Bloody Lovely!

This is a very catching vignette!  Why am I calling it "Bloody Lovely"?  It feels English to me, but not Grandma's English, but instead a more youthful English.  I love the symmetry.  I love the dissonance between the coral, pink, and red colors.  I love the way the warm gold, whispy wall candelabras contrast with the cool boldness of the painting.  I love the juxtaposition of traditional, contemporary, retro, and Asian styling.  I love how the color black is strategically positioned to carry your eye around, and ground, the room starting with the woman's hair, to the lampshades, to the arced feet of the sofa.  So completely pleasing to my eye!!

~~ Susan ~~

It's A Clear View

Wow, I haven't posted anything new since Dec 11th!  Can you believe it?  I feel like a human sloth.  Whoever is out there reading this, don't leave me!  I'll try to get back to my weekly submission, I promise.  Work has gotten busy, and a bit nutty, and of course that was about a month before the holiday season, which is always a bit more packed with errands and activities than usual.  Whew!  Just breathe, just breathe, just breathe...

Short and sweet today...  just wanted to share this fabulous view of New York's Central Park surrounded by skyscrapers.  I love this pic...the sky is sunny, Central Park looks lush, the water is blue, and the buildings are like tin soldiers standing guard around the park.  Enjoy!

~~~  Susan ~~~

Care to Tango baby?

Pantone, the worldwide standard language for accurate color communication, from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer, and across a variety of industries and the creative community everywhere, has selected it's color for the upcoming year 2012:  Tangerine Tango!!  Check it out below.

Fabric swatch

Journal

Coffee mug

Love the mug, don't  you?  Tango your heart away!

~~~Susan~~~

True Design!

I adore this pic!  Complementary colors of purple and yellow play off each other so well while shapes of clean, round minimalism in the purple Allium contrast with the textural fullness of the trees.  A true designers dream!

~~~ Susan ~~~

Thank You Joan Rivers!!!

Joan Rivers?!  What?  Yes, you read it right.  We all need a little cover up now and then.  To begin, my gorgeous auburn locks have turned to gray.  Not the whole head, but enough.  HOWEVER, my hair grows so fast that within two weeks of coloring, I can see a little gray halo where my hair meets my forehead (so angelic like me, I know...). Do I have the time, or do I even want, to have my hair dyed every two weeks?  No way!  Tried the touch up dyes, disaster.  Tried brushing brown eye shadow on, no stick.  So I ordered Joan Rivers Beauty Great Hair Day from Soft Surroundings catalog.  It's a powder you apply to your hair with a makeup brush.  OMG!!  It is truly a miracle!  Totally covers my gray roots, matches my color, stays in when I brush or swipe my hand through my hair, doesn't transfer to the pillow at night, takes only 2-3 minutes to apply, and comes out when my hair is washed.  Really, I am floored and in love with the stuff.  It truly is a miracle!  Believe me, gray and auburn, when it comes to hair -- not a good combo.  You salt & pepper people got it made!

SPEAKING of cover ups...below are a few Before and Afters from a decorative painter friend of mine, Candice Simpson of Textural Hues.  Every time, I look at these photos, I am blown away by the gorgeous and transformative job she has done.  She truly is a miracle worker also.  Check it out!!

Stunning!  Feel like doing a little concealing???

~~~ Susan ~~~

Plenty Of THANKS!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  No matter what direction your life has taken, or ups and downs you may be wiggling through, I believe everyone has something, if not many things, to be thankful for.  Start counting now, it's never too early!

Gobble, gobble!

~~~Susan~~~

Pantone Postcards

I saw these Pantone Postcards at C.S. Post on line recently.  I love them!  Being the color enthusiast I am, they would be so perfect to send out a quick note (that's right with a stamp, NOT email) to clients and other color lovin' folk.  Are you listening up family?  Holidays are right around the corner... hint, hint, hint...

Each box contains 100 qty. 3-3/4" x 5-1/2" cards all for $19.95 + shipping.

Pretty sweet deal!!  Susan

GUEST BLOGGER FROM DESIGN SHUFFLE: Decorating in Technicolor!!

Hi, I'm Susi, a writer for Design Shuffle, a great site that showcases the work of designers around the world. I'm happy to be visiting Susan's blog today as a guest blogger. My guest post is all about decorating in Technicolor. Glorious Technicolor makes me think of old movies with intense color palettes like Wizard of Oz. Here are my eight choices for Technicolor decorating ideas. Enjoy!

A rainbow of Technicolor ruffle pillows fills this classic sofa.

Gorgeous color next to more gorgeous color gives this seating tons of style.

Bright Technicolor accents pop in this living room.

Painting a small side table a bright color, adding colorful throws and pillows are great ways to bring Technicolor to your room.

Fabulous colorful art work brings the Technicolor to this room.

Big, bold colorful artwork looks best against white walls but can work with other wall colors as well.

The Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach, CA is full of Technicolor vintage beach dÈcor.

Technicolor stripes and bright walls give this bedroom design in the hotel room a nostalgic feeling.

A large vintage photo (too bad it's not in Technicolor) sets the vintage tone for this eclectic loft.

Tons of colorful furniture, lighting and accents work together in the Technicolor space and offer lots of interior design ideas for those who can't seem get enough of this style right now.

These shimmering turquoise tiles make the brightly colored accents really pop in this colorful kitchen.

White cabinets and trim balance the brights, including red and a bit of green in addition to the brilliant blues.

Mixing colors creates a Technicolor room. Yellow, aqua, fuchsia and pale lavender are all happy, cheerful colors that work well with vintage style furniture and dÈcor.

These are great ideas for your living room designs.

Kelly Wearstler does Technicolor probably better than anyone.

Her fearless mixing of colors is one of her signature interior design statements.

[ Images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / †7 / 8 ]

Have you used any Technicolor in your home decor?

Head on over to Design Shuffle where you'll find great color inspiration and find brand new interior design guide!

Guggenheim Paints based on Art, Showcasing Art!

Designers, architects, and other members of the trade, listen up!  You know how you or your client fall in love with a particular green in a Gauguin, or the vivid primaries of a Franz Marc, or the yellow of a Van Gogh?  Now you can have those colors in a home (ok, with those statements, I am feeling like an infomercial!).  Guggenheim in accordance with Fine Paints of Europe has come up with two paint fan decks.  One is based on the many colors from artworks in their permanent collection, and the other is based on colors used on walls in showcasing or creating gallery installations.  I love this idea, and am very excited to, hopefully someday, use these fan decks!

 Classical Fan Deck based on works from Guggenheim's Permanent Collection

 Circles on Franz Marc's Stables (Stallungen), 1913, showing where classical paint colors have been matched.  Oil on canvas, 29x62 inches (73.6 x 157.5 cm).  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection 46.1037

Gallery fan deck with paint colors selected for the Guggenheim's building by Frank Lloyd Wright as well as wall colors preferred by curators for its installations to produce a certain ambiance.

Paint color, G013, from Guggenheim's interior ramps

 

 Paint color, G032, from the interior of Guggenheim's rotunda elevator

The two fan decks are not cheap ($50 and $100 each), and neither is Fine Paints of Europe exceedingly high quality paint.  They also have small 4 oz. sample pots for only $10 each -- yea!  However, if your goal is to truly match a particular hue in a famous art piece, or to truly use the best wall color to highlight your art collection, it is definitely worth the cost.

Have a hue-ti-ful day!!!  Susan

"Fetch Doggy!" magazine rack

I couldn't pass up sharing this adorable magazine rack called the Companion Rack!  If I were a doggy fan (we are cat people over here, although all animals are always welcome), I would scoop one up right away.  This would look fabulous in an office, media room, bedroom, bathroom, kids room, family room, or living room if its a casual or retro style.  Just about anywhere!  It's designed by Gavin Coyle from the UK.  On their website, it says "We aspire to create products which make strong emotional connections expressed through unpretentious forms providing a quiet, enduring presence in the home."  I love that!

Heel, Sit, Rollover...  Good Doggy!!

Susan

Glamour, Ethnicity, and a Retro Spirit!

Hello, hello, hello (ok at least it's not ho, ho, ho yet)!  I am busily working on a living room project which combines glamour, ethnicity, and a bit of retro spirit.  All three styles really spoke to me with this client.  I have known her, personally and professionally, for about 10 years.  I LOVE her sense of flair!  Very unique, and not on one level; hence, the combination of styles...and lucky for me...integrating styles is right up my alley!

Fabulous, huh?  Stay tuned...

Above is a layout sketch for the living room furniture:  funky sofa, two super cool accent chairs, awesome cocktail table, hand painted side table, gorgeous gold leaf etagere, high gloss lacquer ice blue/white desk...What?  A few too many superlatives??  OK, guess I am super duper, over the top excited about our selections!

 We already have our main conversation area in the center of the room, correct?  So, I didn't want to just add another couple of chairs and a table in the lower right corner of the plan for more seating; hence, I came up with the idea of a built in banquette above...ala Morocco...I'm so excited about this!  Not only that...but listen to this:  

We are sitting chatting, and the husband says "Wait...I need to get something."  Huh?  He comes out with two dark turquoise (darker than above) capiz shell pendant lights with dark antique brass metal solder joints, somewhat tulip shaped, that hung on either side of the piano as he was growing up.  How FUN is that!  A bit more tulip than the round shape above, but I wanted to give you some visuals.  These are going to look absolutely stunning hanging together at different heights over the center of the banquette.  It will really ground the corner, AND his mother will be tickled fuchsia (we hope anyway)!!

We are using this Norbar blue velvet tufted in the back, smooth on the seats, and gathered on the sides of the cushion and base.

Across the top we are doing a chunky cording with this fabulous Pierre Frey cut velvet stripe.

Remember, from a previous post, this is going in this room above.  It now has wonderful warm caramelized bamboo floors, with the existing grey/blue handmade paper wall covering.

We have a lot more selections decided, but I think I'll group them together for the next upcoming post!

~~ Ciao!!  Susan~~