Color Notes: Green Day

Welcome to the latest 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. This posting covers one of my personal favorites - green. I've always incorporated green into my home. When I painted my open floor plan condo in LA that color, my brother said he felt like he was sitting in a bowl of guacamole. In my Florida home, our master bedroom is a soothing shade of green... and I have never felt like breaking open a bag of chips. (The green shown here is Benjamin Moore's Green with Envy.)


Why green?

Green is a cool, calming color that evokes images of nature. In fact, the very word "green" has come to mean natural and environmentally-friendly.

I love green in spa style baths and bedrooms, but it also works well in kitchens, offices and dining rooms. Green enhances most wood floors and cabinets - like leaves enhance a tree. In fact, as I recently shared in a Woman's Day interview, if colors work together in nature, they'll work together in your home. After all, there's no better designer than the Creator, is there?


Where not to go green

There aren't any rooms that couldn't go green, but if your purpose in a space is to create a mood of intensity and energy - perhaps an area where you home school - rather than calmness and relaxation, it wouldn't be your first choice.


I love green with...

White

Kitchy together here on Jonathan Adler's Bamboo wallpaper

Orange and Cream

United in pretty paisley on Pottery Barn's Brooks Chair

Pink

Glamming up a bed with Kenzie Bed Linens at Neiman Marcus

Dark brown

Pretty together on a paisley wallpaper by Candice Olson for Kravet

Navy

Circling a super-fun dog bowl by Jonathan Adler

Grey, yellow and blue

Pulled together on Pier 1's mod Abacus Chair

Red and tan

Elegant together on my own china pattern - Oberon by Wedgwood

Green scene

It was great fun finding cool green gear to share for this posting. (I have a collection of green pottery at home that I keep adding to.) Hope you enjoy these!

A piece of greenware I'd love to have in my collection:
Ephraim Faience's Seven-Handled Vase

Go retro with Noguchi's Free Form Sofa from Design Within Reach

Or old school with Anne Selke Home's Green Leather Chair at Neiman Marcus

Dress up your door with Anthropologie's Sly Fox Doorknocker

Delight your bath with these Celadon accessories at Pottery Barn

Create captivating countertops with Cambria's ethereal grey-green Hyde Park engineered stone, as I did in my client's master bath update

Divide and conquer with Pier 1's Plantation Floor Screen

Green your kitchen with KitchenAid's Artisan Stand Mixer in Lemongrass

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

Color Notes: Orange Crush

Welcome to the latest 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. One of my colleagues - the talented and lovely Nikki Harmon - is planning colors for her new apartment, so I asked her whether she'd prefer to see Orange or Green noted next. Her answer was a resounding "Orange," so here you go!


Why orange?

Orange blends the warmth of red and yellow, the two primary colors that come together to create it. So you can pretty much use it in the same rooms you'd use either of those shades - e.g., kitchens, dining rooms, home office, study, laundry room.

A deep pumpkin will enhance a library or study. A bright citrus can add a kick to a teen's room or a man cave.


Where not to go orange

I'd avoid orange in a bedroom, as its red tones might cause sleeplessness. I'd also avoid it in a bath or study intended for relaxation. I also wouldn't pair orange with mid-tone woods like golden oak, as the look will just go muddy.


I love orange with...

Pink and purple

As seen in this Monkeyin' Around Sun N Shade fabric from Waverly

Olive, brown and cream

Shown here in Modwall's Lush Tile blend


Navy and pale green

Seen here in this reproduction poster


Organic Matchstick Sateen Shams at West Elm

Orange you excited?

How daring do you feel today? Here are some awesome orange goodies to consider for your favorite room in the house...

Sit pretty on this Egg Chair at Design within Reach


Or on Pottery Barn's Olivia Sofette


Or in Z Gallerie's Soho Pavilion

Go exotic with Gump's Orange Dragon Garden Stool


West Elm's Embroidered Ethnic Duvet Covers

Or Wisteria's Moorish Chest

Go retro with Urban Outfitters' Jet Set Storage Bench
(Reminds me of the 1950s sofa and chairs I grew up with!)


Pottery Barn's Argyle Knit Euro Shams


An Authentic 1960s Phone from Naked Decor, (formerly Home Republic)


Or Urban Outfitters' Velvet Pouf Pillow


Go mod with Jonathan Adler's Capri Bottle Lamp

This surprising Jupiter Bistro Table on Bed, Bath & Beyond's site

An Orange Lacquer Bath Ensemble, also at Bed, Bath & Beyond


Target.com's Pod Chair


Caesarstone's Warm Red Countertops

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

TREND WATCH 2009: COLORS TO COME

There's an excellent chance that the colors you encounter at Target, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Pier1, Anthropologie and other popular design sources have been influenced by a group you've never heard of. It's a non-profit association called the Color Marketing Group, composed of design professionals from around the world. They've been accurately predicting – some would say shaping – color trends for more than four decades. Here's their take on 2009:


Purple, Purple, Purple!

Emerging as a hot fashion color last fall, purple is not just a fad -- it's an entrenched trend. Look for a greyed-out violet that works equally well as an accent or a neutral, as well as redder, plummier purples and bluer-influenced fuchsias in a huge range of products. Purple is 2009's "must have" color.



Blue is the New Green

Various greens have symbolized "green living" over the last few years, but in 2009 the environmental message is delivered by the color blue. There are watery blues, sky blues and a whole range of blues that now represent our commitment to living on a greener planet.



Cooled-down, Greyed-out Browns and Greys

Complex neutrals satisfy our urge toward classic colors in an economically-challenged time. They also bridge the area between black, which seems harsh, and brown, which doesn't seem strong enough.



Yellow for Energy

The neutrals may have greyed, but look for lots of bright vivid yellow to give us energy as we re-build the economy. It's the stand-out accent color for 2009. Bright Accents from India, China, and Turkey... The exotic has become the familiar. Oranges, turquoises and teals, reds, and yellows will abound in hues from far-away countries that now seem very near. They are the optimistic touches we crave.



White is now a Business Color

Technology has produced amazing new (and very practical) finishes, which helps explain why white is showing up everywhere. The contrasts are all in the finishes: matte versus gloss; shine and shimmer on reflective surfaces; textured whites versus smooth -- all washable and cleanable. White also represents purity of thought, motive and result.



The Return of the "M" Word

It's mauve. Remember mauve? An old color that looks new again, in dusty violet shades, mauve works as an accent but also serves now as a neutral, punched up by those bright Asian accents (orange, turquoise, teal, red, and yellow.)



Final Thoughts on Color Trends

Use these trend notes as potential inspiration for finding fresh new touches for your home, not as a call to action to throw out everything you already own! When you do add in elements that will be permanent -- like cabinetry, countertops or flooring, for example -- be sure to avoid the Top Three Remodeling Mistakes too many homeowners make!


Photo Notes

Listed in order of section appearance, from top to bottom:

Purple: This wall storage unit was designed using cabinetry from Italian firm, Scavolini.

Blue: These glass-front appliances by Dacor debuted at KBIS 2008, offering a fresh alternative to both the ubiquitous stainless steel and candy-bright Vikings and Bertazzonis.

Browns and Greys: These UltraCraft cabinets will work in a contemporary or traditional kitchen, and look good long after the CMG's 2009 report has faded into history.

Yellow: These sunny new tabletop accessories from Williams-Sonoma bring bright yellow into your kitchen without a major color commitment.

White: Here's a contemporary white storage system from West Elm, one of my favorite sources for classic and contemporary styles.

Mauve: Here, mauve accents turn up in the lovely new rug from Pottery Barn's 2009 collection. It's also visible in the coordinating pillows. The look is eclectic and unified, casual and classic at the same time.