Design meets Entertainment...COLORS!

It's been a while since I've done a design meets entertainment post, but I couldn't think of a better time nor a better song than "Colors" by Amos Lee. I LOVE this song, and I hope you enjoy it as well!

Amos Lee - Colors (Live)
Video sent by DariaMo

By the way what's your favorite color???

We are fam i ly...

The next two color theories we'll look at will deal with color "families", they are analogous and monochromatic schemes. Analogous colors are those which are next to each on the color wheel. A good way to identify an analogous color scheme is take one color and look at each of the colors on both sides of it. While monochromatic schemes are created when one color is used in various tints and shades. Just as before looking at this diagram should help make things a little clearer.



Now on to my favorite part...room examples! Although the two rooms shown below are very similar in color, they display two different analogous schemes.

The room pictured above has a color scheme based on violet as the middle color flanked by blue-violet and red-violet.

In my opinion the room below is a color scheme of red-violet flanked by red and violet, because there is no blue in this room.

I could go on and on finding pretty pictures so I'll move on to monochromatic.

I think a lot of people hear monochromatic and think neutral colors so I went the total opposite way and choose rooms full of COLOR to display monochromatic color schemes.

I can't decide if the image below is a blue or a blue-green monochromatic palette, I keep referring back to my color wheel and I'm leaning towards blue-green, what do you think?

The next two images I really had fun with finding. I wanted to display how easily going from one monochromatic scheme do the next could alter the way a room looks and the colors used in the room.

Below we have a room that has a monochromatic scheme built on yellow-orange (top) and one built on orange (bottom) TOTALLY DIFFERENT!

They also look different because the rooms vary in style, but there is no denying that the color difference is dramatic from one to the next.

Ahhh the joy of color.

If you still hadn't found a combination of colors that you like...don't fret, I'll post about another theory tomorrow.

Catch ya'll later!

Opposites Attract!

According to color theory, colors which are directly opposite from each other on the color wheel come together to form a harmonious color combination known as a complementary scheme. I've found photos of some spaces that execute that concept beautifully, but first check out an example of the color wheel to see if there's a combination you like.

This first bedroom has shades and tints of red, pink, orange, and green. It reminds me of a delicious sorbet, and the look that's pulled off is quite yummy! The space also features a headboard that's reminiscent of a technique called trompe l'oeil (French for "trick the eye") in which an item is painted to look sort of three dimensional. This headboard is not quite as elaborate as most trompe l'oeil examples but pretty none the less.

Here are two more examples of the red/green complementary scheme...

Next lets explore the combination of violet and yellow, I must admit it's not my favorite but I think the designers who put together the rooms below did an excellent job. The first bedroom features rich eggplant purple walls with hint's of yellow for a tropical feeling. The wood used in this room also has strong yellow undertones adding to the complimentary color scheme.

The second bedroom featuring violet and yellow combine the colors in a more subdued manner, using lavender and a pale yellow almost taupe color.

Finally we have the blue-green/red-orange combination which I think is very fab! The first room is so nice I had to show you twice (two different views of the same room).

This last room was featured in Domino's magazine and was submitted by one of their readers...I love it!

Images courtesy of Domino, Sunset, and House Beautiful.

We'll continue our journey through color theories with more posts throughout the week, until then...happy decorating!

Handpainted Chairs

As many of you may know my roommate and I recently relocated to a 3 bedroom condo from a two bedroom townhouse, so that we could convert the extra bedroom to an office for Hue! I'm pleased to announce that we have almost finished the room, and I wanted to give a sneak preview of the space.

In the quest to find chairs to go into the room we wanted something eclectic and unique, therefore we began scouting all thrift stores for a traditional style chair that could be converted into the perfect accessory for the room. We found these great chairs pictured below, they may look a little funky now, but they get even funkier (good funky; lol)

The color palette for the office is black, white, and golden yellow. We'd already decided that we'd use a damask print as the pattern in the room. I hand painted each chair (with about 5 coats) of yellow paint, and recovered the seat cushions, it only took about two days, and that's including letting the paint dry, while I worked on other projects.

So check out the results...what do you think of the new twist on these traditional chairs?

I'll post even more pictures later this week, as I said this is just a sneak peek stay tuned for the entire room reveal.

How about one more teaser...

I'll show you where this project previewed above, found a home in the space.

Have a Scoop that doesn't pile on the pounds...

Check out the scoop back chair at West Elm.

These chairs are fun, not too frilly, and very versatile. They come in three solid colors and a "giraffe" pattern as well as three varying heights. Add them to your dining table for an eclectic look use them at your workstation, or as extra seating in your bedroom. Oh the possibilities!

Yahoo introduces...Shop by Color!

Looking for an item in this year "hot" hue? Well try Yahoo's new feature called shop by color. The way it works is you choose what category you're looking for an item for example "home and garden", next you click the color that you'd like the item to be for example "blue", then you let the computer do the searching! You can also specify what particular item you're looking for like "sofa" or "jacket"...click here to try it for yourself and see what you think.

Will you be using the shop by color feature?

New Year, New Hue!

Are you blue this year? If so Pantone says you're right on the money because Blue Iris is Pantone's color of 2008.

What do you think?

Click here to read more.