Design Cues from Nature

Today is Earth Day.  I thought it relevant to talk about how nature can provide fabulous direction for Interior Design. 

Early this morning I dug up some beets from my raised garden bed.  I took the time to really look at the marvel that had been produced from a tiny seed.  The color of the beets are very on trend right now.
They are the color of Marsala–Pantone’s 2015 Color of the Year.

And nature shows us what other colors work beautifully with Marsala–a rich organic green is the perfect complimentary color.  After all, red and green are compliments on the color wheel and the two tones of those colors are the same saturation level.

Beyond the color of the beets, their stems, and leaves, I also took the time to examine the contours and shapes of the beet and it’s stems and leaves.

I have often said the easiest way to check it color combinations will work well together is to look to nature.  Flowers, trees, shrubs all seem to magically grow and bloom in just the right colors.

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Paint Color 2013

Are you considering doing some painting around your house or office in the coming year?  Here are ideas to consider based on  2013 Color ‘discussions’ by some of the leading paint companies.
In a sentence–“Look for a lot of variety and contrast to be popular in 2013.”

Sherwin Williams, Dunn Edwards, Benjamin Moore, Behr and Pantone all have published their predictions for what the popular paint colors and combinations of colors will be in the coming year. 

 

 

 

 

 

Benjamin Moore: Intersection– Flow, Cycle, Animate, Connect 

Sherwin Williams: Opposites Attract–Midnight mystery, Honed Vitality, Vintage Moxie, High Voltage

Dunn Edwards: A New Renaissance Influences Palette and Textures–Simply Re-invented, Simply Re-newal, Simply Re-imagined and Simply Re-vival.

Behr:  Watch this short video!

 

 

Pantone   According to the PANTONE VIEW home + interiors 2013 book, there are nine color palettes predicted to dominate interior design and furniture trends in 2013. A mix of muted palettes serve as the new classics while rainbow-inspired colors provoke bolder style statements.     Note:  From the Casa Sugar Blog

Before you begin your  painting, it is always a good idea to try your color choices on several walls in the room.  Different walls have different levels of light reflection and the colors will look a bit different in different spaces due to the levels and types of light they will have.  We recommend at least a 3′-0″ x 3′-0″ square on the wall.  If the wall already has paint color on it, we also recommend priming before putting the new paint color up.

Of course S Interior Design is always available to help in the Phoenix metro area!

Does Your Child Have the Bedroom of Their Dreams?

Here’s another great guest blog with some wonderful tips for designing a room for a child. This blog identifies the major areas of design and offers some interesting solutions. Give it a read and let us know if you agree with their creative ideas.

Designing a bedroom for your child can be one of the most fun home projects. You can really get creative and design something that your child will remember forever. So when you design your child’s bedroom, make sure that you have their personality and the things they love in mind. The most important part of your child’s bedroom is the walls. The walls cover a large area of the room and getting them right is critical for the overall design of the room.

Having a theme will help to direct your ideas and unify the room.
The best way to design a kids bedroom is with a theme in mind. Some theme ideas are medieval, cityscape, auto racing, dinosaurs, forest, the universe, and the old west. There are many more of course, but these should give you some ideas. Make sure to get your child’s input when deciding on a final theme. Searching the internet is also a good way of coming up with ideas or getting examples of ideas you have come up with.

Once you have come up with a theme, it is time to get designing. Decorating the walls is the most important because they will set the scene for the entire room. Wallpaper is the best way to decorate the walls in your child’s bedroom. It is easier to find intricate designs children like, it can be removed if they damage it, and it keeps the walls underneath in good shape.

Custom wallpaper is a great way to get just the look you are going for and allows you to be as creative as you want when designing your project.
While there are many great wallpaper designs for children’s rooms out there, you may want something a little more unique, or perhaps you’re not able to find exactly what you are looking for. The best thing to do in this situation is to have custom wallpaper made for your child’s bedroom.

When designing custom wallpaper, you can use any digital photo or digital image as the template for the walls. A single six megapixel photo can be blown up to the size of an entire wall. This means that any photo you have from family vacations, trips to the zoo, baseball games, or pictures of their favorite park can become decorations on your child’s wall.

You are not restricted to photographs either. You can use a graphic design program to design digital images to decorate your child’s walls as well. You could make a cartoon background, a stars and planets scene, or even an alien world.

Once you have designed the walls, it is time to move on to the rest of the room. Choose paint for furniture that matches your theme. Choose carpet that is darker and good at hiding stains. Your child’s bed is another element where you can let your imagination run wild. There are many premade child’s bed designs that are amazing. Of course, if you have the carpentry skills, know someone who does, or can afford to have a bed custom made; you can really get creative.

So, I hope this has given you some ideas on how to make your child’s wildest dreams come true when designing a bedroom for them.

Author Bio: Blake Pearson is a large format printing expert and online publisher for www.megaprint.com  who writes on the topics of design and printing.

About Suzanne Lasky, Allied ASID
Suzanne Lasky, Allied ASID, is the owner and founder of S Interior Design, the exclusive provider of Pawprint Design Services™. Suzanne works with her clients to develop a winning combination of design elements that result in warm, comfortable and functional spaces that reflect each client’s personal style. Suzanne and her team specialize in residential, contract and hospitality interior design, from simple color selections, to office build outs, to restaurant, spa and hotel designs. Suzanne shares her years of expertise through the power of social media. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and at this blog. To speak to Suzanne about your interior design needs, please call 480-220-4659 or visit her website at www.sinteriordesign.com.

 

Exterior House Color Trends

In the Southwest, Arizona specifically, there is a movement away from the tan, off-white and taupe tones for the exterior paint color of a home or office building.

The harsh Arizona sun makes it challenging to sustain the paint condition of the exterior of your home.  An additional challenge is presented when Home Owners Associations dictate the color palette a home owner may choose their paint colors from.A look at new or recently re-furbished commercial properties (condominiums, apartment complexes, shopping centers) will illustrate the move away from the lighter desert tones TO more vibrant, saturated colors that make a visual design statement and stand up to the harsh environment better.  A trip to any of the new home developments reveal a greater choice of more exciting color options.

Color can be used to highlight or downplay your home’s architectural details (or lack there of).  For example, painting the eaves and fascia the same color as the walls will make a short building look taller, while painting them the same color as the roof will make a tall building look shorter.  Columns, pop-out window details or trim can be highlighted with accent color to draw the eye towards them.

If there is an interior design question you would like S Interior Design to address, please submit it to us at : suzanne@sinteriordesign.com

Color Your World

The economy is struggling,  political battles are in full swing, our environment is being polluted.  No doubt there are plenty of things to feel less than positive about.  As we try to conserve discretionary income, we are tending to stay at home more.  This is the time to make your home environment an upbeat, tranquil one.

But you say, ” I don’t have a lot of money to redecorate/remodel.”.  As many of you have heard before, painting is one of the least expensive, highest impact things you can do to immediately change the look and feel of your home. The most recent Dunn-Edwards newsletter had some interesting information to share about the 2009 Color Forecast.  Below are some excerpts:

Color choices will either be soft and pale, very dark and nocturnal, or full of natural chroma.  The centrifuge for this change is the individual’s drive toward personal expression–that innate need to emote qualities and characteristics that make us uniquely us.

One influence is increasing globalization….Another powerful influence is the global momentum behind sustainability….

Dunn Edwards goes on to classify and give fun marketing names to eleven color schemes.

If you are ready to try some new paint color in your home, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  Go outside your color comfort zone and see what happens.

If you would like assistance, S Interior Design would love to help.  We bring our Dunn Edwards paint color kit to you! 480-220-4659, http://www.sinteriordesign.com

Kitchen Remodel by S Interior Design - Very colorful!