Knowledge is Strength: Pantone's Color of the Year 2014, Radiant Orchid

It seems Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color, has surprised many in the industry with the selection of Radiant Orchid, 18-3224 as the upcoming Color of the Year. The PANTONE® name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer. Need a color to match exactly from one end of the globe to the other? Pick a Pantone color!

Last year's color Emerald served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity. This year's color Radiant Orchid is an invitation to innovation, expanded creativity and originality. Cheers to that!

Radiant Orchid is quite a unique color. At first I thought "Wow, where would I use that"? Perhaps a powder room, child or teen's room, as a small accent color...which surprises me because the last thing I ever want to feel is limited by color. I like to believe I can use color anywhere, at any time, depending on adjacent colors, what proportions have been used, and the values (lightness and darkness) or chroma (intensity of a color) used. So I started doing a little research and looking around for inspiration. Best thing to do whenever a road block starts creeping in!

I ran across this lovely view of famous designer Kelly Wearstler's office on Instagram today. Lo and behold, I see Radiant Orchid!

Gorgeous artwork! Pinterest/Jeannie Mills – Aboriginal Art Centre – Anaty 1105 “Bush Potato”

And of course, nature will always give you the most exquisite color findings.
Pinterest

 Pinterest

 I love this this room, the purple and orange combo, the ethnic vibe. It's fresh yet warm at the same time. Pinterest

 Ditto with this dining room! Pinterest

A little retro mod to balance out the selections. Pinterest

 How's this for a funky barn?! Pinterest

And of course, all I had to do was look above at my blog header to see a more saturated version of Radiant Orchid in this foyer I designed. In fact, I found two other rooms where I used versions of this year's Pantone color!

Not quite as unique and unusual an application as I had initially thought. How many other areas in your life can you bring in this type of questioning and conclusion? Challenge yourself. Knowledge is strength.

Later gators, Susan 

Where has Susan gone??? Oh yes, and Pantone 2013 Color of the Year!!!

Well as you can tell, when I'm a busy working woman, in addition to those other areas of my life...mom, wife, girlfriend... my posts go out the window. Not complaining, being busy in my field is a good thing (thank you Martha).  Not that I don't have anything to write about either.  In fact, topics pop into my mind numerous times a day, in addition to the little birdie sitting on my shoulder saying, "When you get home, sit down, and make it short and sweet." Yes, well a lot of good that birdie did for me.  Thank goodness it's flown south for the winter.

The number one issue I HAVE to talk about is the new 2013 Pantone color of the year -- #17-5641 Emerald.  I love it!  But I'm biased since green, and all of its variations, has always been my favorite color.

Let's look at some of my favorite Emerald Green room designs, shall we?

 Infamous Stark Carpet advertisement

 Photograph by Michael Eastman

Interior design by Tobi Fairley

 Interior design by Jamie Drake

 Soft mint green in this front room, but notice the stunning emerald green square, not the whole wall, behind the shelving in the distant room.  Interior design by Jamie Drake

Image from The Decorista

 Interior design by Kelly Wearstler

I use a lot of chartreuse (more of a yellow green) in my interiors, but not a lot of Emerald Green.  That's my goal for 2013!

On to Oz!  Susan

A Mirrored Wall Alternative

I love this wall of framed, antiqued mirrors by famed interior designer Kelly Wearstler for the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California.  It reminds me of two things: Initially it reminded me of the old mirrored walls, usually of 12"x12"mirrored tiles, found in dining rooms, typically one wall, in the 1960's, 70's, and 80's.  But after more contemplation, I realized this approach is an updated version creating so much more depth, interest, and repetition -- which brings me to my second point.  It also reminds me of a patterned wallpaper.  The positioning of all the mirrors fills the walls so completely and exactly that the overall effect is the illusion of wallpaper vs. a wall grouping.  Brilliant!

Can you think of a space in your home where this would be a good option?

Toodles!!  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.

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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!