow in sight. Let’s face it, when a couple decorates their home, most of the design decisions lean toward feminine tastes.  The man cave is his chance to express himself, and that could be with neon beer signs, pin up photography, and a sleek black leather sofa that would NEVER work in the rest of the house.

The wall color for the man cave, is usually bold. Again, this is a color that is probably not going to work with the colors in the rest of the house — but that’s okay!  Because it’s a “cave,” you’ll probably lean toward darker and richer colors, to give it that club feeling.

Here is some color inspiration for anyone thinking it’s time for the Man Cave:

Gears – for the car guy:

Louder – for the musician:

Surf – for the eternal surfer:

Remember in the 2000s when we all painted our dining rooms red?  Red was the color of choice for dining rooms all across the World.  Dining rooms were the one room where you could really express your formality, even if the rest of your home was casual.  Red is an energetic color, and known to stimulate the appetite, so it’s a natural choice for the dining room.  Though red is still found in dining rooms everywhere, I think it’s time to unleash it in other spots, and fall in love with red all over again.

We all know that red lends itself to Asian decor, but you’ll also find red in country, Southwestern, nautical, and Tuscan, decor.  It’s a bold color, but it can be versatile and take on a variety of personalities. So, the beauty of red in decorating is that you have an array of colors available to suit the mood of any decor inspiration you may have.  No matter what your style, there is a red out there just waiting to win your heart!

Red for the country kitchen:   Benjamin Moore Morrocan Spice AF-285

Red for the Tuscan kitchen: Benjamin Moore Caliente AF-290

Red for the beachy kitchen: Benjamin Moore Million Dollar Red 2003-20

Red for the formal powder room:  Ralph Lauren Duke Red VM68

Red for the guest bath: Ralph Lauren Coral Pink GH167

Red for the master bath: Devine Color V0401A Blush

Red for the Southwestern living room: Devine Color Red River V1406A

Red for the artist’s retreat: Sherwin Williams Ablaze SW6870

Red in the man cave: Benjamin Moore Georgian Brick HC-50

Red on the front door: Sherwin Williams Tanager SW6601

Right around February I start feeling overwhelmed and under-inspired by the dark skies, and lack of colors in the world around me.  Being in the Pacific Northwest presents a special challenge for a California girl like me. I love color, I love sunshine, both of which are in short supply in the winter in all but the most tropical spots.

This is the time I start buying magazines with bright and sunny colors on the cover, and I find myself immersed in the spring fashion and decor collections, even as I’m bundled in fleece sipping a hot tea.  And… this is the best time to get inspired by warm and bright colors. I don’t wait until the bright colors are all around me, to surround myself with light-filled color inspiration.

If you’re ready to shake off the gray, then why not warm things up with a new color scheme for your home?

Sunny Kitchen

Is there anything better than having breakfast in a sunny and bright kitchen?  Even if your taste leans toward dark cabinets and counters, you can always brighten things up with paint.

Inn by the Shore

Why not take the perfect beach weekend home with you? Inn by the Shore recreates the calming, light, colors of your favorite inn.

Happy Happy!

What can I say that the name doesn’t? When you’re ready to shake off the winter blues, Happy Happy is like a butterfly, wearing a brightly colored hat, sitting on a poppy, held by a goldfish — it’s that happy.

Fresh Squeezed

For every sunporch or breakfast nook yearning to break free from sage green, or gray blue, paint: Fresh Squeezed will liberate your tired spaces with juicy colors.

February is the perfect month for taking up with the color red.  Valentine’s Day and love are often celebrated with red roses and red boxes full of chocolates, right?!  But what other emotions does red evoke?  Red is an energizing color, strong and powerful, and full of drama.  Red is thought to increase heart rate and appetite (think about all the restaurants that use red!).  And red can be very stimulating when used in large amounts.

So how do you introduce such a powerful color into your home?  It’s really a question of how bold you’d like to go…..a full blown red room or just a drop or two of red accents?  If you have a color phobia, start your design with drops and expand when you are comfortable.  However, if you’re in love with color then take the plunge and and go all out with a fabulous red!

TOUCHES OF RED

A small dose of bold red can be a very exciting decor tool.  Combined with a sunny yellow, a classic white, or a soft gray, red is a very versatile accent color.

TAKE IT UP A NOTCH

If you’re ready to try red in bigger amounts, think about upholstery and/or furniture.  The headboard pictured below is done in a deep red with nail head trim for simple elegance.  Adding red pops to a room with a few pieces of furniture, as pictured in the kitchen below, is also an effective way to introduce red.  I love the combination of the red chairs with the maple table.

READY FOR THE RED WALLS?

Picking the perfect red color for your walls can be tricky (check out the cheat sheet below).  But red walls can take any room from ordinary and expected to bold and brilliant.

RED, RED EVERYWHERE

Not for the faint of heart…..using a variety of red colors in a room will produce the ultimate in drama.  Note how this room features not only red walls, but red furniture, red upholstery and red accessories.  A-mazing!

RED CHEAT SHEET:

Maroon – A deep bluish red that isn’t as bold as a true red

Crimson - A lighter variety of maroon with bluish tones

Burgundy – Similar to maroon in depth, but with more purple tones than blue

Ruby – Slight pink undertone (think the gemstone)

Brick – Brownish based red

Scarlet – A brighter version of red with a touch of orange

And lastly, a few of my favorite varieties of Benjamin Moore reds!

Red 2000-10                         Million Dollar Red 2003-10

Holly Berry 1321                    Chili Pepper 2004-20

Now have some fun with RED in your home and upload the photos to show off your work!  (And don’t forget to tell us what specific color you used in your space!)

Happy Design!

Cecilia

Over the last few years, we’ve all been inundated with design ideas featuring a ‘neutral palette’.  From design TV shows to magazine articles….neutrals seem to be everywhere.  A recent client of mine said that she wanted to choose a similar neutral color scheme for her home, but she didn’t want it to feel too monotone or…..ugh!…..boring!

I think most people equate neutral with beige, and that’s no surprise.  Neutral seems to mean “void of color”, but that is far from the truth.  I’d like to show you some interesting ways to keep a soft, low-key palette while actually using…..yep, you guessed it….color!

You’ve heard me say before that brown and blue can be a wonderful combination.  That works even with a neutral palette like the one below which started with the Cedar Key beige.  Pairing the beige with soft blues creates an amazing complementary scheme.

Cedar Key OC-16 / Smoke 2122-40 / Cloudy Sky 2122-30

I also love combining the Smoke color with another hue, like mauve.  In this combo, you could use small punches of the deeper Smoked Oyster, leaving the majority of the decor in the lighter tones.

Smoke 2122-40 / Smokey Taupe 983 / Smoked Oyster 2109-40

Another interesting combo – pink and gray.  This color palette isn’t just for little girl’s rooms either.  This can make for a stupendous formal living room or dining room!

Pampas Grass 2110-60 / Porcelain 2113-60 / Sidewalk Gray 2133-60

How about going a little citrus-y?  This combo is fresh and will make even the darkest of winter days feel happier!

Seahorse 2028-70 / Celadon Green 2028-60 / Light Yellow 2022-60

Now if your heart is dead-set on using only beige neutrals, then layer, layer layer the palette!

Carrington Beige HC-93 / Wheeling Neutral HC-92 / Danville Tan HC-91

I’ve included a few of my favorite neutral design photos in the hopes of inspiring you to try.  I would LOVE to see some photo examples of your ‘neutral’ colored homes too!

Happy Design!

Cecilia

Every year the color expert Pantone releases their pick for the “Color of the Year”. Most of the design world waits with anticipation for this big announcement…..and uses the color to full advantage in all aspects of design. This year Pantone chose the color Tangerine Tango – a rich orange that is bold and striking.

Tangerine Tango

So now that the color has been chosen, how do regular people incorporate this color into their everyday lives?! Orange can be a daunting color to work with, especially for people who are reluctant to try bold color. But there are ways to use this color in your home without feeling like you live inside a big, fat orange!

It’s all about PAIRINGS!

I’ve posted about this color combo before, but it is so lovely that I will recommend it again – orange and turquoise. I know it goes out of the comfort zone for some, but pulling a few tangerine accents into a room with turquoise walls or upholstered pieces can be stunning.

I also love to add on to this tangerine and turquoise scheme with a few lime-y green accents.  Sounds absolutely nutty, but the combo forms the perfect split of complementary colors.  This combo can go from a bold statement, as in photo #1 below, to a small detail like in the painted chair and cushion in photo #3.  (Click on photo #1 to get the full photo effect with the tangerine chandelier!)

If you wanna start small and build upon color, try accenting an otherwise neutral color palette with one bold color.  Tangerine goes particularly well with beiges and tans with a brown base.  Think ‘color accent’, like tangerine pillows or throws, individual accessories, or one piece of upholstered furniture.

If neutral wall colors are your thing, but you are soooo over beige, try a soft gray wall.  Mix tangerine textiles or accessories into the design and you will create an elegant, and sometimes edgy, look.

Hope these tips help you to discover the brilliance of tangerine color.  As always, I’d love to hear from you, so get out here and post away.  Questions and photos of your home or design inspiration are always welcomed!

Happy Designing…..

Cecilia