Add Color Without Paint!

Remember how I was dreaming of spring?  Not much has changed in that area except the motivation part...its got me motivated to get cracking...get cleaning...get organizing...spruce up some stuff around here that's been left by the wayside.  One of my favorite parts of this motivation thing is the puttering.  I love to putter around my little Jewel Box® Home!  Rearranging, fluffing, adding little touches here and there.  My goal for this week is to add a little color into our home.  Confession:  I hate painting.  Hate it.  But fortunately for me, there are ways to add color without picking up a paint brush!

Colorful curtains in one vibrant shade.

Throw pillows in coordinating patterns and solids.

Accent pieces in one grouping of color.  I love these startling pink picture frames made into mirrors!

Colorful lampshades add personality and color to any room or tabletop.

Floral arrangements are one of my favorite ways to bring the outdoors in and add color to a room.

Furniture or slipcovers in one shade create drama.

Large colorful area rugs anchor a room's furniture arrangement and require NO PAINT!

Bring in color with wall decor and art.

Even bowls of fruit and veggies can bring pop to a drab and cheerless kitchen.

Are you puttering around your house freshening things up in anticipation for spring or is it just me?

~Amber

Decorating with Red and Pink

In honor of Valentine's Day let's talk about decorating with red and pink!  Red happens to be my favorite color.  I always carry a red purse and love red accents for a pop of color. In honor of Valentine's Day, Amber has some wonderful suggestions for decorating with red and pink. 

Amber ...

Red and pink are often bashed and trashed as difficult colors for home decor, especially smaller homes.  But if used right, these vibrant shades can work wonders in any living space.

Let's look at pink first.  This lovely soft, classic color can be relaxing while providing an atmosphere of glamour and romance.

All Photos Courtesy of Country Living

  

Decorating with pink need not be overwhelming.  Pinks are soft and pleasing to the eye.  Especially when painted on a large piece of furniture.

White paired with pink is airy and calming.

What says glitz and glamour more than pink paired with mirrored furniture?

Mixing fabric patterns in pink such as ticking, paisley, damask or chintz keeps the pink effect from being fussy and overdone.

One pink focal point, like candlesticks, adds an easy accent color.

This desk and pink chair cushion remind me of cotton candy.  What a delicious place to work!

A fluffy pink throw adds femininity and grace to this room.   No need to paint every surface pink to create the feeling of romance.  Just a dash will do!

When it comes to using red, think beyond Christmas.  This is a strong color, ideal for making a statement and adding life to a room.  

A perfect accent color, red curtains and accessories brighten up standard white and cream decorating schemes.

Touches of red in curtains, collectibles and dishtowels add a splash of color to this pristine kitchen.

A distinctive piece, like this red dresser, adds a touch of drama to this neutral room!

Rather than clashing, the different patterns in this dining room add depth and a playful feel.

I just want to bake a tray full of chocolate chip cookies in this kitchen and sit on one of those fun stools and dunk it in a big glass of white milk.  (Psssst...the glass would have red polka dots on it!)

Easy update!  Paint a few chairs!  What a simple to change the feel of a room.

What could be more fun than walking downstairs on a red path....a whimsical and cute touch to any farmhouse.

This red, striped wall paper is warm and refreshing to the eye when paired with a pristine white chair rail.  Classic and traditional.  

This Valentine's Day consider adding a touch of red or pink to your Jewel Box® Home!  Add romance.  Love.  Snuggle.  Eat chocolate.

~Amber

Forcing Bulbs

Confession:  About this time of the year I get the winter blues.  I just get so tired of endless cold days and cloudy skies, staying inside and chilly feet.  I get antsy and cranky.  So I look for ways to brighten up the gray in my life.  One of the ways I do that is by forcing bulbs.

Photos Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

 Have you ever forced bulbs for some spring color?  Its not as daunting a task as it sounds.  It is a great way to add color and sweet fragrance to a dreary winter day!

You can buy bulbs at any garden store.  Bulbs that work best for forcing are amaryllis, hyacinths, miniature daffodils, paperwhites and tulips.  The bigger the bulb, the more flowers you get.  You can put them in potting mix and cover them with a light sprinkling of soil, or you can buy special bulb-forcing glasses available at any garden center.

 Bulbs need to be chilled for a specific time period.  You can set them in a cold utility room or garage, or if they are small enough and you have the storage space, the refrigerator is the perfect temperature.  They need between six and eight weeks of chill time, less for smaller bulbs.  So if you start now you can have lovely bulbs just in time for Easter.

A little bit of springtime chases the clouds away!!!

~Amber

Little House Big Color

Photo Courtesy of Country Living

Amber has a real treat for us today!  Wait till you see this gorgeous colorful little house!

Sand, sun, water and wind.  I love the beach.  It makes me think of soft color palettes, light blues and sandy whites, pale yellows, starfish and seashells.  This little 600 square foot beach cottage off the coast of Nantucket is anything but pale.  Its vibrant colors pop against a pale backdrop of light green and brown. 

Photo Courtesy of Country Living 

The bright red walls remind me of cherries in glass bowls and shiny lobsters ready to be boiled for dinner!  I love the stripes on the couch that seem to unify the multi-colored walls and flooring and doors.  Lovely!

  Photo Courtesy of Country Living

This homeowner was not afraid to paint everything in sight including furniture, doors and ceilings too!  I love the way they created a work of art just by using color.

  Photo Courtesy of Country Living

Each room in this little house has variation-not one room or floor or ceiling is the same color.  Here in the dining room a coral shade decorates the walls, while when looking into the kitchen you can clearly see a hot pink floor!  No fear in this house!

  Photo Courtesy of Country Living

This powder room off the kitchen was fitted for a washer and dryer and even has a small freezer concealed behind linen curtains.  What a stylish way to solve a space issue!

  Photo Courtesy of Country Living

Painting the wide-planked floors in stripes gives dimension to this tiny bathroom.  What a cheery, bright room!

The Homeowner's Rules for Color:

TEST: "For an accurate assessment, paint pieces of shirt cardboard to make large samples and tape them to a wall. Stand eight to 10 feet away with your back to them, and look at them in a hand mirror. It helps you see the color in perspective."
BALANCE: "If you have strong color on one wall, you need to balance it with another strong color."
DON'T MATCH: "It looks too perfect. Nature doesn't work that way; neither should interiors. It's variations in a room that give it depth and personality."
TRY GLOSS: "Not only is a gloss finish more durable, but light bounces off the colors to add life and make small rooms appear larger. It looks fabulous at night!"

This house makes me want to visit our home improvement store this weekend and buy some cans of paint!  Happy weekend!

~Amber  

Color Splash in Small Spaces

I wonder how many hours I wasted in the paint aisle at the Home Improvement store debating color shades? Not just color, but actual shades. Is it too dark? Too light? Should I go with Buttercream yellow or Soft Caramel? Sigh. More often than not, I brought home stacks of paint chips to hold against my walls and ponder.

Color is very important in our homes. It sets the overall tone and gives the feeling of warmth and makes a space personal. In my humble opinion, color is more important in a small home because it can give the illusion of a large room, or make a visitor feel instantly overwhelmed and closed in.

Whatever your personal style, color is the key.

My little Jewel Box® is yellow. The entire home, with the exception of the bedrooms is yellow-a very very soft, pale yellow-so soft it is almost white. Even the ceilings are yellow. It is bright and cheery and calming. When the sun comes in through our big picture window the house is alive with light and warmth.

A small home can feel closed in and smaller just by the paint selection. Dark brown wood paneling in my great-grandmother's house made the living room feel small and I almost felt claustrophobic at family gatherings. But once we convinced her to give it a coat of white paint, the room was instantly larger and airy!

One of my favorite tricks to do with paint to make a room feel larger is to draw the eye upward! Painting the ceilings the same color as the walls or adding decorative trim visually makes the ceilings feel taller!

Just by adding a thin piece of trim, this homeowner made us feel that her ceilings were tall and the room instantly opened up to us.

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

In my master bedroom we painted the ceiling and the top third of the walls the same color, much like this beautiful room. We added a piece of trim around the bottom of the painted area and gave our ceilings a quick and easy lift!

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

The opposite was done in this lovely room. Adding the wainscoting and chair rail gave this warm living room added appeal!

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

Hanging curtains just under the ceiling, away from the actual window can also give the illusion of high ceilings and more space.

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

Choosing cool colors will instantly make a room look larger.

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

Hanging over-sized, colorful art is also a way to big style to a room.

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

Living in a small space doesn't mean we have to shy away from color! Your home should reflect your unique personality no matter what the size!

~Amber