Color Buzz

Wedding Colors Part II

By Michèle Coppin

In Monday’s post I explored the role that color played in weddings throughout the ages. As I mentioned, in the last few years, colors for weddings tended to lean towards soft shades of pinks, greens and lilacs. Although soft pastel color schemes are always in fashion, experts agree that bright, bold colors and even exotic combinations are the new trend.

Here are the hottest wedding colors for 2009:

Red and Orange: vibrant, fun and exotic.

Red and Pink: exiting combination mixing romance and passion.

Red and Yellow: Modern and hip

Orange: Elegant and radiant with shades of peach and ivory.

[Courtesy of Kim Fuller Photography]

Yellow and Turquoise: Summery and tropical.

 
Green and Yellow: Fresh and young.

Green and Lavender: Soft and sensual



Brown and Pink: Elegant and sensual  - one of 2009's hottest combinations.



I also questioned wedding photographer Kim Fuller for some additional insight. She noted:
 
"Purple is in! The jewel tones seem to be back in fashion this year for bridesmaid dresses. It makes for great photos, especially when you add a bold-colored flower to really make the color pop. Brown and pewter are still popular for the Fall, with a touch of orange or pink as an accent.  Both color palettes go well with most skin types, which is nice."



For more photos and ideas, please check out Kim Fuller Photography’s website.

Design Dilemma: Emily's Response

Dear Emily,

Your space is great. You must be so excited. The couches are totally workable. I would suggest a soft warm white on the walls so that the couches don't hit them with a hard edge. Try a color like Apricot Haze.
   
    Apricot Haze 7002-11

I would paint the book case even lighter. Can you try using whatever wall color you use and half it with the white of the trim?  This will help the bookcase blend into the room better but still give it some presence.

You could even paint the coffee table. For the kitchen, I would totally go with a bright blue green that corresponds with the couch.  Try a color like Lake Breeze or Gentle Wave. The cabinets will pop nicely against this.
                
   Lake Breeze 5007-7B          Gentle Wave 5007-7C

If you want to try an accent color on the door, try something with some rust in it (like the box you have on the counter), something like La Fonda Sombrero or Toasted Apricot.
                
La Fonda Sombrero 2008-5B    Toasted Apricot 2006-3B

Let us know how it goes.  A first place is always a great adventure!

And a quick reminder to everyone to take our most recent Color Buzz Poll if you haven't done so already.

Cheerful Color Combinations - First Installment

                   

With all of the uncertainty out there, one thing's for sure—you can wash away the blues with a fresh coat of paint! We've all been feeling down about the economy, and many of us are hunkering into uber-nesting mode. Now that it’s spring (thank goodness!), it's only natural to want to revitalize ourselves and our homes.  Why not let color lift your spirits?

Reaction to color is very personal. One person's joy is another person's headache. Some of us liven up around bright crisp colors, while others are comforted by soothing muted tones.

Keeping both of these groups in mind, I've put together two directions of color combinations that will hopefully address these mindsets. In this first installment, I include bold, bright and vivacious colors that are considered happy and cheerful. Later, I will explore more subtle color combinations.

When searching for bold colors, look for clean and clear hues that aren't complicated with browns or greys. Once you have your selection on the walls, bring in more complex colors to give visual balance. Let's start with a few of my favorite combinations:

Orange and Pink
I have loved this combination since I was a little girl. It reminds me of sunshine, oranges, flowers, fruit juice and candy—all things I love. I used to have an orange shag carpet, white walls and pink trim and I totally loved it. These days, however, I would rethink the approach. 

To play these colors right, you can go in two directions. You could saturate the room with both colors and add structural elements of a cool neutral like grey to hold it all together. The other direction is to paint the entire room a warm ivory and have punches of orange and pink throughout.  Again, I would add either silver or gray to off-set the warmth of the saturated colors.

I recommend Orange Toffee with Flower Girl, balanced with a tan like Cincinnatian Hotel Hannaford.

                                                
                Orange Toffee 2007-1C                      Flower Girl 1005-1C

                                          
                              Cincinnatian Hotel Hannaford 3007-10C

Yellow and Grey
Anther blues-busting combination that is totally hot right now is yellow and grey.  Yellow is a funny color. I used to dislike it immensely, but there's something contagious about it—now it makes me giggle! It's light-hearted, warm and inviting and when played right, very sophisticated.  When pairing it with grey, yellow plays the role of the star and grey as the supporting actor. I recommend yellow walls, light grey trim, and white accents like Tangy Lemon with Orchid Ash.

                                    
               Tangy Lemon 3006-2A                   Orchid Ash 4003-3B

Blue and Green
Light blue and citrus green is another mood-enhancing color combination. It reminds me of the beach. Try a clear blue with a hint of purple and a green with a healthy amount of yellow. These colors look great in many different rooms. In a kitchen, for example, I would paint the walls blue and the cabinets white. Then I would add accent fabrics that add the green. 

Another great way to combine these colors is to paint stripes with them. They lend themselves well to this treatment because they are both harmonious and cool.

Try Garden Fresh and Dewdrop.

                                   
              Garden Fresh 6008-7B                     Dewdrop 4006-7A

Here's an expanded collection of these bold bright beauties:

Greens
Gleeful 6008-7B
Garden Fresh
Lime Mousse 6008-9B

  
  Garden Fresh 6008-7B


Blues
Dewdrop 4006-7A
Encounter

  
    Encounter 4008-7B


Yellows
Lemon Twist
Like Butter 3005-2A

  
  Lemon Twist 3006-2B


Oranges
Cantaloupe Smile
Autumn Gala 2004-1A

  
Cantaloupe Smile 2007-2A


Pinks
Flower Girl 1005-1C
Pink Ribbon

  
   Pink Ribbon 1005-1C


Purples
Whipped Plum 4002-9B
Lavender Quartz

  
Lavender Quartz 4001-9C

This has been one of the most enjoyable blogs to write. Just thinking about these makes me happy. I can't wait to get some of them onto the walls!

Check back for part II of this blog entry and in the meantime, let us know what colors cheer you up!

Also, please don't forget to take our Color Buzz Poll mini survey and let us know what room in the house you would paint today!

Color of the Week - Peach Taffy

Peach Taffy, last week's Color of the Week,  is the perfect color to break the winter blues. It's opposite on the color wheel from the cool grey/blue tones. It's a soft orange which would be great in a bedroom or hallway. Try it with Glowing Dune 3006-9C, Woodlawn Silver Brook and Filoli Yew 5008-2B. One of the many pluses to peach tone colors is that they are extremely flattering to most skin tones. So paint your walls peach and enjoy looking beautiful.

                                
            Peach Taffy 2006-4A             Woodlawn Silver Brook 5001-1B                 

Rich Color in the Dead of Winter

By Megan Leblond

                       

We have been covered in white snow on the East Coast for the past few months and the wind continues to blow. Despite the desolate surroundings, color is available! One simply has to toss on a coat, hat, gloves and scarf, and venture into town for an array of pleasing colors available in the produce section of the grocery.  

Many glorious colors are available by way of winter fruit. Ruby red grapefruits, key limes, and blood oranges can help to bring passion to our winter doldrums, and add a pop to color projects. 

My favorite is the blood orange. I have a fabulous recipe for wild rice, leeks and blood oranges that I can only prepare in winter due to the fruit’s availability. The black wild rice, green leeks and deep red tones of the oranges make for both a bold color combination and unique dish. 

   

A blood orange’s crimson fruit is the result of a pigment common in flowers, but it is rare in fruit- an antioxidant called anthocyanin. The blood orange originated in Italy and Spain, but is now grown in the United States in Texas and California. The fruit is virtually seedless, which makes it easy to cook with. The beautiful fruit is available December through March to seduce our eyes and taste buds.  

If you have a bit of the winter blues, try working with the deep color of the blood orange to warm your spirit. Try the blood orange tart recipe from Smitten Kitchen or use one of the Valspar colors reminiscent of the flower fruit!  If you are totally snowed in, The Orange Store will ship!   

                  

                  If you would like to bring these colors into your home, try:

                                    

                         Orange Glow 3001-1A         Berry Blush 1004-1A

                                   

                    Whipped Strawberry 1006-1A   Montpelier Red Velvet 1009-6

Color of the Week - Silver Dusk

Last week's Color of the Week was Silver Dusk, a soft blue-grey that would be beautiful in a bedroom or hallway. It's elegant and picks up on this year's trends towards blues and greys. Try it with a warm ivory like Whitewashed Oak. For accent colors try Tomato Bisque which is a warm toasty light orange or Orange Ochre to really kick things up!                                      

                                           
                                            Silver Dusk 4006-3A

                  
Whitewashed Oak 7006-23   Tomato Bisque 2008-5C   Orange Ochre 2010-1

              

Michelle Obama’s Inaugural Fashion

By Veronique Habermann

   

Although this might seem frivolous in these harsh economic times, I would like to add to the online discussion predicting Michelle Obama’s inaugural dress. There are several blogs and news outlets all over the country, including New York Times and the Boston Herald, that are devoting lots of coverage to the First Lady-to-be’s wardrobe. For me, what makes this so interesting is the fact that Michelle Obama is a trend-setter who has shown a refined, unique sense of style throughout the campaign, often pairing J. Crew cardigans with couture designer items. Many are asking if she will be the next Jackie O.

                         

With the inauguration just a little over a week away, she has a tough choice ahead of her: What to wear? With so much emphasis built up about her clothing choices, she will have to choose wisely on this very special day. She will have to look great, but she certainly won't be able to wear an outfit that is too expensive looking. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes right now!

 

For fun, I asked my 15 year old son, what he thought she should wear and his immediate response was a dress in a dark shade of red. What do you think Michele should wear?

*Check out another post on Michelle’s fashion from the Democratic National Convention.

Bubbling Over in Winnipeg

We like to start all of our projects with a conversation with our client, and the Valspar Ultimate Match Makeover project was no exception. Last year’s winner, Krislyn, was great to work with, and we began by discussing her living room’s renovation, focusing on the room’s function. Her living room also doubled as her son’s playroom, so we wanted to create two areas of the room: one for Eden and his toys, and one for grown-ups and visiting with friends.

 

It was important to make sure the room had a unifying theme while still identifying the separate parts of the room. Krislyn really wanted something fun and lively, so we had an idea of using giant circles or bubbles in different ways to achieve different effects. We once painted large circles in a client’s entry - they made the space very playful. For the adult side of the room, we wanted to created columns of circles which would give a calming sense. I suggested this sketch which she liked.

                 


Krislyn and Phillip’s house is beautiful and located alongside a winding river. We were also able to meet  Krislyn’s adorable son, Eden. He was very excited about bubbles, as you can tell.

We started by looking at colors. Winnepeg is cold and frozen most of the year, so we thought bringing some green in would lift the spirits. We created a color wash  using blending Leaf Bud 6005-5B and Plum Passion 6007-5B. After we painted the room a soft warm green, we started cutting stencils.

                              


We began by painting larger circles on the walls. We painted these in a soft color to give an ethereal effect.

Krislyn really liked the warm colors, and we were able to incorporate these colors by using them with the smaller stencils, giving the room some “pop.” We used Terra Cotta Red 2004-3A, Caramel Honey 3003-3B and La Fonda Antique Red 2002-5A on the small circles and a cooler blue, Dewdrop 4006-7A, on the mid-size bubbles.

 

Above the fireplace, we added Venetian Plaster in a deep charcoal brown that matched the existing mantle. This gave definition to the fireplace and anchored the room. Krislyn and Phillip were so wonderful to us, and we were very fortunate to have gotten to know them. They were a pleasure to work with and they seemed quite pleased with the final outcome. What do you think?

        

        

Pantone's Color of the Year

Pantone just came out with its Color of the Year. They chose a lovely color called Mimosa. Pantone thought this rich, lively yellow would be perfect this year. With the downturn in the economy, everyone will be looking for a bright color to cheer them up. What better way to cheer up than to surround yourself with a bright, vivacious hue? If you want to translate this color onto your walls, try Valspar's Golden Moon 3004-3B or Mustard Glaze 3006-3A. Both colors are close to Mimosa. Golden Moon has a touch more orange in it than Mimosa, while Mustard Glaze is a bit greener. Both are vibrant, and would look nice paired with a soft gray like Woodlawn Snow 6003-1A or Oatlands Subtle Taupe 6005-1B.

                

             Golden Moon 3004-3B            Mustard Glaze 3006-3A 

                  
            Woodlawn Snow 6003-1A     Oatlands Suble Taupe 6005-1B

Mexican Colors

By Michèle Coppin

When temperatures drop and frost moves in, when nature pales and the days shorten, I turn to Mexico.



I long for sun and color, for chilies, for songs with "Corazon" in every sentence, straw hats, Sangria and little towns where the cobblestone streets are lined with abstract paintings—palettes of vivid colors—that echo like poems.

 

Colors in Mexico are so site-specific; they reflect orange sunlight, acid blue skies, red hot peppers, the sound of bullfights, turquoise stones, green taxis, silver mines, purple shawls, black hair, golden mangoes, pink watermelons and brown earth. These vibrant colors have inspired many artists who have paintings tucked away in museums and private collections. My favorites, however, are the true Mexican muralists—the home owners simply embellishing their walls and doors for all to admire!



If you are like me and crave spice in your life, these wild, and sometimes unusual, color schemes are right at your finger tips - just go to Valspar's Globe Trotting Color Trends where you can create your own ethnically saturated and spicy color combinations.



By using the simple technique of color washing, you can create that beautiful, worn, old look on your walls. The visible, overlapping brush strokes resemble weathered stucco. This is ideal for imperfect walls, as the subtle textured finish helps hide imperfections. It works particularly well with brighter colors like yellows, oranges and reds.

After painting your base coat, simply apply a bright golden glaze in random crossing patterns like overlapping X's. For a wall that glows, work lightly allowing the base coat to show through.