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~~

Meow...Grrrrr...Animal Patterns!

Animal Skin--either you love it or you hate it in your home.  That's what I've learned in my many years of design.  I, for one, like the animal skin look in interior environments.  It really adds a wonderful exoticness to the room using texture, pattern, sense of nature, and an overall warmth to the room.  Whenever used, however, it is always best done as an interruption or accent in the room vs. a main or large proportion ingredient.  In this day and age, you can easily have the look and feel of the real thing without having to use and abuse the real thing as technology of fibers and yarns have come so far. I love its use in the red tiger ottoman above with its contrast and complement to the Jim Dine painting. 

I saw the above chairs on the blog Stylecourt ~ actually the post was from 2008, and I can't remember how I ended up there.  The whys, ways, and means of surfing, huh?!  I love these chairs!  The style and detailing of the chair fits perfectly with the use of a leopard pattern.  The leopards' success is also derived from its limited use on the back and seat only.  The chairs could so easily be used as accents or extra seating in the dining room, as a vanity chair in the bathroom, or a small accent chair in the living room or bedroom.  The uses are endless!

 With all the soft, airy colors above, the leopard rug is hugely useful in grounding the room.  A little bit of black in a room will often do that.  It also adds a real sense of exotic whimsy so the room doesn't feel too stuffy with all the traditionalism.

Fabulous use as an accent on just the two end chairs.

I love the use of the animal skin pattern as an accent in one piece only!

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SHOCK ALERT!!

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AAAAHHHH!  Help!  Please remember...use your animal patterns sparingly!!!

~growl~  Susan