St. Patrick's Day edition - The sharing of the green

Gold Notes is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a celebration of design offerings in the holiday's official color: green. Hope you enjoy this light-hearted look at The Emerald Style.

Caesarstone's Vivid Green quartz countertop will brighten your kitchen or bath

The Sophia Chair at Cost Plus World Market brings affordability to Mid-Century Modernism

I absolutely adore this Walker Zanger wall tile!

This Stow Green Leather Storage Ottoman at Crate & Barrel flips its tray bottom lid for you

CB2's Hyde Wall-Mounted Cabinet has no style hang-ups

Garnish your great room with Pottery Barn's Manhattan Recliner in Parsley

Last but definitely not least...
Miton MT300 Series at my Italian Kitchen Design and Distribution showroom goes "Irish" for St. Patrick with Olive Lacquer!

Visit my Green Day Color Notes posting for more great green goodies and the many shades they work with!

You may also enjoy my 2009 Irish Design post in honor of St. Patrick's Day, featuring great room scenes and products from Ireland-based pros.

And if you're partying tonight, please drink responsibly!

Sensible Style - Easy Color Updates

Sensible Style launched in July 2009 to answer your questions about kitchen design and remodeling. This time around, we’ll look at updating your space with color. One of the most common questions readers ask is how to incorporate color into a kitchen without dating it. Unless you’re completely committed to a beloved blue or red, and resale is not an issue, you may not want to change all your cabinets, countertops or appliances to that hue. Here are some ways to add a hot color without a major investment.


Fabrics

One of the easiest and most affordable ways of adding this season’s hottest colors to your kitchens is with dish towels, accent rugs, table settings and pot holders. If you want to make your kitchen sunnier, add a pop of yellow to your black and white kitchen with one or more of these items. Or add a burst of orange if you’d love an energy boost each time you walk into the room! Or go soft with one of the season’s woodsy neutrals.

A detail as small as dish towels can update your kitchen. These, from NapaStyle, are both attractive and organic.

Paint

Paint is another easy, affordable way to incorporate the latest colors into your kitchen. It’s especially inexpensive if you’re providing the sweat equity yourself. Some of the hot paint colors that work great with popular cabinet finishes include…

* Deep plum or cool grey with blond maple cabinets
* Watery blues with cinnamon cherry or painted white cabinets
* Spring or seaweed green with black or dark oak cabinets.

Note, too, that paint doesn’t have to be limited to your kitchen's walls. You can also paint your ceiling and the inside of glass-fronted cabinets for a color surprise.

Paint adds instant impact to a room. Here, Valspar’s Seaside Retreat adds a cool, coastal note to a white kitchen.

Countertop Accessories

Canisters, spoon rests, utensil crocks and even cutting boards can be swapped out for colorful components, giving your kitchen an instant and very affordable update. You can find traditional or contemporary styles in the latest shades, and donate them easily to a charity’s thrift shop if you want to update again in a few years.

Add color and charm to your kitchen with Sur La Table’s new Italian Ceramic Spoon Rests.

Serveware

You can certainly add color to your kitchen with new dishes, glasses, bowls and trays. If your kitchen features open shelves, glass-front cabinets or built-ins, this is a great way to color-kick the space with ease. When choosing dish colors and styles that will be open to the room, consider coordinating them with the permanent elements in the room.

Update your space with new dishes, like CB2’s new Petal Green Dinnerware set.

Countertop Appliances

Choosing non-neutral countertop appliances is your next level of color commitment! Not as pricey as a range or refrigerator, but not as inexpensively replaced as a canister set. Be sure that you love the color you’re selecting, as you’re likely to own that appliance for a number of years. Consider, too, whether your chosen color will look good on your counters, an easy one if your tops are black or white.

Colorful countertop appliances can add a kick to your kitchen’s color quotient. Just choose one you won’t kick yourself for in a few years. KitchenAid’s Empire Red Artisan Stand Mixer, available at Williams-Sonoma is a classic, (and easy to match to other brands' red models, too.)

Window Coverings

Window treatments are another way to add color to your kitchen. If your windows are a standard size, this can be an affordable update with in-stock retail or online offerings. If you need a custom size, this will be a costlier investment. Many kitchens have windows over a sink or doors to a patio. Adding an updated shade to these areas can brighten the space without a major color commitment. You can add accents in the same color in your table settings both indoors and out to extend the color in your space.

These Woven Waterfall Shades from Smith + Noble add a soft color note to a black and white kitchen.

Cookware

Cookware can be a major long-term investment, and should be chosen for its performance and durability, above all. That being said, there are delicious colors to choose from in this category and if you store your cookware on a pot rack or open shelving, it can spice up your palette as well as your palate.

Colorful cookware, like this Azure Blue Dutch Oven from LeCreuset, available at Williams-Sonoma, can add a burst of flavor to your kitchen’s décor.

Visit the Sensible Style box on the right column for links to all the posts in this ongoing series.

Halloween Special: 13 Scary-Cool Home Decorations

It's that time of year again... Kids become costumed candy panhandlers and homes morph into graveyards and haunted mansions. I'm burying my inner-Halloween Scrooge this week to bring you 13 (natch!) scary-cool decorative items that you can bring out every year to frighten and delight guests. A few of them are nice enough to keep out all year, maximizing your investment.

Get your holiday started on the right foot

with CB2's Black Crow Doormat


Illuminate your trick-or-treaters with these nifty candle-holders and candles

This Glass and Metal Tabletop Lantern comes from Target



This Hanging Glass Pillar Holder comes from the Sundance Catalogue



This beautiful 20-Taper Tabletop Candelabrum is also from Sundance,
and stylish enough to use all-year-round!

I spotted these Crow Candles yesterday when I was indulging in some retail therapy at Pottery Barn. Aren't they neat-looking?


Creepy but cute

This Paper Mache Pumpkin Basket from Wisteria will hold all your Halloween trick-or-treat loot


Here's a unique party decoration that will have guests shaking their heads

It's Urban Outfitters' Doll Parts Faux Chandelier...
Have guests come in black and they'll wonder who died for your decor.


Here's another unique decorative or gift item, inspired by Dia de los Muertos
It's a Day of the Dead Shadowbox with Married Couple from the usually-light and bright Wisteria


My latest crush

Pottery Barn's Glitter Skull. Don't know why I'm drawn to this dude, but it was all I could do not to take him home!


Here's an all-year-rounder that can hold candy at your Halloween bash and bath supplies the rest of the year


They're Jonathan Adler's divinely-dramatic Druggist Jars


These can hold Halloween cider or treats for tricksters
You can use these Pumpkin Servers from Williams-Sonoma throughout the season.


Here's another year-rounder that can hold dramatic orange Halloween flowers at your party



And look great the rest of the year in your home. These are also from CB2


Wish you had a crystal ball? Play the wizard at your Halloween fest with these!

Williams-Sonoma Home brings you style throughout the year with their Spheres on Pedestals

Color Notes: A Red-time Story

Welcome to my first Color Notes posting. The purpose of this series is to share inspiring products and helpful ideas for the many hues you might want to incorporate into your home's design scheme.

Given America's 233rd birthday this coming Saturday, I thought I'd kick off this new blog feature with Red, White and Blue.

Given Gold Notes' first birthday this month, I thought I'd also give you a triple posting week, instead of my usual one.

So... Happy Birthday, USA. Happy Birthday, Gold Notes. I hope you enjoy reading these colorful postings as much as I've enjoyed creating them.


Why red?

Red is said to stimulate your appetite, spark your creativity, energize you and ignite your passion. It's a wonderful hue -- as shown above right in Benjamin Moore's Heritage Red -- for a kitchen or dining room, where the heavenly aromas of your food will be amplified even further, and where romantic dinners might kindle even deeper romance. It's also a dynamite color for any room where you indulge a creative hobby or career. (I've got it in my design office drapes, artwork and other accents.) Finally, it could be a fun addition to a laundry room, as added energy might just spur you through that last load!


Where not to go red

I'd avoid red in a bedroom, as its intense energy might cause sleeplessness. I'd also avoid it in a bath or study intended for relaxation.


I love red with...

Turquoise, lavender and tan,
as seen together in this kitchy Japanese print fabric
on FabricAndArt.com

Pale gold, as shown here on

Pottery Barn's Harrison Stripe Shade

Light green,
as in this Waverly Southington Stripe-Berry Fabric

And of course, with Old Glory's white and blue,
shown here on Pottery Barn's Painted American Flag Art

I had tons of fun collecting red design gear to share for this posting. Some are classic, and will be very familiar to you. Others, I hope, are new and fresh and potentially exciting additions to your homescape. I hope you enjoy this gallery, and maybe find something you like here.

Red hot kitchen gear

Heat up your kitchen with
classic red Viking range!

Or with Ikea's Akurum cabinets in high-gloss red

Like your red in smaller measures?
Crate & Barrel's 60-Minute Timer might be more your speed

Sit on it!
Williams-Sonoma's Stackable Diner Chairs bring on the retro

Or speak to it
with Crosley's Classic Kitchen Phone at UrbanOutfitters.com

Get red for your peds
You know I love GelPro -- here's their red Crocodile mat

Red hot livin'

Take it outside with Grandin Road's
red Lutyens Wooden Outdoor Bench

Or take it easy on Pottery Barn's Manhattan Recliner --
One of my personal favorites

Go plush with this
Pier1 Red Roses Pillow

Get reflective with the
Giselle Mirror at Made Goods

Red gets to work

Make laundry a labor of love
with Electrolux's Red Hot Red (no kidding!) washer and dryer

Tame your library with CB2's Fu Dog Bookends

Light your tasks with Z-Bar High Power
Warm LED RedDesk Lamp on Bellacor.com

Enjoy the entire Color Notes series...

Color Notes: A Red-time Story
Color Notes: A Room Full of Blues
Color Notes: The White Album
Color Notes: Purple Haze
Color Notes: Orange Crush
Color Notes: Green Day

Style List #3 - The $150 Max Home Office Edition

This posting was inspired by my desire to make my own workplace more inspiring, like the one shown on the right, which features Lancaster Hickory built-ins from Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.

Chances are, your home office is set up in a den or a spare bedroom, like mine. Maybe you use it an hour a day. Maybe, like me, you're in there for eight to 12 hours a day.

However long you spend in your home office, how do you create a space that welcomes you, motivates you and makes it easier to achieve the results you're after?

That was my primary goal. My second was to achieve this effect with no major expenditures! The black office chair, cherry desk, black metal file cabinets and computer equipment are all staying in place.

Rather than purchase a new bookcase for my growing design library, samples and bulky spec books, I painted a bookcase we already had matte black to match the file cabinets. The rest of the improvements are in décor, organizational tools and other add-ons to make the space work harder, while delighting me at every turn.

None of the items included here costs more than $150. Many are less than $100. Any one of them can give your home office a new sense of style, new technology tricks and better organization!

A great home office incorporates all five of these Style List components:

1. Brilliant Lighting
2. Smarter Storage
3. Attractive Organizers
4. Awesome Equipment
5. Comfortable Seating

You are probably not going to find a great office chair for less than $150, so I didn't include any in this posting. Check out your favorite office supply or furniture store for options available in your area and be sure to try out the one you're going to buy before taking it home! I do a ton of online shopping, but this is one category I feel should be shopped in person, especially if you'll be spending long hours in that seat.

You'll find some nifty items in all the other categories. Enjoy, and feel free to post your favorite resources, too! I'm still in acquisition mode!


BRILLIANT LIGHTING

Go bold with Script Desk Lamp from CB2

Get natural-effect light in RS to Go Full-Spectrum Desk Lamp
from Office Depot

Add task lighting without taking up desk space with
Kvart Wall-Clamp Spotlight from Ikea

"Green" your workspace with iBar Mini High Power LED
Metallic Black Desk Lamp from Bellacor

SMARTER STORAGE

One of the challenges of creating a hard-working home office is finding space for all the papers, supplies and other material your tasks demand. If, like me, you've already filled an entire closet with your gear and you're still overflowing with "stuff," here are some additional options.

Add some stainless steel to your office
with CB2's Trig File

Or go coastal with a bookcase or file cabinet from
Christopher Lowell's Shore collection at Office Depot

Brighten up your workspace with
Ikea's Erik Drawer Unit on Casters

I just added this Atelier faux leather storage ottoman from Bed, Bath & Beyond to my workspace, where it will hold both stone samples and tired feet in front of my easy chair!

ATTRACTIVE ORGANIZERS

I'm now craving this handsome Printer/Fax Stand
from Levenger!

These Woven Wall Pockets

pack style and paperwork from Ballard Designs

Pottery Barn's Daily System components will keep you
organized every day!

Store your files, Forbes or Field & Streams in these
eye-catching Zebra-Print Tree-Free Paper Magazine Butlers
from Cost Plus World Market

Post your papers or inspirations on PB's
Modular Galvanized Metal Magnetic Tile

West Elm's Canvas File Box stores important papers in
oh-so-pretty packages

AWESOME EQUIPMENT

Fasteners never looked so fabulous --
Levenger's Morgan Stapler and Tape Dispenser

Charge your portables with PB's Bedford Smart Technology Recharge Station

Smart Technology Recharge Station and Whiteboard -- also from PB

Levenger's Bomber Jacket Slim Charger brings
old-world style and storage to new world electronics

Untether yourself with Microsoft 3000
Mobile Optical Mouse at Staples

Lacquer Charging Station from West Elm
powers your gear in sleek style


Enjoy the entire Style List - $150 Max Edition Series

Library
Kitchen
Bath
Home Office
Laundry