SENSIBLE STYLE - Color Charged

"Courageous. Confident. Vital... It's a color for every day, with nothing 'everyday' about it." -- Pantone LLC on its 2011 Color of the Year




Maybe Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle is your color of the year, too. You love its vibrant pink energy and want it in your kitchen. But how do you incorporate a hot, trendy shade without dating your kitchen or anchoring yourself into a strong color you may not love down the line?

Trust me on this one: Don't buy honeysuckle-painted cabinets, large appliances or honeysuckle stone countertops unless you've loved pink your whole life and are absolutely certain you'll never, ever, ever sell your house.

You can still use this rich hue in your kitchen, but a little bit of a strong color goes a long way. Here are some Sensible Style approaches to integrating a strong color like this.


Go soft

Integrate your preferred color into your kitchen fabrics:

• Select pot holders in your chosen color
• Use it in a festive apron
• Find chandelier shades in your color of choice
• Add dish towels in solids or patterns that tie in that shade
• Find place mats and napkins that bring in your color du jour
• Look for floor mats in the color you love
• Tie it on with seat cushion fabric

Houdan Pink Fabric from Pierre Deux

Verano Pink Dish Towel from Crate & Barrel

Serve it up

• Add the color in serving platters and bowls
• Choose canisters in your selected shade
• Incorporate it in your bakeware collection
• Add drinking glasses in that color to your place settings
• Find cooking utensils or serving utensils with handles in that shade
• Look for trivets and spoon rests that incorporate it

Emile Henry pie dish at Bed, Bath & Beyond

Ikea's Yngaren bowl

Bigger splash

OK, so these strike you as wimpy and you want to make a stronger impression with your selected accent color. I'm still going to try to talk you out of big, expensive, permanent elements like cabinetry, countertops and flooring. But you can bring in your accent color with a bigger impact this way:

• Perhaps there are countertop appliances available in your color choice
• You can find cabinet hardware in pretty much any color
• Use the color you love in easy-to-change wall paint
• Select window treatments that include that color
• Look for a kitchen-friendly art piece with that shade in it
• If you've loved it forever, find an accent tile to integrate into your backsplash

Four-slice toaster from Dualit

Perennial Poppy Mosaic accent tile from Ann Sacks

Le Fleur knobs by Atlas Homewares

Final thoughts

Remember, always, that your space should reflect your personal likes and loves, not a website, TV show or magazine. I'm not a pink person myself and have no insecurities about missing out on Pantone's 2011 color of the year. I may miss next year's, too, without any regrets. But I have friends and clients who love the "now" color, style, look. This post is dedicated to the trendies among us. You know who you are.




Read all of the Sensible Style posts, linked from the right column!

Please take a seat!

Have you ever wondered what the difference between a counter stool and a bar stool was? I didn't know either, until I became a kitchen designer and learned about the different options for eating and working spaces. I've also happily learned that there are wonderful choices in both categories to coordinate beautifully with your space. You can even get counter or bar stools to match your dining chairs! (Not that you have to.)


Bar stools

Once upon a time, you would buy bar stools in a specialized store, and they largely went into dark, paneled rec rooms. No more! Now you can find them pretty much everywhere furniture is sold and they go into kitchens with breakfast bars, as well as great rooms, wine bars and even nooks with bar-height tables.

What distinguishes a bar stool from a chair or counter stool is its increased seat height. They're made to position the user comfortably at a 42 inch eating or drinking surface. A standard dining table is about 30 inches.

As a kitchen designer, the 42 inch surface is usually a built-in breakfast bar on the back of a work station. Many builders and homeowners liked that these raised bars hide unwashed dishes or pots in the sink from the open dining or great room areas.

I'm not a big fan of breakfast bars for two main reasons. One, those same builders often skimped on both counter and walk space so that using the bar can be somewhat uncomfortable. Two, their higher seats make bar stools challenging for anyone with balance or height issues. This often includes seniors and children - i.e., the extended family you want around you while you're cooking!

However, if you've got a raised bar in your kitchen and it's working for you and your household, there are some great options in just about every style and finish.


Counter stools

I had never heard of a counter stool before becoming a kitchen designer, but they sure come in handy now! For those kitchens whose countertops extend beyond the cabinet for seating on the other side, counter stools are the ideal height. Standard kitchen counters are 36 inches high, which makes them too low for bar stools and too high for dining chairs. This is why counter stools were invented.

I like them because the person sitting on the non-working side of the kitchen can socialize with the cook and still help out with food prep if they wish, having the full expanse of counter to work with.

One challenge for counter height seating areas is that they require more overhang than bar tops. This deeper counter keeps the person sitting at it from hitting his or her knees on the back of the cabinets. Sometimes, you simply don't have the extra three inches you need to make this a comfortable seating area.

If you're fortunate enough to have the space for a counter-height overhang, there are also great stools to choose from. In fact, most companies now offer stools in bar or counter height. Some also offer coordinating dining chairs if your kitchen is open to your dining area.


Planning note

This comes up more often with counter-height seating than bar tops, but I always recommend against designing your overhangs in work aisles, especially near a cooktop or range! When possible, plan your seating on the non-working end of the kitchen.


What's in store!

I've found some nice styles that will work with a range of kitchens. I've also included backless versions. If you're tight on space, a backless stool will park under the overhang and give you more walking room behind it when it's not in use. Just a thought...

Vienna Black Counter Stool at Crate & Barrel brings cafe style to transitional kitchens

Sister store CB2 jazzes up your contemporary kitchen with Phoenix Orange bar and counter stools

Add classic vintage flair to your space with West Elm's Overlapping Squares Bar and Counter Stools

Get rustic with these Iron Grate stools from NapaStyle

Get sleek with Room & Board's backless Emeco Stools

Bring affordable island bling to your space with Cost Plus World Market's Elana Banana Leaf Bar Stool pair

Williams-Sonoma brings back the classic diner chair as their Diner Stool, available with or without back, at counter or bar height

Ballard Designs goes vintage transitional with their Constance Bar Stool

Another fun Crate & Barrel find -- the 30" Spin Bar Stool!

Bring rustic elegance to your home with another NapaStyle pick, their handsome Talavera Stool

Spunky style comes to your kitchen with Room & Board's Radius Counter Stool

Details #5 - Finishing Touches

This is the final installment of a five-part, first week of the month series with The Decorating Diva. Each focuses on a single room detail that can make a huge difference in the success of that space's style.

Last month we looked at hardware. (See links for the full series at the end of this post.) This segment focuses on those last little details that sometimes go unfunded or get overlooked. Think about the last time you walked into a darling powder room, only to notice plastic clips on the mirror or an ugly white switch plate. Or try to imagine this bathroom with plastic towel holders? (As its designer, I try not to!)

Master bath by Jamie Goldberg Kitchen and Bath Design, LLC

Design is in the details. So this edition of Details focuses on finishing touches.


Mirrors

We look at them every morning when we comb our hair, but when was the last time you really looked at yours? Are the edges chipped or rusting? Does your mirror lack a frame? Mirrors glued to the wall are tricky and hazardous to remove, but can be framed for a richer look. Clip-on mirrors or builder grade medicine cabinet mirrors can be more easily replaced. For a couple of hundred dollars or less, you can give your bathroom a much, much better look!

For a great splurge, check out this beauty. (I want one in my next home!)

It's a mirror. It's a television. It's a stylistic and engineering marvel. It's a Seura!

I can see this Crate & Barrel Largo mirror really enhancing a bath with cinnamon cherry cabinets.

Pottery Barn's Kensington Mirror creates an instant bathroom upgrade

Installed Accessories

Chances are, your home has some permanently-installed accessories in one or more room that are taking away from their appeal. Examples include dime store kitchen paper towel holders, plastic flush levers on your toilets, plastic towel bars in your bathroom and builder basic switchplate covers. These are easy DIY upgrade opportunities on their own, or should be factored into any larger remodel plans you're making.

Flush out ugly tank levers with coordinating versions, like this Brantford model from Moen

Vent your home fashion frustrations with a stylish register cover, like this Scroll model from Restoration Hardware.

Switch to better-looking outlet covers, like these Porcelain beauties from Rejuvenation... Perfect for a retro bath!

Countertop Accessories

This is the easiest, most affordable, no tools or handyman required, update you can make to a kitchen or bath. If your canisters or drinking glasses are looking dated, visit your favorite home goods store or web site for an instant upgrade. They tend to be smaller, lower cost items, so changing out every few years isn't a budget buster. (Donate your old set to a charity, please!) They're also a great way to add color, texture and a new style component to your space.

Give your bath modern, international flair with Jonathan Adler's Berlin accessories

Add pared-down elegance to your bath with Pottery Barn's Quinn Beaded bath accessories.

Form meets function in these stainless steel canisters at The Container Store.

Countertop Appliances

What is your toaster or coffee maker saying about your kitchen? I'm tired... I'm old... I'm bargain basement? Countertop appliances are also easy upgrades, albeit a little more expensive. The first principle of countertop appliances, however, is store the ones you don't use daily. The only appliances that should sit out are part of your morning or dinner routine. If the food processor or stand mixer only gets used once a month or so, it doesn't need to take up room on your countertops. For those essentials you do use daily, consider models that add functionality and style to your kitchen.

Give your kitchen coffee bar style and flexibility with this Cuisinart Coffee on Demand machine at Williams-Sonoma.

Think of it as a toaster on steroids! This Breville Countertop Convection Oven, also at Williams-Sonoma, is so much more. I want one of these, too!

Breville also makes a top-rated, darned good looking juicer! Available through Amazon.com.

Enjoy the entire Details series!

Details #1 - The Lighting Edition
Details #2 - The Faucet Edition
Details #3 - Fabrics and Fibers
Details #4 - The Hardware Edition
Details #5 - Finishing Touches

Browsing the Catalogs

Anthropologie, Battersea Soffette

We must be getting to the Fall season because there has been a recent deluge of catalogs hitting my floor as they are fiercely shoved through my mailbox. (I have often wondered how mail carriers feel about catalogs...I think ours is not so fond.)

I have been a little too busy lately to really dig into the pile sitting on my overloaded "mail table"....but recently I became acquainted with THIS blog.....and my interest has been completely renewed!!! (Where have I been anyway...it took me long enough to learn about Catalog Living ....I am sure Gary and Elaine are quite upset!)

I have been perusing the latest catalog offerings and these are a few of my favorite things ( I always love a little Julie...)

Anthropologie, Painted Owl Wallpaper

Anthropologie, Tranquil Paradise Hammock

By the way....these images are totally random....these are just things that struck me. No order to any of it....sort of like my kids' rooms.

West Elm, Hallway Photo styled to perfection...this might be on Catalog Living somewhere.

West Elm Martini Tables. I have seen these first hand and they are great. The perfect little tables!

Crate and Barrel Hendrix Desk. Handsome rustic-modern design!

Crate and Barrel Metropole Chair. Cozy with a color like butter.

Viva Terra Moroccan Lantern. There are two more styles to love...check to website.

Viva Terra Moroccan Fluted Stool. An alternative to all of those Garden Stools choices.

Viva Terra Eco Sectional Sleeper. The brown (grey?) ticking seat and back cushions...love. Excuse the photo color...the catalog color is a much warmer grey.

Viva Terra Talisman Mirror Collection. Great shapes!

I hope Gary and Elaine consider adding a few pieces to their household. Only good things can come of it.

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!