TCDC "Doing the Tangerine Tango"

Doing the Tangerine Tango

Tangerine Tango (gotta love that name!) is Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2012!!  And you thought last years Honeysuckle was intense…ha!  Just saying the name Tangerine Tango puts me in a good mood.  Here’s what Pantone has to say about the color:

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®.

Couldn’t have said it better myself!  How do we transfer that “radiant shading” to a paint color we can actually use?  So glad you asked!  Below I’ve selected similar paint colors from some of the leading, and readily available, paint manufacturers in the Twin Cities.

(Continue reading this post where I guest authored over at the Twin Cities Design Collective.  See examples of this color used in environments as well as color selections from popular paint manufacturers!  Click:  Twin Cities Design Collective )

~~ Happy Hues!!  Susan ~~

An Array of Pillows? Yes? No?

So often throw pillows are thought of as a mix and match way of bringing color and pattern to a room, AND so often, that is exactly what the room needs.  Which is why most people have oodles of extra pillows floating around the house.  Easy to buy, easy to change out, and relatively inexpensive.  However, sometimes a room needs a different direction.  It needs the pillow as an accessory to have a more structured and planned presentation.

For example, take this room from Mia Malcolm, the pillows are displayed in a very structured format, and isn't it perfect?!

Mia Malcolm Design

Would an array of mumbo jumbo pillows work above?  Not as beautifully as the precisely placed gold and white rectangle pillows do.  I love this room.  It is classic yet cozy  -- why is that?  I mean, it is very minimalist and clean.  It's the curves.  Curves have a way of making a room inviting, and this room is a perfect example of that.  There are so many arced angles playing off of each other with the sofa, the cocktail table, the side table, the small glass balls in the table lamp, the soft curves of the glass vases, the round shag rug, and the round marbleized sculpture in the left corner.  Yet with all that, it doesn't feel overwhelmingly "rounded".  Mia did a fabulous job balancing the minimalist style of furnishings with soft, curved lines creating a beautifully, balanced environment.

You ask:  what if my furnishings are more slouchy or traditional and not quite so contemporary?  Use the same principle but make sure the pillows reflect the softness of your furniture.  In the living room below, I used the same concept with four large pillows, but their soft style transitions well to the softness of the sectional style.

Susan E. Brown/Lisa M. Bond Photography

If you like Mia's casual clean California style, check out more of her work by clicking here.

Now that you've got a whole new way to look at pillows and their placement, have fun accessorizing!!

Cheerio!  Susan

Twin Cities Design Collective "GET TO KNOW" Susan Brown!

Hi!

Please check out the Twin Cities Design Collective Blog today in their "GET TO KNOW" series where they are featuring "ME"!  Yea!

Twin Cities Design Collective: GET TO KNOW {Susan Brown}

Click on the link above to read more about what inspires me!!  Have a great day!  Susan

Grouping Photos and Artwork

Hi!  So often we all get in a rut with our daily list of endeavors, tasks, and responsibilities, that when it comes time to creativity, we forget to "think outside the box".  Interior design and decorating is no stranger to this habit, particularly in the realm of accessorizing.  I came across this grid on Pinterest and thought it would be a helpful bit of information for everyone.  Let the new and improved groupings begin!

~~~ Susan ~~~

Thanks Midwest Home magazine/ASID!

Check out my client's kitchen in Midwest Home magazine's "Guide to Good Design" on newsstands now! Thank you Midwest Home and American Society of Interior Designers/ASID!!!

~~~ Best, Susan ~~~