Color Buzz

Clashing Colors

By Michele Coppin

Combining colors that match is a safe choice. They tend to create soothing and serene effects that are easy to live with. However, MSN’s “Lifestyle” segment on June 17^th featured colors that typically clash, yet make a major statement brimming with elegance and energy.

Indeed, actress Reese Witherspoon was spotted wearing a hot pink and red dress with matching red sandals. This may not be the ideal combination for a room, but for an evening out, it is sure to be noticed.

Design Dilemma - Anne's House

Anne, a Color Buzz reader, wrote to the Beehive Studios designers asking for color and decorating help on her house.  She sent in photos and the following background information.  Today’s blog features Anne's design dilemma. Other entries are encouraged, so please feel free to email the Beehive designers with your specific design dilemma.  And come back on Friday to see the recommendations from the Beehive designers.

Hello,

I'm buying a new house and looking forward to painting. Well, actually the house is not "new." 

                              Living Room

It was built in 1948, it’s located in Los Angeles, and has lots of character that I want to play up.  It has a big red brick fireplace in the living room with a wooden mantle surrounding it, a built-in book case, a big west-facing window in the front of the living room, good natural light throughout, wood floors (I think the color is red oak - most of it is under carpet right now, but we plan to expose it) and crown molding. There are also a few things I'd like to disguise: the ceilings are lower (8-foot, I think) and flat, and the house is fairly small at 1,100 sf total.

                

                                                  Dining Room                           

Sunny Florida Shines with Color Palettes

This blog entry was written by Veronique Habermann and Michele Coppin

On an early, gray Saturday morning, we left New York for a well-deserved spring break. A few hours later, at the sunny Sarasota airport, we were surprisingly greeted by Jack Dowd’s colorful artwork – Andy 15 Times…a perfect beginning to our color inspired vacation.    

                     

Here we are, in beautiful Anna Maria Island. After a few days of relaxation and catching up on lost sleep, our passion for inspiring color combinations took over once again and we were off exploring the island on bicycles, with palettes in mind – on the look out for inspiration from Florida’s unique approach to color. Here are some examples of color schemes that inspired us:

                  

              Valspar Color Palette                          Pastel Delight Entrance
             Pink Whisper 1002-2C                                  Dove White
              Sheer Green 6007-78                         Pink Odyssey 1001-2B
                     Dove White                           Chairs-Whipped Peach 2002-2B
                                                                         Peach Kiss 2002-2C
                                                                           Lime Ice 6008-78

                                                

                   
                                                                      
                  Green House                                           Blue House
        Walls-Spring Lawn 6006-9C                      Walls-sea frolic 4008-10A
      Shutters-Lime Burst 6007-10B           Trim-Lyndhurst Celestial Blue 5003-9C
       Chairs-Blue Burst 4008-10 B                   Tin Roof-Dewdrop 4007 – 7A
                    Dove white                                            Dove White
Accent, Flowers – Frosty Berry 10030-1B  Accent, Flowers – Cosmic Pink 1001-1A

                      

 

Globetrotting with Color

Rich, saturated, spice-inspired -- these are the colors from the Valspar Globetrotting collection.  Each of these colors is absolutely delicious! You could really rev up your décor with any of them. Personally, I like the way Crushed Cumin plays against Aqua Dance, and the sassy way Deep Sunset pops against Crushed Cumin. Gather up your adventurous spirit and take your home on a fun-filled trip.

   

                             

Crushed Cumin 6008-6A      Aqua Dance 5002-8B      Deep Sunset 1005-3A

In the Pink!

Recently, I casually surveyed some of the men in my life as to which pinks they thought they could live with. At first, most of them recoiled. Their fears of a Barbie dream house came to light. But after some thoughtful moments, they considered the possibilities. In England, for example, pink is used in public spaces such as hallways. The pinks they use are very grayed out. Upon consideration, most of the men questioned said they would be okay with muted pinks like the kind you may find in certain rock formations. There was one pink taken from the paint deck that many of these guys seemed to support. It’s called Valspar Quartz Pink. You can pair it with Timber Dust which is a warm brown gray. So ladies, if you’re looking into pinks and want to keep him in the loop, this might be a great starting point…

 

                                            
              Quartz Pink 1005-8C                        Timber Dust 2007-9C