A new trim trend

While browsing some ezines online, I started noticing a popular trend in trim treatment.

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It's something I had seen Martha Stewart do a while back, but here's more for you. Basically, the approach is to paint out everything the same color, to provide a striking backdrop for feature items to pop against and unify the space.
I've heard traditional trim treatment referred to as a "bright white frame". In a way, it kinda is.
Unifying the trim and wall color does update and modernize more formal architectural features.

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What do you think of this painting approach? It certainly is a change. Do you like it? Hate it?

(Scrambling to get holiday preparations in order, so posts might be a bit light this week- my apologies! -Rachel)

Good reads

Has anyone read this book?

The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky
by Ellen Meloy

One reader says, "This isn’t so much a historical examination as an artistic, spiritual road-trip...how human being are drawn to the blue of water, the blue of the sky"

If you've read it, let us know what you thought! How many of you read books about color? What specifically are you drawn to?

Palettes to represent a city

Brisbane, Australia has a new logo, and a branding package to go along with.
Think for a moment about how you would brand your city with a color palette. What would you want to capture about it? San Francisco would definitely have some grays for fog, some blues for the bay... a soft muted palette, I would imagine.

Brisbane has the following new identity:In short, Brisbane is "clear blue skies", "bright sunshine", "natural surroundings", and "vibrant, exciting, optimistic" brights.

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Marketers for Brisbane explain, "The colours reflect the optimism, creativity and functionality of Brisbane, it’s people, it’s businesses, it’s spaces underpinned by its sustainable yet progressive environment" (source)

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Hm, any Australian readers out there want to weigh in? Do you think the colors successfully capture the character of their brand promise?

Thanks via source

80's retro flashback: the candy colored world of Miami Vice

The hey day of the 1980's seems to be everywhere around us these days. Skinny jeans, up-collared polo shirts, even wacky crooked haircuts. Let's just cross our fingers and toes mauve doesn't make a comeback. A quintessential icon of the 80's was the television series Miami Vice.

You might not remember much about Miami Vice other than Don Johnson's sexy stubble and slip-on sockless loafers, but you'd be hard-pressed to forget the pastel candy colors the show captured in it's visuals of Miami. Flamingo pink, lime green, Caribbean blue. Executive producer of the show, Michael Mann, had a distinct vision that was more movie than tv for his times. Taking inspiration from the ocean and bounty of art deco buildings in the area, Mann decided this was his palette, and stuck to it stringently. No earthy colors. Ever. That included all actors clothing, the cars on the road, even random buildings that had to be repainted.

A director of the show remembers, "There are certain colors you are not allowed to shoot, such as red and brown. If the script says 'A Mercedes pulls up here,' the car people will show you three or four different Mercedes. One will be white, one will be black, one will be silver. You will not get a red or brown one. Michael knows how things are going to look on camera."(source)

Always at the height of fashion, the two main character had five to eight wardrobe changes each episode, always in shades of pink, blue, green, peach, fuchsia and the show's other "approved" colors. Favorite designers included Vittorio Ricci, Gianni Versace and Hugo Boss.

And just for a chuckle, a few more stills from the show, to appreciate quality 80's aesthetics.

Wallpaper is back in style these days. How about this one?Gotta have the neon pink light above the bed in a hospital room, right? yikes...

image stills captured from DVD

Oh, yes, now we're talking. Your typical hotel room. Gotta love it.

Have you seen any 80's flashback design out and about? Anything worth holding onto?

Can you have too much color?

All I have to say is, "whoa."This rooftop house additional is like nothing I have seen before. And no, that's not photoshop work! Designed by Winy Maas for a friend's family residence in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, it's fondly referred to as the Didden Village.

The NYT says, "Maas’s deliberate childlike house shapes combined with the dazzling blank blue planes create the impression that you are living inside a CAD drawing rather than a real house; it’s as if the house is still in a constant process of being imagined."

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The bright blue rooftop complex consists of three bedrooms separated by a “Main Street.”

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"By finishing all elements with a blue poly-urethane coating a new “heaven” appears. It creates a crown on top of the monument."(source)

But what do you think? Is it successful? Innovative, or just quirky? I certainly appreciate the concept of urban density and designs that address those issues. And why not bring in some eye-popping cerulean blue while you're at it! But -everything- in blue? What's that like to live with?
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Dripping with color

Psst, check this out!Artist: Spencer Finch
Installation: 366 (Emily Dickinson's Miraculous Year)

Where: Postmasters Gallery, NYC (closed November 28th, alas) What: This work is based on the year 1862 during which Emily Dickinson wrote an amazing 366 poems in 365 days. It is a real-time memorial to that year, which burns for exactly one year.

The sculpture is comprised of 366 individual candles arranged in linear sequence, each of which burns for 24 hours.

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The color of each candle matches a color mentioned in the corresponding poem; poems in which no color is mentioned are made out of natural paraffin.

What the artist says about color:

"[Finch] knows that color lies at the boundary of what we see and what we remember. Despite the thick red line of humor that runs through his work, Finch’s projects are always laced with the acute pathos of someone disappointed by both perception and language and by their mutual exclusivity and incompatibility... Color is less a trope of indeterminacy than a way to re-create an almost visceral experience of our impossible desire to name our perceptions."(source)

What do you think of his theory?

thanks via source

Beer wars: blue versus green

In part, to battle against green giants like Heineken beer, Netherlands-based Bavaria has re-branded their beer logo and packaging with a new brilliant blue color scheme.

Logos- old to new

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Crates, old to new
For the past 15 years, they've already established themselves as the "blue beer", but now have gotten rid of even the slightest traces of green. Around since the early 1700s, it has lost its nostalgic slant in pursuit of bigger fish.But is it enough to compete with other blue-branded beers out there like Bud Light, Miller Light, Michelob, or Corona?images source

Everything has their trademark blue, including uniforms, trucks, even delivery crates. Now that's cohesion for you.

Head over to Brand New for the full story.

Color commitment can be scary

I just did something I generally counsel clients -not- to do.

Remember how I told you my husband was probably my most challenging client ever? (scroll down to bottom of guest room saga). Can you guess where this is headed? ;-)

The challenge: we're in the market for new sofas.

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After testing out about twelve zillion different sofas over the course of multiple shopping excursions, my husband and I had finally settled on a model. Not the slickest looking sofa ever, but I really wanted something comfy for naps and watching movies. (We're actually just getting two sofas, not a sectional.) So, there we were at the furniture store, faced with the final decision: choosing a fabric for our new sofas. Here's how it went down:

Me: I think we should stick with a neutral color so we're not locked into one color forever. This is a pretty big purchase that we'll have for at least 15 years, you know?

Husband: But that's so -boring-! What about something like this? (holding up terracotta and oranges) They're yummy.

Me: Ug, that's a lot of orange to live with. A strong color will really limit our options if we want to change things up in the future. What if our tastes change? (pushing a chocolate brown and a creamy beige swatch his direction)

Husband: Too dull!

(this continues for the next half hour...)

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Me: Okay, okay, okay. Maybe something deep like brown, but with more color. What about this? (pulling out a deep rich purple swatch aptly named "grape")

Husband: Yeah, I like it.

Me: Great! -Now- can we wrap this up and go home?

So, we now have two purple sofas headed our way in about 4-6 weeks. I loved the color, but for a large purchase like a sofa, I think neutral would have been a safer choice. I'm a bit freaked out about this big commitment! Is this a "go big or go home" moment, or just a huge mistake?

Movie palettes: Fantastic Mr Fox

Around the holiday season, families flock to the movie theaters. Whether it's bad weather that drives them indoors, or restless children on winter break looking for something to do, holiday movies are always a big hit. I'm always interested in the latest 'kid flick', and being a big Roald Dahl fan, I was intrigued by the film adaptation of his book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

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After hearing an interview on NPR, I hot-footed it to the theater the other day to see the movie for myself.

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Directed and co-written by Wes Anderson, the movie is created with stop-motion animation. Miniature models are posed and photographed, one tiny movement at a time. Then those still images are played back, like an old-fashioned flip book, to create the movement.

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There's just something so precious about miniatures, you know?

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In the interview on NPR, Wes is questioned about his distinct palette choice for the movie. Autumnal colors in yellows, golds and oranges dominate the sets, particularly at the beginning.

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When researching for this movie, Anderson traveled to Great Missenden, England to visit Dahl's 'Gypsy House', where the story is set and Dahl wrote the book. It was autumn time, and everything was muddy. Anderson left feeling like this should be the setting for the movie, but that maybe it wasn't going to be a very colorful place. No rolling green hills, etc.

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But the beauty of stop motion films such as this is that the creators have complete control over the world they create. Anderson soon discovered,

"With a movie like this, if you make a decision like that, well, we're not going to have any green. We're not even going to have a blue sky. We're going to have the skies be pink. Because you have so much control, really... there's literally nothing that's green. There's nothing that's blue...

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Anderson elaborates,

"the grass is made of yellow towels, essentially. So suddenly, it really does take a jump from reality... You quickly sort of adjust to it. Your eye just accepts this sort of 'palette of the world'."

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Want to see more? Here's the movie trailer.

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Anyone seen the movie? Let's discuss!

A solution to cubicle farms

Everyone knows people function better and are happier in supportive environments. If you're stuck in the gray compartment of a cubicle for 8+ hours a day, it can wear on you.
This brings to mind Madonna's "Material Girl", set to new words:

'cause we are living in a cubicle world,
but I am not a cubicle girl
You know that we are living in a cubicle world,
but I am not a cubicle girl

There have been some creative solutions to breaking out of the nightmarish zone called the rat maze. One I haven't seen before was created with cool laser cut forms for desks, partitions, doors, you name it. Who is behind this? Because We Can, based in my hometown of Oakland, CA, is a sustainable interior design & custom furniture firm. Design-build is cool because everything is built to spec, so no waste!
While a gray sea of cubicles might be acceptable for some companies, Cryptic Studios, a gaming design company, knew their creative team needed something more inspiring than your standard "cube farm". The theme for the cube walls is 'Cities of the Future'. As you know, we creatives don't function too well in gray boxes.

Each area is its own city, and its own color.
Color coding the cube areas enable staff to easily find each other.
They even have hanging space ships and such to tie into the overall theme.

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And of course, it wouldn't be California without our Golden Gate bridge and a giant sea monster! Just peeking beyond these colorful dividers, you can see sadly unadorned cubicles.

Which desk would you rather sit in?

Latest Stir article- the low down on online design

My latest Stir article just went live, and it's featuring several color and design experts we know and admire. If you don't know about them, it's high time you did!
Thanks to Maria Killam, Barbara Jacobs, Kelly Berg, Jennifer Mitchell, and Lori Sawaya for taking the time to share their insights and opinions on virtual design.

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The Pros and Cons of Online Design

Can online design really deliver the same kind of professionally designed rooms clients get via hands-on design?

By Rachel Perls

E-decorating is all the rage these days. In tough economic times, homeowners are getting creative to make their money stretch farther. The popularity of home decorating shows, design blogs and home design magazines has propelled interior design from an exclusive perk, once available only to the wealthy, to an accessible service for just about anyone. Armed with a sense of empowerment, and tightened purse strings, homeowners are seeking alternatives to in-home design services. So, is online design an opportunity ripe for the picking, or a potential waste of time and money? Continue reading

What do you think of online design? Thumbs up or down?

An Exclusive Peek into the Secrets of Jellyfish

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an amazing exhibit on jellyfish in their permanent exhibit space. The colors of these creatures against the bright blue tanks is Incredible if you have the chance to see it in person.More than anything, I am blown away by the exhibit design itself. Here we have basically translucent creatures- so how do you display that?

I had the opportunity to speak with the exhibits coordinator who was in charge of this tremendous endeavor, Randy Hamilton. "New Wing Exhibits Coordinator" was his title during this project, a hybrid position between husbandry of animals and husbandry of exhibits.

In order to really appreciate the magnitude of this display, you need a little background crash course on jellyfish exhibits. Let's go!
Vision
The original look and feel of the displays was intended to simulate what a scuba diver would see 60 meters off the coast, 60 feet under the water. This feeling of "open blue" would have no sides, no bottom, and no rock pinnacles. Just suspended animation in a vast field of blue. Selected from a ring of acrylic sample colors, there were 3 to 4 blues to chose from. The blue that most closely emulated the color of the ocean at the desired depth was specified.

To achieve this illusion of nothingness, the tanks are much larger than they appear, disappearing out of the peripherals. The tank may be 20 feet, but the opening to viewers is only 16 feet. But how about this: the back of the tank is actually less than 12 inches away from viewers!

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Tanks
When the Monterey Bay Aquarium first undertook the challenge of a jellyfish exhibit, there were huge limitations on the size tank they could design. But the desired blue acrylic panels were only available in 6'x6' transparent sheets. For smaller tanks, this would be fine, as the designers simply glued white opaque acrylic behind the sheets to create an opaque look. And in other large tanks, panels could be butt-welded end-to-end to create enormous windows. But for the jellyfish exhibit, the designers could have no visible seams- it had to be optically-exact. They had to up the ante. After several years of R&D, Nippura of Japan came up with a new patent to accomplish the desired size acrylic panels.

Motion
20 years ago, there were no jellies in tanks anywhere. Jellyfish are 99% water, so in order to keep the tanks filtered, and the animals fed (they eat tiny particles of food all day long that can cloud the water), scientists had to come up with a solution that wouldn't destroy these delicate creatures as clean water was pumped in and dirty water sucked out through filters. The first solution to this dilemma was developed in Germany. The Kreisel tank design utilized laminar flow, the concept of circular flow to support and suspend the jellies. Water flows across the filter to blow the jellies away from the screens to keep them from getting sucked in. This is critical for suspended animation, as well as for keeping the water looking clear for viewing. Murky water isn't pretty.

Lighting
Fluorescent lights are used to light the tanks, positioned up high to emulate sunlight from the top of the water. Additionally, tanks are back-lit with fluorescents to highlight the blue tint of the tank background. Side lighting is used to light the animals themselves. The light illuminates the natural color of the jellies; no colored gells are used.

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Display
In order to continue the vision of the limitless ocean, all displays were rounded with organic shapes. An architectural feat, and an engineering nightmare, according to Hamilton. While viewers won't necessarily -see- the curving dark walls of the exhibit, (helping the tanks take center stage) the subtleties of the exhibit are of course experienced by all.

An amazing exhibit, my many thanks to Randy Hamilton for taking the time to explain this to me so I could share it with you!


all other images taken by me

Stop the spread of recipes

Shame on Psychology Today for perpetuating cookie cutter recipes for color.

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Color colleague Kelly just wrote a hilarious rant about the sidebar of note on her blog, Arte Styling. Check it out!

Mid Century icon gets a colorful makeover

George Nelson’s bubble pendant lamps are icons of Mid Century Modernism.

Constructed of a steel wire frame and covered with translucent plastic, emiting a soft light, these lamps have been manufactured in white since their inception in 1947. Just white.

Until now.Now, buyers can chose from the newly available yellow "Cigar" or blue "saucer".

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Oh happy day!

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Design dilemma- How To Showcase Artwork

Ta da- it's a new Design Dilemma! You might remember Rachael from her home gym dilemma last year. She was so pleased with the results she got from Hue and reader suggestions, that she's come back for help with her home office and client meeting area. So designers, get ready to roll up your sleeves, because your help is greatly needed to pull this space together.

Here's the scoop:

Rachael is a professional photographer. Her in-home office/client meeting area is in great need of a paint job before her new furniture arrives.

Here's what her space looks like now. A blank canvas, waiting for an infusion of her personality.In terms of light, the room's windows face north, so there is never any direct sunlight coming through them. The existing yellow color is a bit too dark for her taste, as the room isn't generally very bright.

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It's not the biggest space, but it has loads of potential

This is the new office furniture that is arriving any day now.

And the new desk will go right here. Look how organized she is- floor plan and everything! Here's how the new office will be arranged. The two walls above the new corner desk will feature a large display of her photography, both gallery wrapped canvases and framed prints.

As this space also functions as a client meeting space, it's super important that the atmosphere of the room reflect the character and aesthetics of the photography Rachael sells. The work should be showcased in this space. She describes her work as,

"fresh, fun and candid. That's exactly the feeling I want people to get when they come meet with me. My work is colorful, honest and full of personality...

When a client walks into my room, I want them to see a space that is modern, clean and airy while still comfortable and relaxed. The room should feel light and open. I want clients to know they aren't getting the same old stale, posed, traditional photography."

Here are some images Rachael provided for inspiration from 2 other photographers' studios she liked:

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Maybe a bit sterile for the warmth of Rachael's photos?

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I love the blush-colored walls in this studio- it really brings out a sense of intimacy and tenderness from the photos, don't you think? Paired with the chocolate brown furnishings, the dark color grounds the space and keeps it from being too "sweet".

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More rooms she likes. Rachael likes the idea of doing something in the blue/gray/lime green range. Her preference is to have some fun with the walls, injecting them with life and color. I personally like the 1st image in the second row down, as it seems more friendly and inviting to me; more in keeping with Rachael's photography aesthetics.

rugs: source, zebra chair: source, leather chair, couch: source

Alternatively, she is considering a safe, nice cream color, bringing in color with patterned chairs, a fun rug and colorful curtains. Here are some pieces she is considering as options.

But what do I think? The most important thing to consider here is setting a mood, creating a branded "look" for the art and services being sold.

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I'm certainly not suggesting this for Rachael, but think this makes an excellent example of creating a mood. By taking inspiration from the art piece above the desk, the furniture, textiles, accessories, and color palette all reinforce that "look". Rachael needs that for her office/meeting space. Gotta have the cute little designer dog, of course.

Since the photography to be showcased is quite colorful on it's own, I would not opt for injecting too much of a competing color into the space. A strong color might over-power the work. With that said, I've seen some amazing museum exhibits where the underlying color of a body of work is brought out in the wall colors. Here's an article I wrote about how museum exhibition designers maximize color.

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Take this example from a room at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. That color works beautifully, don't you think?

So where do we go from here? I'd like to enlist the help of you designerly- readers to weigh in, so start thinking of your own solutions... Here's the overall color impression from Rachael's grouping of photos: very warm and earthy. My first reaction is to bring in a more arts and crafts style feeling- harking back to a simpler time of strong family values and pride in your craft. After all, her main subject matter does focus on family bonds...

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Within the umbrella of Arts and Crafts, there are many subcategories to chose from: Mission, Craftsman, Stickley, Quaint, Handcraft, Greene & Greene, Prairie Style, Roycroft...but you don't have to be a purist. Mix things up a bit with pieces from different eras. The objective is to be inviting.

I see wood furniture, big colorful throw pillows...

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...a cozy woven rug, and warm-toned walls (maybe pick one color from the rugs above). I'm not pushing for stuffy, or stale, but the overall feeling that is evoked in the art. It's the whole package- art reflected in the space, in the color of the walls, the furniture, and accessories.

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If one doesn't reflect the other, a strong brand impression opportunity is sadly lost.

But what do you guys see? Please share your ideas!

Interview at Colour Me Happy

Thanks so much to Maria for interviewing me for her blog Colour Me Happy. I'm honored!
For new readers just coming here for the first time- welcome everyone!

How we see color

What do you think of this statement?

"Remember this: that the light that falls on to your eye, sensory information, is meaningless. Because it could mean literally anything."

Intrigued? Check out: Optical Illusions Show How We See, a talk by Beau Lotto recorded at TED this past July in Oxford, England.

Finally, a comprehensive argument for the context of light, color, and our perception. Need more? A snippet from Beau's talk:

"nearly every living system has evolved the ability to detect light in one way or another. So, for us, seeing color is one of the simplest things the brain does. And yet, even at this most fundamental level, context is everything. What I want to talk about is not that context is everything, but why is context everything. Because it's answering that question that tells us not only why we see what we do, but who we are as individuals, and who we are as a society."

Fascinating stuff...

Thanks to reader, color consultant and fellow IACC'er Catherine Stein for this tip!

Sleeping with color

Heading to Paris and need a place to stay? Perhaps the Color Design Hotel is your cup of tea.

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I love this review of the hotel

"It’s perhaps a bit ironic, unless you’re quite up to speed on additive color theory, that the first impression of a place called Color Design Hôtel should be predominantly white. But as a palate (or palette) cleanser, white is the obvious choice — and as a contrast to the relatively gritty Bastille, one of Paris’s up-and-coming neighborhoods, the hotel’s stark minimalism is certainly striking."

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Created by Jean-Marc Galabert, one of Paris' major hoteliers and designed by Carole Picard, each of the 4 floors upstairs is imbued with a single color theme: red, blue, purple, or green.
If you know French, there is an interview with the designer as she takes us through each space. I'd love for someone to translate for us, if they can!

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It feels a bit gimmicky to me. While I appreciate the use of color against a stark white background, the lack of balance turns my stomach as I try to imagine myself locked up in one of these rooms for an overnight stay. My lasting impression is one of inbalance.

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Luckily, the carpets and beds were left in gray to temper the vivid colors injected in each room.

What do you think? Would you stay here and enjoy it?

Giveaway on Design Hole

Readers, looking for unique gift for that hard-to-please person? This custom car interiors book is hilarious, and will have your recipient in stitches (or furiously jotting down notes on ideas they liked!)
Head over to Design Hole for a chance to win this completely zany, utterly colorful book.
Contest ends Friday, so don't delay!

Graffiti gone Rococo

During the summer of 1982, the artist Keith Haring painted a mural at Houston Street and Bowery in downtown New York City.

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The mural was up for only a few months that summer before it was painted over, but its image became an instant landmark, remaining imprinted in the memories of of the downtown artist community.

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For what would have been Haring's 50th birthday, Deitch Projects is honoring this famous artist with a mural by the Brazilian twin brothers known as Os gêmeos. In a recent NYT article, Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo are said to have elevated graffiti art to its "Rococo phase".

This ornate, enormous mural stretches 51 feet long across a 17 foot high concrete wall. It's pretty impressive to imagine this was painted with spray cans. Blazing with saturated colors, the background drips down from the top with deep blue green to green to chartreuse and finally to yellow, bathing the characters in a warm glow.

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There's also a great slideshow on the mural.

I'm thrilled to see such whimsical, large scale art out there for public consumption. But it's only up 'til March, so if you're local, please go check it out!

Evil manipulation with color

I abhor smoking.

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It's been scientifically-proven to cause cancer (both by first and second hand smoke). And it's smelly- if someone is smoking nearby, there is no escaping the stench. It's not fair to those of us who don't smoke that must endure while others puff away. I remember before the ban in several states in which I've lived, you'd spend an evening in a bar and come out smelling like an ashtray, your eyes stinging and watering, your lungs raw. And don't get me started on smoking around food- ick! It turns my stomach. Sorry readers who smoke, but that's how I feel.

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So when I learned that cigarette brands are trying something new with color packaging to persuade consumers that their cigarettes are somehow less harmful than others, I was disgusted.

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Based on new laws banning the misleading use of the words "light", "mild", "ultra-light", "smooth", etc. cigarette companies are turning to color coded packages to communicate this same information. "You can manipulate people's perceptions of risk even by changing the shade of a color," tobacco control expert David Hammond says.(source)

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It's reported that R.J. Reynolds changed the packaging of Camel Lights to reflect the belief that smokers perceive the language of lights and blue colors as possibly safer.In research studies, shown packs of cigarettes in person and online, smokers deemed “silver’’ or “gold’’ brands as being less dangerous than regular varieties.(source)

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As the flavors get "lighter," so the do the colors. For example, Pall Mall's Ultra Lights, while a bright orange, are still the lightest of the line. The lighter the color, the healthier it appears to many smokers. In another recent study, 80% of those questioned (smokers and non-smokers) believed that cigarettes packaged in a light-blue box would taste better, would contain less tar, and would be safer than cigarettes packaged in a dark-blue box.(source)

Granted, color-coding has been used by marketers forever, so why should it be any different for cigarette manufacturers? In supermarkets, black packaging is perceived by consumers to be higher-quality. And how would you find your favorite box of Cherrios if they weren't in a bright yellow box? But the subversive nature of misleading a consumer to believe a product is something that it is most certainly not, needs to be regulated.

What do you think?

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Guest post at Bossy Color

What do you think of color design reality shows?

Head over to Bossy Color's blog for a guest post I wrote for her on "Covering the Spectrum with 'Color Confidential' "

Thanks for the invitation to write for you, Annie!

Musings on Color

This is neat. Rachel Berger, a graphic designer in San Francisco, shares a project she completed during her MFA program at the Yale School of Art.
100 Colors, 100 Writings, 100 Days

Every day for one hundred days (from October 30, 2008 to February 6, 2009) she picked a paint chip out of a bag and responded to it with a short writing. The examples are her favorite forty, each writing titled with the number of the day it was written (out of 100) and the name of the color from that day’s paint chip.

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I bought my first yam this week. I wanted sweet potatoes, which sound a bit friendlier, but the store didn’t have any. The yam is quite rooty, forever looking freshly pulled from the earth — something that is born, grows, and dies in darkness. It’s bumping around my cupboard now, rolling into view when I take out the sugar canister, tin of anchovies. It’s clumsy and bulky. I rudely shove it back, out of my way, further into the darkness.

What stories would you tell about this color?

Will color win over design?

Apartment Therapy is hosting their annual color contest. As the rules state, "In October, we're looking for the most colorful, beautiful room on the planet".

Will readers do right by us this time? Last year was a complete and utter disappointment, as readers voted for the most highly-designed space, but one that really lacked much color. (certainly through no fault of AT editors, who selected some -amazing- spaces for us to vote on)

"Colorful rooms are the heart of great homes, and adding color is the most affordable way to change a room, but few feel comfortable using it. To inspire confidence and improve homes, we're inviting readers to share their colorful rooms, tips and sources. Brand new in 2009 is our Personal Color Palette, which will allow each entrants to display their own color choices."

So head over to AT and make sure that the most colorful room wins this time!

Back to Reality

Okay, okay, okay, I will resurface from my jet-lagged fog. Actually, it's really nice to be back. Sleeping in my comfy bed (no more rock-hard twin beds shoved together as a "full"), eating food other than Italian, kissing my lovely dogs, seeing friends and family again.... Anyone who says vacations are relaxing must have been very selective about how and where they traveled!

So, as soon as I download and edit my pictures from our trip, I've got some great stuff to share with you from Italy. Just need to get my act together now!

Traveling the world in search of color knowledge

My color organization, the IACC-NA, is an associate member of the AIC, or International Color Association. While their website may be a bit dated, (cringe!) their data is cutting edge. We get regular updates about what's going on in the bigger world of color, and get to drool over international conferences we could only dream of attending (who has the money these days?)

Here's a little taste for you color foodies of the conference theme this coming year in Mar Del Plata, Argentina:

"Color in food is a new theme for an AIC meeting. A variety of topics will be presented from technology to design, including architecture, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, as well as social and economic aspects. related to the production and consumption of food, such as: colorimetry, color & appearance, advertisement, color technology, lighting, color communication, color instrumentation, commercial architecture, consumer expectations, color chemistry, color design, color preferences, color physics, packaging, color psychology, inasmuch as these aspects are related to food.

The conference will be held at Hotel Dos Reyes, downtown, 300 meters from the seashore. "

Ahh, doesn't that sound divine?

In praise of yellow- tips for how to use it in your home

Last but certainly not least, our final guest post during my vacation from reality. Annie Elliott is a fabulous color designer in the Washington, DC area whom I discovered shortly -after- moving away from the area. Luckily for us, she writes a fantastic blog to keep us all grounded and in touch.

A recovering art historian, Annie worked in museums before realizing that her great love was interior design. She started bossy color 5 years ago and hasn't looked back. She brings her clients in the greater Washington, D.C. area streamlined design solutions and, of course, innovative color palettes. Through bossy color blog, Annie offers design tips and responds to readers' design dilemmas.

In Praise of Yellow
by Annie Elliott

If it were up to me, I'd paint the whole world yellow.

I guess it's good that it's NOT up to me, because I'm sure I'd miss the other colors soon enough. But I find that as an interior designer, yellow is often my first thought when asked...

"My foyer connects to my stairwell, which leads to the upstairs hall...what color would work throughout the house that isn't beige?" (The answer: Benjamin Moore's HC-6 Windham Cream)

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"How can I keep my family room lighthearted and fun?" (Farrow & Ball's 233 Dayroom Yellow)

"My son and daughter share a room. What color should I paint it?" (Martha Stewart's MS107 Orchard Ladder or Benjamin Moore's HC-5 Weston Flax)

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"How can I make my dining room warm and inviting without painting it red?" (Benjamin Moore's HC-12 Concord Ivory)

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Yellow is both historic and modern. It can be friendly or edgy.

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It looks great with black and white...

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...or in a rainbow.

I'm not even in love with a specific yellow. Obviously, the shade we ultimately select depends on the room, the light coming in, and the mood we're going for. All that good stuff.

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If you're not a fan of yellow, I'm not out to convince you. All I'm saying is, you have to admit that yellow is pretty versatile.

You might want to give it a chance.

Stuck in Neutrals- Getting Over Your Fear of Commitment

Today, I am thrilled to introduce to you Kelly Berg, interior designer, color consultant, writer, and all around lovely lady based in my neck of the woods, the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of you may already be familiar with Kelly from her insightful comments on Hue, and her own fantastic blog, Arte Styling. Vibrant and vivacious, I am delighted to know her.

Kelly began her design career in Los Angeles as a set decorator and stylist working in the mediums of TV, print, and film. She has worked with celebrities including Reba McEntire, Emeril Legasse, and Tia Carerre and has developed and produced projects for HGTV, The View, and Soap Talk. Arte Styling, established by Kelly in 2003, focuses on interior design and color psychology with the mission to inspire individuals and organizations to express their authenticity and truest vision. Kelly holds a B.A. in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego and is a member of the IACC-NA.

Stuck in Neutrals
Getting Over Your Fear of Commitment
By Kelly Berg

There is a lot of confusion regarding “neutral” colors lately. Especially when it comes to our living spaces. Everywhere you look, designers and home experts are coveting these non- committal hues. But the definition of neutral seems to constantly be in flux. And when it comes time for selecting the perfect paint colors for the home, many homeowners are left feeling perplexed and overwhelmed. Before we all reach for the latest and greatest shade of beige, perhaps we should delve a little deeper and ask ourselves what exactly are neutrals and why do we want them in our homes anyway?

Let’s start with the definition of “neutral” colors.

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We’ve come to know “neutrals” in interiors as beiges, ivories and taupes. Some people describe neutrals as colors that aren’t on the color wheel. There is a perception that these “new neutrals”, as they are sometimes referred to, are calming and soothing - the perfect backdrop for any room because they “go” with everything.

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But true neutrals are actually grays - the hues that are created when two complementary colors are mixed together.

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And every season an even newer “neutral” seems to pop up on the color radar. One year it’s orange, the next it’s lavender. This year it’s gray, or “greige”, that is getting a lot of attention as the latest go-to neutral. (Ironic, since gray is really the original neutral!)

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We’ve been trained to think that being neutral is a good thing. The word “neutral” has a mostly positive connotation in our society. If we’re neutral, we’re not hostile. We are not out to offend anyone. We are calm and under control. We go along with everything and are considerate of others. We don’t take risks, we don’t make statements, and we don’t express our true feelings. We do and think as we’re supposed to and in doing so we live in a safe and uncomplicated world.

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But there are downsides to being neutral, especially when it comes to using color in our homes. Contrary to what many color, home and design “experts” are feeding us, neutral colors do not equate to neutral emotions. Too much “neutral” can actually create under-stimulating environments which can contribute to elevated stress levels. Humans are designed to require a certain amount of stimulation from our surroundings. And although our individual thresholds for color stimulation vary slightly from person to person, overall we do not respond well to overly-muted environments.

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So, if this is true, why has beige infiltrated our built environments to begin with? One theory, according to this Sherwin Williams Stir article , is that beige, and all of its incarnations, was popularized by builders during the post World War II housing boom. Because aluminum and vinyl siding materials were quick to fade they “began painting the siding in softer shades, blanketing the cities and suburbs in whites, beiges and grays” leading to a sort of “numbing effect on our society.”

So when we use “neutrals” in our homes are we, in a sense, stuck in the 1950s? Not necessarily. When most of us talk about using “neutrals”, we are usually referring to the desire to have colors in our homes that are both flexible and relaxing. We are not trying to recreate the 1950s. But somewhere along the way - with a little help from those mid-century suburban builders - we have developed a very inaccurate belief that to have flexibility and relaxation in our homes we are strictly relegated to beige. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Do you ever say to yourself when gazing over a beautiful green meadow sprinkled with wildflowers, “I love this landscape, but it’s just not neutral enough for me. I really would have gone with Tawny Taupe for the grass color. It would be much more relaxing”?
No? That sounds rather ridiculous, doesn’t it? And isn’t nature the ultimate representation of flexibility and relaxation? Nature doesn’t care about being “neutral”, and neither should we.

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So, perhaps it’s time to clear up all this confusion and simply banish the word “neutral” entirely from our color vocabulary. What do we need “neutrals” for anyway? “Neutrals” were created out of fear. Fear of offending. Fear of committing. Fear of making the wrong choice. Fear of standing out and being different. But who wants to live in an environment built on fear? It’s time for us to
all say no to “neutrals” and happily embrace the hues that nature intended.

What's in a Name?

Today's post comes from another favorite colleague of mine, Elizabeth Brown. Always astute and inquisitive, Elizabeth has a unique take on color. Let's see what she has to share with us!

Elizabeth, IACC-NA, is a Seattle based color consultant, oil painter and occasional blogger and goofball. She enjoys engaging in reverie at water’s edge at her wee cottage in Bremerton, Washington and is especially fond of birds. Although she would prefer to be dwelling in 18th century France, Liz is guided and most grateful for the support from her family, friends and colleague, Rachel Perls, for leading her down a path to all things technological.

What’s in a Name?
by Elizabeth Brown

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The word… it makes our thoughts come alive, turns them into reality. So do words create color or does color demand description?

“Post card Perfect”, “Sheer Exposure”, “Zanzibar”. Could you tell me which colors these names represent? Did Cro Magnon Man have such color choices as he painted in his cave? Hardly. And who gets to name these colors anyway? Let’s see, if I were to add up the all the names of the different hues from all of my fan decks, there would be thousands of color titles. Believe it or not, some existing cultures have only four words to describe color. Linguistics professor, Paul Kay who has spent his life debunking linguistic relativity through the study of color states that the number of words that a culture uses to describe colors corresponds with its degree of industrialization.

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There was no word for mauve until the hue was accidentally created in the lab in 1856 by English chemist Williams Perkin as he attempted to synthesize quinine as a cure for malaria. The word orange did not exist in Europe until the fruit appeared as an import from the South China Seas. Is there a color we don’t know yet? Or should I say, read yet? Something not from our visible electromagnetic spectrum, something that might come from another galaxy, a chemist’s test tube or from our own earth’s uncharted deep seas? Or perhaps from even from our literary imagination.

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Oh, how to decipher all this colorful nomenclature! Maybe there’s a deeper meaning, a code to be cracked. Could Don Brown, the Free Masons or even Al Qaida be sending us cryptic messages through our fan decks? And maybe, just maybe, if you say all the names backwards, really, really fast, it makes the colorful sound of “Paul is dead?”

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The other day I saw a car named Chevy Cobalt that was red and another named Toyota Sienna that was blue. Now that is just not right!

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All of this talk about color naming has left me dazed and confused …hey…why do you think they call it taupe?

Sources:
“Draining the Language Out of Color” by Philip E. Ross, Scientific American, April 2002
Color – Messages and Meanings by Leatrice Eiseman
Bright Earth by Philip Ball
Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World by Simon Garfield

I'm "Boho Folk Retro Chic" What are you?

Today's post comes from Cherie Detwiler. We used to meet up monthly in the DC/Baltimore area for inspirational color field-trips. Sometimes it was a museum, special exhibit, or green resource store; other times, a cool restaurant. She moved to Los Angeles the very same time I moved to the Bay Area, and I miss our get-togethers. Okay, the mike is all yours, Cherie!

Since I’m a guest writer on Rachel’s color design blog, I figure the topic I choose will also tell you about myself and my style, yet open the door for all of you to look into the archives for color and design inspiration. My love for music and color is equal. So, why not merge the two and get inspired? The select three album covers are from singers/songwriters that hit my note and their album covers hit my style!

I'm "Boho Folk Retro Chic" What are you?
or Finding Color Design Inspiration in Classic Vinyl Album Covers
by Cherie Detwiler

Carole King/Tapestry
“Live in the colour of your dreams” - Carole King

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Carole King can jam on the piano while feeling at home in her bohemian setting from her Tapestry album. I love the translucent flowing curtains, rustic wood elements and the soft patterns on this album cover.

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This comfy bedroom has sunlight coming in that catches the saturated reddish hot pink tones that rest on a deep earthy backdrop. It pulls me in and I want to jump on the bed and read a great book from my tall pile of options.

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The workspace is where the imagination comes alive. Fill the room with inspiring pieces.There is a lot going on in this room yet the colors are soft and the transition smooth.The soft greyed down greenish blue walls, the earthy golds and the punch of rustic red. Write music, hum tunes or just play them in this space.

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This shabby “bohemian” chic room invites me in to daydream, from where all great ideas are born. Several framed eclectic pictures hang over top the daybed, typical of bohemian design. What I like is the shabby chic whites and pale wood tones moving into these soft yet bright pops of pink and yellow variations.

Bob Dylan / Bringing It All Back Home
“Whatever colors you have in your mind I'll show them to you
and you'll see them shine,” - Bob Dylan

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Good ole Bob, he “just keeps on keep’n on” and is a simple guy in a big scene. How about rock-n-roll Victorian style? Oh yea, I love the elements of a cool chaise by an ornate fireplace. This is where the guitar should be practiced with a glass of wine in this cozy ‘fallout shelter’.

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I'm not a huge fan of velvet YET, couldn't be happier to relax in this Victorian library room and feel like a rock star. This would definitely be the location of my album cover photo shoot! Sexy Victorian dressed in purple, blue, hot pink and limey yellows, I'm home.

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I really like this room holding an industrial Victorian look with its wallpaper, settee pieces and a huge steel designed wall divider. The colors in here are lively as red, deep pink and mauve tones sit in front of a rich blue wall. The green adjacent wall pops through the industrial divider adding an edgy coolness. This says to me, I’m fun and innovative. This office is truly inspirational for the creative energy field.

Elvis Costello/ The First 10 Years
“There’s a blue note in each song” – Elvis Costello

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What can I say? I love jumping around to Elvis Costello and his retro style. Give me a groovy chair and a retro-print accent wall and I’ll hang out there every morning with my coffee and newspaper. Bold colors separated by some white space – oh yea, I’m awake. Let’s go Costello!

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There it is, my groovy chair in lime green. A sophisticated retro look for the hard-working professional exposing clean lines, contrasting colors from black to lime green and some added warmth in the amber tones. I guess it's time to grow up yet it doesn't stop us from rocking out now and again.

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Le Retro? Awaiting my rocker friends to pick me up for a concert while primping in this way cool room. Sharp colors of purple, yellow and blue that say, “It’s time to live a little.”

These three singer/songwriters and their vinyl album covers really sum up my musical and design preference: I call it, "Bohemian Folk Retro Chic". Yup, that’s me!

I suggest you go on an adventure. Go to the place where old vinyls lay there waiting to be found and explore your musical and design style. So, which classic vinyl album covers reflects -you-?