PANTONE HOME & INTERIORS WEBINAR

Are you ready for 2011?   Pantone is. Here are their nine color trend boards for the coming year in Home Fashion. These were presented by Leatrice Eiseman in a webinar earlier today. She pointed to simplicity and clarity as the two most important aspects for today in lifestyle for the American consumer. Furthermore, as she said, color is what "engages the consumer" and  quality and value, added to color, are what drive sales, especially in today's economy and culture. 

Take a look at the nine color and lifestyle themes below. I was hoping to have the actual Pantone color numbers for you..but won't have them until next week. I may do a post, but if not, feel free to contact me for a chart with the numbers!

             

                                                   Cottage Industry

                       "quiet pastels along with a group of tasty neutrals.."

  

 
 

       Simply Stated

                                 "simplicity and comfort meet urban rustic"

   

 
 

  Style and Substance

                              "elegance and sophistication are two words...."

 

    
 
 

      Clarity

                          "clarity illustrates a very clean approach to design"

   

 
 

    Fragments

                              "a compilation of various cultures.."

   

 
 

      Archetypes

                                        "classics never go out of style"

   

 
 

 Focal Points

                                    "combining colors creates a pathway.."

  

 
 
 

                Mixed Media

                  "...brings together examples of various fabrications"

 

   

                Wit and Whimsy 

                                       "..invites you to put on a happy face"
 
  

 

  

 
       The next Pantone webinar is:    

                          "Designer's Choice: What Colors Are They Buying?"

                                     

The sign up page is here. The date is Thursday, May 20. If you've never "attended" a webinar before: it's easy! You can use speakers on your computer, or your phone. Since I use a headset on my phone I just dial in and listen via Verizon! But all the visuals are there, and audio is very clear. I capture the images on the screen with Evernote, using the "clip screenshot into Evernote" mode. Ask me if you need help!

 

"ASK THE ANTIQUES DIVA"

Toma Haines is the Antiques Diva!

Toma hails from Oklahoma but now calls Berlin home. She travels
all over Europe exploring antique markets, writing about antiques and travel shopping and leading groups to markets large and small. We have
been "blogging buddies" for a while, as I love to read about all her
trips, her market forays, and her discoveries.

So,
I had sent her an email asking for suggestions re. early September when I will
be in Paris. She wrote back that she might well include my question for a
story in her capacity as a guest blogger to Bonjour Paris. So, with a few changes to my original, here is the "question" she posed in the article:

Read here to continue the story and her response...While you're there, be sure to look around Bonjour Paris as it is filled with lots and lots of great information. Then, go to the Antiques Diva site to do some more "armchair" travelling....

Thanks Toma!

I also want to introduce you to a newly discovered blog: DuJour.

This is from Delana, an American now living in Aix-en-Provence. Her entry "Take Time to Smell....the Fish Guts" is really wonderful and gives you such a feeling of sitting right in the market square throughout one entire day (and evening). Delana left her job in the U.S., just over a year ago, and moved to Aix! Why not.... Hers is a charming story, she writes well, and her posts are so alive! Some day soon I will go over and meet her, and we will walk the market in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue! Do you hear that Delana??

MOOD BOARD MONDAY

This is new for me!

I am linking up today to Sarah at Pewter & Sage! Once a month Sarah posts an idea/reference/visuals to get us started. Then we are to design a room around those visuals and ideas! The only limitation is to work from that reference: otherwise you are free to choose what kind of room, anything that goes in it, the theme, etc. We have to reference the pieces we choose, and give direct links to the website. And last, we have to explain our choice and why are room works!

What fun..... I just came upon this last week (Sarah posts the original inspiration one week prior to deadline) and was particularly intrigued as the inspiration for this week's Mood Board is from PATCH at West Elm!!!

I used the PATCH ceramics and throw pillows as my inspiration:

for a bright, cheerful, sophisticated sun room:

Here are my products and their reference sites:

#1.Liorra Manne rug

2. Fabrics from Carolina Irving

3. Glass pendant from Ballard Designs:

4. Bowl from Simon Pearce

5. Corner Unit Seating area

6. Plant stand from Terrain

7. Paints fromFarrow & Ball: India Yellow and Cream

8. Painting from Laurie Goddard

9. Mirror

10. Clock from Timeworks, Inc.

11. Ceramic Lamp from Simon Pearce:

I’m thinking of….this very bright, cheerful sun room! Not a family room and not a
living room…but a compact space with lots of light. The wood cut imagery from
Patch can be very “mood” specific, or it can be one element in a broader mix of
styles. I chose the broader mix.

In using the colors 1. black & white 2. celadon 3. ochre I have created a soft palette of yellows, creams, blue/greens, and for texture I have used glass, and various metals.

For the seating area I went mid-century modern, and used a dark fern-like green called "Eucalyptus Linen". This would look wonderful on the soft colors of the muted rug.

You know I am a big fan of Carolina Irving textiles, and it seems to me her almost-hand-blocked technique fits so well with the wood block imagery of these pillows and ceramics.

A plant stand is just the thing to blend the Victorian influence with the botanical/ wood cut imagery!

The painting from Laurie Goddard: well, what can I say... I adore her work! I met her just recently at the Architectural Design Show at Pier 94, and return to her site often. I had a hard time choosing which painting to include here, but this one has the strong black lines which fit well with the PATCH images.

For the walls I have used Farrow & Ball paints; I’m thinking of blending these two colors, going from the darker yellow near the bottom of the walls, and progressing to the lighter cream as you go up the wall! This would, of course, add height to the walls but also some texture (as you blend them), and with the yellow, maintain the sunny, bright effect of the sunroom.

Thanks, Sarah, for this great opportunity!

TRENDY MONDAY: GARDEN ORNAMENTS

In keeping with the season, and because I am in love with garden ornaments, I thought the timing was just right for this post (and besides, I have had more fun researching it!). As a matter of fact, I've had the basic reasearch in my drafts folder for many weeks, just waiting til the time was right. This is it! All gardens everywhere are beginning to look so wonderful and once again my mood (yours too?) is what.....? joyous? playful? optimistic? Yes, that describes it all right.

Here is an assortment of garden goodies, from the very serious, classic accoutrements to the playful, silly, colorful ones. There is truly something for everyone and every garden.

Here is my all time favorite garden "ornament": our rabbit! He was given to us in the Year of the Rabbit, 1999... and has been sitting in the garden since then (with brief intervals indoors in the worst of winter). For the past three years he has also stood watch over the spirit of our dog who used to lie in the grass, facing south, just as the rabbit still does...

This wonderful fleur-de-lis ornament was a gift to me from my friend Ellen...a TOTAL surprise! We had spent the day at Brimfield, and then left in our respective cars. Well, months later, at my birthday party, she surprised me with this! It had stood in a booth of a garden/antique dealer from Missouri...I will be going back this May and will find him again. I DO bring it indoors in the winter to sit by our fireplace.

To train your climbers, or restrain your annuals:

Have a seat! In your garden, or anywhere:

{trellis and trugs}

{terrain}

This garden bench, European, from 1900:

{thymeontheterrace}

Here I put the pillow on the chair!


{ terrain}

And, to hold your plants or pots:

Another favorite of mine: stone troughs. Whether old or new, they add texture to any garden setting:

This one, from 1880:

{from Thyme on the Terrace}

And last, but certainly not (by any means) least, I want to introduce you to :

Styer's in Glen Mills, PA

I want to go... do you live anywhere near it? Please, let us know what your experience has been, what is especially wonderful about it, or what you have bought there.

Aside from selling so many great garden items, they have events i.e. seminars, classes; they have a variety of workshops, like this one on June 10: "Girls Night Outdoors: Herb Cocktails"! Want to join me for that one? Or how about: "Children and Pet Friendly Gardening". The website also has recipes, tons of pictures of what's for sale for garden and home, and then the Cafe where they post a menu.

ANOTHER CORNER OF THE LIVING ROOM

I'm beginning slightly backwards... But eventually you will see it all!

We're working on the living room in this project. Paint the walls; reupholster one chair; what to do with the mantel?; repaint inside a bookcase. That's it for now.

I decided to tackle the back/inside of a bookcase today. Here is what it had been:

1)You've seen my paint chip/color story(below)

2)You have also seen my finished living room (where this bookcase rests)

The bright blue wasn't quite.... right. I have used the Farrow & Ball "Blazer" red on various walls, but thought I would try something with a little more...umph:

The color is Benj. Moore "Million Dollar Red"

I know, maybe no real reason to change it...but then again, why not?

And, why the yellow plate? It's all I had in the house: very simple.

hmmmm: one coat was clearly not going to do it! I was using the Aura gloss, and I'm not sure what the blue had been: might have been oil? It has been a good ten years since it's last painting!

I will tell you: I am a VERY GOOD painter. Yes, I have a very, very steady hand and most certainly my training as a textile designer is a huge plus. And, like my other "hobby" i.e. ironing, I LOVE doing it. Yes, I know: strange about that ironing thing. I guess my Mother "raised me right"!!

Here is the final, many coats of paint later:

I love built in bookcases (which mine is not...) and especially when there is color on that back wall. MB from "The Other Side of the Pond" blog recently showed a really nice renovation in her home. Not only are the bookcases done well, the color is perfect. And you know what? It's so nice to see BOOKS, LOTS OF BOOKS in the shelves!

{marthastewart.com}

{apartmenttherapy.com}

{housebeautiful.com}