Inspiration: Citron & Grey

My new found love for the color citron has started to take over.  We have a wonderfully fluffy grey blanket that will ward off the cold on even the chilliest of nights.  This blanket lives on our couch, as do our new citron pillows (which you can find the how to HERE).  The more that I look at the pairing, the more I love it.  White, Citron & Grey.  It's bright, it's fresh, it's sophisticated & it has been begging me to put together a bit of an inspiration board.  The question was, what room should I do.  I think it would be great in a crisp bedroom, and would be perfect for a living room, but I wanted to try to do something challenging & make it perfect for your dining room.


For someone who might not be too daring with color on the walls, or in your furnishings, the dining room is the PERFECT place to try out this color.  Now I know that I have a fascination with Grey, and have even done a grey, yellow and purple combo, but I feel compelled to get the images in my head out there for all to see.  Forget Honeysuckle, Citron is the color of 2011 for me!


Start with light grey walls.  I would stay in the cool palette, but this paring could work with a subtle beige as well.  Crisp white trim & beautiful citron curtains like these (and totally love this lamp too by the way!):

Photo: House Beautiful

Any color wood will work with this palette.  I tend to like dark woods & think that the bright yellow will wake them up, so that's what I am using for this inspiration board, but feel free to experiment with all colors of hard wood.

Kenroy Home Celestial Table Lamp - Amazon, Steel Circles Metal Wall Art - Bed Bath & Beyond,
Hive Vase - West Elm, Firepot Tealight Holders - CB2, Dimpled Drinkware - West Elm,
Modloft Greenwich Sidboard - Amazon, Uptown Parsons Dining Chairs - Target, Verona Table - Target,
Code Rug - CB2

It is easy to envision this board with a slighting lighter, almost chartreuse yellow/green as well.  The images I found were not quite as bright as I would have hoped for, but you get the picture.  The grey and yellow are extremely complementary & would go well with crisp white furniture, contemporary metal furnishings or traditional dark woods.

The use of bright table runners, metal centerpieces filled with lemons or even great bright art work on the wall can make this dining room yours.  And the base is all grey and white, so easy to change the scheme if you care too.

Check out the Citron & Turquoise Theme HERE, as it is similar with one more bold color to compliment it!

Happy Decorating!

Inspiration: White Bedroom with a Pop

Generally I am not a fan of all white interiors.  I tend to think of it as a stain-fearer's worst nightmare, but I was inspired recently by a photo that I saw of a bright white bedroom with a pop of bright green that made me desire to be in that room immediately.  It was beautiful.  So I thought that I might try to recreate that vision for everyone here, so they can understand why I am now in love with this bedroom.

Bedding: Peninsula White Cotton (Crate&Barrel), Pillow: Hand Blocked Jaali (West Elm),
Mirrors: Malachy & Brighton Floor Mirror (Crate&Barrel), Lamp: Sphere Table Lamp (West Elm),
Chairs: Upholstered Slipper Chair (West Elm), Green Table:  Martini Table (West Elm),
Plant:  Onion Grass Sedum (Target), Mirrored Table: Parsons Mirrored End Table (West Elm),
Vases:  Cabo & Chica Green Vases (Crate&Barrel)

Imagine soft white walls and and trim, a white dresser and bright green curtains from a brushed silver curtain rod.  A white and green rug & dark hard woods make this room cozy, bright & fresh.  Prop the white mirror up against a white wall with a large plant next to it. 

I think that in this scenario, a white room is amazing, and hopefully you can see why!

Turquoise & Citron Inspiration Board

This has got to be one of my favorite new color combos.  We have a pillow on our couch that is turquoise & with the new citron pillows added to the couch, the bright color combo is amazing.  Now we aren't keeping that blue pillow there, it's just for added structure when we are both laying on the couch, but as I look around recently, I see that combo in other places.   I have never been a big fan of yellow, in clothes or in decorating, so how is it that I have fallen in love with this color?

One, it is in every magazine this year, from clothing to decorating & it's such a bright and unusual color, that I'm totally drawn to it.  Secondly, the color appears in the above mentioned combination on my new bags from 31gifts.  The combo is paired with a light grey, and warm grey & a white - leading me to want to create an inspiration board from the bag... here is a photo of my bag:

From 31gifts Spring Catalogue HERE

This picture doesn't really share the citron in as much glory as the bag itself actually does - but believe me,  it's there and it's great!  So this bag inspired me to throw together a room based on this palette.  I am going to start with a living room, but might end up doing a bedroom as well.  You know I'm in love with the Grey & White combo, so when you throw in two wonderful, bright, cheerful colors - how can I pass it up?

Here is the inspiration board for a chic living room scenario:



Lorimer Sectional - West Elm, Audra Slipper Chair - Pier 1, Round
Shell Mirror - Pier 1, Seaglass Lamps - Pier 1, Hive Vases - West Elm,
Recycled Spanish Glass Stacking Vases - West Elm, Remy Canary
Pillow - Crate&Barrel, Tamara Floral Erin Chair - World Market

 
There were so many other great items that I found like artwork:

Aqueous 1 - World Market

And Vases:


Ria Hurricane - Crate&Barrel

 Even these Floor Cushions:

Blanc Noir Floor Pillows - World Market

I think that everyone is in love with this color combo right now.  It's the perfect mix of bright and cheery for your room & easy to make sophisticated, relaxing, casual or any style you prefer.

Grey & White Bedroom

Today I'm going to do a slightly different take on my Inspiration Boards.  I was totally inspired by West Elm's new catalog, and can't rave on enough about one particular bedroom set up.  It made want to literally jump into bed in this bedroom.  It's elegant, modern - using clean line and modern, but classic colors.  It made me want to talk about it, and find ways that you could bring this look into your bedroom today without totally copying it out of the catalog.

Take a look at this bedroom and tell me that you don't love it -

Photo: West Elm

I love that the cool grey color almost seems warm against the stark white room.  But I do think that there are a few things that you could add or substitute to put together this look on a budget.

First you have to start with the grey rosette quilt.  The one that is shown is by West Elm, of course.  It is the ruffled circle quilt & shams.  There is something about the texture of the ruffled rosettes that really draws me to this particular quilt, as I have not always been a fan of quilts.  It looks soft and comfortable while still being totally chic.  Are there substitutes out there, sure, but I would splurge on the real thing - it's worth it.

Next you will want to add a modern, white headboard.  The one that is shown is the Moroccan Headboard by West Elm - but almost any open weave headboard could give the same effect.  I would go with something that is a solid wood, and not a metal headboard, as the wood cutouts offer a sturdy look, while still a glimpse of the wall behind.

Next you will want to pick a light grey color to put on the wall.  Something preferably a few shades lighter than the quilt itself.  It will be a nice "in-between" color to mesh the white and the grey.  Add a bright white trim to keep the contrast.  You could do a very light grey ceiling or keep it white.


Colors: Lily White, Iced Cube Silver, Gray Cloud & Bunny Grey by Benjamin Moore

 You can keep the look crisp and fresh by adding white furniture - dresser, nightstands and even large white framed mirrors on the wall and a standing mirror on the floor.  These accessories will pop against the grey walls.  Add silver pulls to keep with the grey theme.

I like adding other white, grey and silver accessories like different pillows, throws, vases, even figurines to the nightstands.  Mercury glass would also look great here.



Linear Glass Blown Candle Holders - West Elm,
Grey Oblong Leaves & Fieldcrest Luxury Decorative Pillows - Target,
Set of 3 Myah Wall Panels, Target, Rococo 3 Wall Art, Target,
Footed Mercury Hurricane - West Elm

 But what really sets off the whole room is the nice touch of natural accents.  In the photo you will see one basket and a desk lamp, but I think you can add a touch more natural color and still get the great grey and white contrast.  Try a natural floor, or a natural throw.  You could have a bedside chair in a natural tone or a rattan chest.



Organic Ruched Throw & Mongolian Lamb Pillows - West Elm,
Jack Table Lamp - Crate&Barrel, Castela Trunk - Target,
Square Seagrass Storage Basket - Target, Tarkett Oak Flooring - Home Depot

  Put it all together and you have your own modification of this room.  I'm totally in love with grey right now, and wish that we had chosen to paint at least one room this great color.. maybe we'll take another look at the half bath walls before the re-do takes place.

Could you ever do a room almost completely in grey and white?  Personally, I know that I could.

Blue & Green Inspiration Board

A friend of mine asked me to do an inspiration board.  She was looking for a kid's room using great, vibrant blue and green colors.  Being that blue and green are my favorite two colors, I thought I could whip something up for her quickly.

For this scheme - I would start with a blue wall.  Either a bold blue for the whole room, or an accent of a bold blue wall behind the bed.  Trim could be natural wood or white, keep the floor neutral with carpeting or hard wood floors (warm hard wood floors would look great here).


Items from Target: Bedding - Summer Fields, Dresser & Nightstand - Pepe, Castela Trunk, Home Microplush, ClosetMaid 9 Cube Storage Unit, Room Essentials Medium Storage Bin in Green & Blue, Splat Clock.
Items from Crate & Barrell: Swell Peacock Table Lamp, Boka Lime Table Lamp
Items from Bed Bath & Beyond: Wall Mount Memory Board

The bright colors keep this theme fresh & fun.  You could do just about any window treatment in this room - grommeted floor length curtains over a rattan shade would probably be my preference.

One big requirement for every child's room is storage.  I tried to take that into consideration with this board.  You will see a large dresser, two end tables, a rattan storage bin for the end of the bed, as well as a 9-cube bookshelf.  Toss in a few blue and green bins to keep up with the theme.  You could add a dark wood desk & bright green desk chair, a tall dresser with fun mirror & even a great set of wall shelves for extra storage.

This room tends to lean toward a teen's style, more than a child, but a few changes could make the room more child-like.  You could decorate the nightstands with less modern lamps & a fun clock.  A bedspread that was a little less mature or even just a simpler pattern (like green and white stripes) could make this more fun for a toddler, but I think this is a very sophisticated kids room here.  The bedspread above could lend itself a little to the feminine side the way it is shown, but if you take off the bed skirt & the accent pillows, and use lime green sheets, I feel that it would be totally gender neutral.

Color Inspiration: Bold Blue

For me there are two schools of thought when it comes to where to apply color in your home.  You either go bold on the wall, or bold with your furniture, so because it is much easier to change the color of your walls, I usually go bold on the wall, neutral with the furniture and accent with another bold color.


Today I want to attack a wonderfully bold color - navy blue.  Navy blue can be tricky.  If you pair it with red, it looks very "Americana".  It can end up looking a little too country-style when paired with yellow.  I also wanted to incorporate our color of the year into a palette & I think that this is the perfect time.


One of the hottest wedding color combos out there right now is navy and fuchsia... so I am going to take that idea, and put together a room.  I am going to stick with the living room, because I think that with these ideas, the color scheme can be easily translated into a bedroom or dining room.



Wall Art: Steel Circles - Bed, Bath & Beyond, Sofa: Henry Sofa - West Elm, Chair:Lucy Upholstered Chair - Target,  Tables: Parsons End & Coffee Tables - West Elm, Lamp: Pebble Table Lamp - West Elm, Throw: justblankets.co.uk, Pillow: Room Essentials - Target


A bold blue on the wall will make the room seem romantic.  Stick with a white trim - semi-gloss will give you a little bit of shimmer & make the flat blue dark and luxurious.  They honeysuckle is merely an accent, but can be used wherever you feel it fits.  A pair of pink chairs would be amazing in this room, and not too overwhelming if the walls are blue and the other furnishings are kept very neutral.

Add some mercury vases to the end tables & a silver bowl filled with wicker balls sprayed pink to the coffee table.  I love this combination of color & being that honeysuckle is the color of the year, I thought it was perfect to do this board now.  And I think that everyone can agree that this is not an overwhelmingly feminine room.  I think that pairing it with a masculine blue make the room perfect for everyone.

This absolutely makes me want to change a room  in our house!  Hopefully it insipres you as well.

Color Inspiration: Beach Colors

Because this week has been so cold and snowy, I have decided to show a light inspiration board today.  Something to remind us of the warmer days that we love so much.

One of the easiest ways to decorate a room is to make it light and airy.  There are a lot of colors that are usually associated with the beach, light blues, yellows, sand, white, ivory... using all of these colors as well as mixing in a few pieces of dark furniture, here is a board that will show you just how bright and beautiful a room can be.



Jute Rug - World Market, Henry Sofa - West Elm, Dolce Lounge Chair - Target, Jack Table Lamp - Crate & Barrel, Home Universe Pillow - Target, Home Textured Throw - Target, Walnut Grove Coffee Table - JCPenney, Chunky Floor Mirror - West Elm

 This scheme is as easy as light beige wall and a mixture of all the colors you see above.   Flowy white drapes, simple framed graphic art, and even a few seashells under a glass lid on the end table will make the room feel like you are on the beach.  Notice that the furniture all has dark feet to tie in the dark coffee table and a dark end table or two.  The darker pieces of furniture balance the lightness of the room, without detracting from the theme.

The room as shown above is fairly informal, but that doesn't mean that you can't do this scheme using formal pieces.  That's the great thing about it.

This color scheme can be used in a living room, a bed room, a dining room, even a bathroom.  If you love this scheme and want to make it work for your room and your style, let me know!  I can always try to help.

Color Inspiration: Bright Green Dining Room

Being that we are about to slip into the doldrums of winter, I thought it would be appropriate to do a happy color inspiration board.  Something to make people feel "spring" just looking at it.  Green is one of my favorite colors to decorate with.  So I decided to set up a dining room using green as the main focus.

Chair: Mitchell Armless Chair - Target, Sideboard: Cirque Three-Door Sideboard - Crate & Barrel, Dining Table: Basque Dining Table - Crate & Barrel, Bench: Essex Bench - West Elm, Plate: Reactive Dinner Plates - Target, Clock: Brushed Metal Clock - Target, Vase: Helena Vase - Crate & Barrel, Floor Vase: Rattan Vase - Crate & Barrel, Plant: Onion Grass/ Ceddum in Metal - Target

This dining room was inspired by the Mitchell Armless Chair from Target.  Not necessarily used as a dining chair on their website, I think it would make for a perfect formal dining chair.  You could put two on one side of the table, one at the head and foot of the table, and use something classic like the Essex bench on the other side: formal, yet relaxed.

In this dining room you would paint the walls a medium green color, like the one pictured in the color palette above.  You could run a light green runner down the middle of the dining table & put a great clear footed vase filled with a tall pillar candle & seasonal fill as your center piece.

Top the amazing copper colored side board with the blue vase in two different sizes, and maybe add a wood decorative item to the pair to make it an interesting trio.  The rattan vase can sit on one side of the sideboard holding tall green curly willow branches, while a great potted tree sat on the other side.

I love this dining room & hope you get some inspiration for you own house with this board.