As an expert Seattle interior designer I attend many events at the Seattle Design Center.  Last week Leatrice Eiseman, leading color expert, spoke about color trends.  She is the person who designated turquoise as the color of 2010.  Some other tidbits about other colors came from Q & A.  The power of green from the lime shades to old venerables, like olive green, continues after banishment in the 1970’s. So I share this image below to welcome olive green to your color vocabulary.

Image from Stylemonger

Designers Fisher and Weisman of San Francisco upholstered tufted sofas in olive green linen velvet.  The key to the success of the olive green is mixing it with golds, yellows, soft oranges  and browns. What a beautiful setting.

Faith’s Favorite Olive Green from Benjamin Moore 2140-10 Fatigue Green

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“I hate to actually say this, but gray is the new black,”says Gale Steves. “It’s a softer color seen in fashion, and nature, and I’m seeing it everywhere: fabrics, felts, grey wools, even in tile. It takes a floor or a wall to a very neutral place.”

At our Fall Into Color event we asked our guests to vote for their favorite 2010 Benjamin Moore colors from the Northwest Color Palette. Guess what color was first? Fairview Taupe, HC-85.

HC-85

In the meantime, it might sound odd to refer to gray as fresh, “but we’ve gone through a period where we’ve had a lot of warm beige—the whole Tuscany thing—and so gray represents a kind of difference,” Leatrice Eiseman of Bainbridge, WA says “There can be warm grays, but they are largely cooler, and so they appear newer, fresher,if you will. Gray also has a kind of a Zen feeling, and while the whole relaxation phenomenon has been around for several years, our lives and how we live are still very complicated. There are people who are still thinking in terms of having quiet, down time when they are home, and gray speaks to people in that way. It’s unobtrusive, so it has kind of a calming effect.”

The runner-up color is AF-650, Caponata which can be considered aubergine or purple.

AF-650

According to Jane Matteson, “The hot accent color for Fall is purple in all of its permutations, amethysts, magentas, berries. And, the other color that plays up against that beautifully is citron, which companions so well with orange”. Says Eiseman, “It’s astonishing how long orange has had its run, along with some of the yellow greens. Right now we’re seeing the ‘citron-y’ yellow greens continuing for 2010.

I think we have some ‘color experts’ in Seattle!

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My clients are busy organizing for the upcoming school year.   In my Seattle interior design practice I receive lots of requests for color ideas but not as often for teen boy bedrooms. In this post I have a color scheme for a teen boy and ideas to pull it all together.  This vibrant blue is a bold choice for a focal wall and the deep taupe on the side walls anchors and tones the warm rich chocolate.  I think a bounce of the Sundance yellow as a lamp, beanbag chair, frame or pillow will make his room have personality.  You can find suggestions and ideas like these in my newsletter. 

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Benjamin Moore Blueberry Benjamin Moore Fairview Taupe Benjamin Moore Sundance

With this color scheme in place I suggest bedcovering fabrics in a pinstripe combined with solids.  I found this oxford cloth sample  with wide and narrow stripes at Williams Sonoma Home . It adds an  easygoing style with the style  of casual men’s shirting.

Williams Sonoma Oxford Tonal-Stripe

Finally, to make this ‘teen’ and not staid, I found this  area rug to place diagonally and partially under the bed or where it isn’t fully exposed. 

Foreign Accents Festival Area Rug 5x7

This is a busy pattern and exposing a portion rather than the entire rug pulls the color theme together.

It was exciting to tour the Portland Street of Dreams of nine penthouse condominiums nearly 2 weeks ago. As a Seattle interior designer what I especially enjoyed was seeing an interior designed by my designer colleague, Kimberlee  Jaynes.  In my opinion Kimberlee is superb in her color sense as you can see by the image. Choosing a color is often a daunting experience for my clients. I wanted to share what Kimberlee told me about her color inspiration for the interiors.

Living Room

Over coffee Kimberlee shared, ”The design evolved starting with a pale blue gray rug from Madison Millinger Handmade rugs. My design associate Rolfe was showing me this rug and I reached down to touch it and noticed my vermillion summer nail polish against the smoky colored rug and thought that’s it! We have our color combination!”  As the design concept evolved, Kimberlee said, “Well once the artwork and pillows were in place the serene area rug had to go! The tomato area rug was a much better fit and helped to keep your eye traveling around the room.”

Benjamin Moore 1573 Castle Walls

“The vermillion colored art work and embroidered silk accent pillows help bring the living room to life.” The serene mood established with the soft blue grey continues into the bedroom as seen in this photo.

I will be speaking again with Kimberlee about some of the unique accessories she showcased in another post. 

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As an Seattle interior designer and member of the Benjamin Moore Color Advisory team, color is always on my radar.  I live and breath color and know how deeply it impacts how we all feel. That impact is especially relevant to our own homes and personal spaces.

This is Part 2 of my interview with Home Savvi and I hope you enjoy the dialogue. Lately I’m attracted to the energetic shades of orange so I included a color combination below from Benjamin Moore. I like how the green softens and freshens the combo.

HomeSavvi: So we have chosen our basic driver, defined our painting project, assessed the room’s lighting, and determined our style. What’s next?

Faith: At this point, you are prepared to start putting together some color concepts for consideration. Magazines and web sites are good places to start looking at color ideas. If you are looking at a combination of styles and accessories for your room, you will get a sense for what direction you are heading into. That’s when you also begin to consider how much color intensity you want. If your inspiration color is a really bright green, you need to ask yourself how much you love it, and how much of it you want in your space. Maybe this color would be better as an accent wall, rather than an entire room that could be too overwhelming. Then make an exploratory trip to the paint store to get a paint color that is as close to your basic driver as possible. Look also for other colors that are in the same color family, colors that are part of large existing surfaces in the room that you know you’re going to keep, such as a sofa, carpet or rug.

HomeSavvi: Earlier on, we touched on how natural light changes color. What is the best way to ensure no surprises once the color is applied?

Faith: Color intensifies on the walls, so make sure you look at the saturation of the color you select. I recommend using the handy two-ounce sample testers you can find in most stores together with a disposable application tool, and go home and paint in the corners, on opposite walls, in one to two square-foot patches. Then live with it for a couple of days throughout the day, so you can see how the color changes in the sunlight in the morning, around noon and in the evening. Is the color turning too cool, or too much of a pink or orange? Then you can start eliminating some shades, and decide if you prefer lighter or darker tones.

HomeSavvi: There are many types of paints out there on the market. Which one would you recommend the most?

Faith: If the room you are painting is a high-activity area, you will need a sturdy, washable paint. If you are environmentally conscious, you can now choose from a wide selection of eco-paints. Flat paint is a good choice because it is easy to touch up compared to paint that has sheen to it and typically needs to be completely redone. On interior walls, I especially like Benjamin Moore’s Aura (watch?v=N0eCCvxnRb8) matte / flat finish, which is exceptionally durable and suitable for all rooms, including kitchens and baths. It can camouflage small wall bumps, cracks or other imperfections since this finish does not reflect light. With only a slight hint of shine or gloss, eggshell finish is good for walls, and holds up better with cleaning than typical flat finish paint. Satin finish paint is smooth with a bit more gloss, and is most often used for windows, doors, trim or ceilings, but it can also be used as wall paint. It is particularly suitable for kids’ room walls, kitchens or bathrooms, or in high-traffic areas. Semi-gloss is most often used on doors, trim and cabinets in kitchens and bathrooms. It is easily cleaned and provides a nice, subtle shine. Gloss paint finish is almost reflective and mimics the look of enamel or plastic. It produces a dramatic look on cabinets, trim, furniture, walls and ceilings, and magnifies any surface imperfections, so careful preparation and sanding is essential before painting with high-gloss paints.

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