Can you tell which colors belong to whom by the suggestive paint names?
Desperate Housewives
February 12th, 2010ABC’s DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
February 12th, 2010
Color Forcasting
February 4th, 2010Every wonder how designers stay on top of the color trends? See the process the Color Marketing Group Uses to Decide What’s Hot In 2010.
Words to Design By
February 3rd, 2010Check out Darryl Carters book “The New Traditional” . It comes highly reccommended by sonu from Living in color with Sonu
Darryl Carter’s new book, The New Traditional, offers more than just a collection of photographs that exemplifies his signature style of employing textures and every tint and shade of white possible in a balanced way. It is also brimming with Darryl’s perspective on design and life. It could have easily been named ‘Words to Design By.” The book is a perspective from Darryl, who is a master at reinventing space and making connections between antiques and modern design as if they were created to live beside one another in a subtle, yet striking contrast.
Rejuvenated Interest in Toile Wallpaper
February 2nd, 2010
Searching for a fresh wallpaper idea? Try an old one: Toile. Dating back to the late 17th century, French toile patterns—typically one- or two-color fine-line illustrations or etchings of romanticized landscapes and lyrical pastoral scenes—once served as record for historical events and mythological stories. They grace the walls of historic estates throughout Europe and the U.S. Over the years, toile has remained fashionable among those seeking an antique or country look, and has been a favorite of interior designers. Today, toile has become increasingly popular as more consumers are turned on to its benefits and ease-of-use. Wallpaper manufacturers are further enhancing the trend by offering more color options and styles that appeal to a variety of tastes and work in newer as well as older homes.
For example, “Toile Resource,” a collection from Thibaut, offers a traditional color palette including basics like blue on white and red on cream, but also inspires consumers with fun combinations like raspberry and ivory on French blue, and crisp green on yellow. Some designs have interesting backgrounds that are illustrated to resemble cloth, linen, and other fabrics, and many designs incorporate neutrals and earthy colors like sage and olive green, charcoal, bronze, wheat, dark gold, and burgundy, which coordinate with popular cabinetry, flooring, and countertop materials found in newer homes. Fabrics accompany the designs in this collection and can be used for window treatments, table linens, pillows, slipcovers, and bedspreads.
Color, Moods and Trends in Wallpaper
February 1st, 2010
Are you looking to redecorate your home? Maybe create a cozier feel within a special room? Color is a simple way to add a jolt of personality to any space. Color is also a wonderful way to create a feeling or mood whether you seek a sense of sunny optimism with yellow or quiet serenity with blue. Here the design experts from Thibaut share the latest color trend information that will help you add special appeal to any area in your home.
Lori Reagle, Art Director at Thibaut, says three colors are making a major statement. The first is blue. No matter what shade or tone, blue is big. In the company’s latest collection, “Repertoire,” patterns such as “Wolverhampton” feature collies and retrievers overlapping a midnight blue ground. “Herald,” a metallic fluer de lie pattern, features a slate blue ground. These darker hues create a sense of calm and comfort in larger, open rooms. On the other hand, lighter tones like the sky blue found in the “Geraniums” design or the sea glass blue of the “Jardinière” pattern from Thibaut’s “Piccadilly” collection lend a sense of openness to smaller rooms.
Reagle also sees popularity in orange and red in spicy color hues. The muted nutmeg-colored “Fortress” design in Repertoire, as well as the hot paprika-colored “Indienne Paisley” design consist of stylish color hues that are debuting not only in home décor but also on fashion runways. Recent shifts in the use of earthen materials like slate and stone make this color palette user friendly in homes today. Orange and red provide the sense of a warm embrace that welcomes all who enter a room. “Warmth emanates from this color group,” says Reagle.
While Reagle sees oranges taking a muted tone, browns are bold when tastefully paired with pewter and gold metallic accents as seen in the “Bee” or “Jackson” designs from the “Repertoire” collection. Reminiscent of the 1920’s, the brown and gold pairing adds a touch of glamour and chic elegance.
While Reagle and her team design with color trends in mind, the ease of use is what inspires them to use a particular color palette. As a rule of thumb, the Thibaut design studio focuses on colors that compliment and enhance antique and new home furnishings and styles. She also stresses the importance of sticking with classic color groups. “While some trend observers note fuchsia as the new ‘it’ color, most people don’t have any use for such a color in their homes. When experimenting with color, it is most important to stick with colors you believe to work best for you and your home,” advises Reagle.
Wallpaper, A New Look For Stripes
January 30th, 2010
In Thibaut’s “Stripe Resource II” and “Stripe Resource III” wallpaper collection there are a wide variety of looks accomplished with stripes—everything from basic ticking patterns to those with more ornate damask overlays. Many patterns are illustrated to look and feel as if they were printed on fabric grounds such as woven cotton, linen, and silk. There are also designs resembling leathery elephant hide, delicate lace, and twilled herringbone. Some have sheer washed effects while others have more mottled painterly appearances. Whether light and airy, or heavy and more masculine; narrow or wide; these stripe designs with their clean lines provide a sophisticated, tailored appearance ideal for either casual or formal settings.
Besides the interesting patterns, rich colors in the collection liven up plain, ordinary walls, and the designs coordinate readily with other fabrics and wallpapers in the home. The earthy palette includes wheat, eggplant, coral, coffee, sage, moss green, and steel blue, while a brighter palette incorporates clean green, lavender, pink, soft yellow, Chinese red, celery and chambray. Hints of metallic gold, copper and taupe can be found in many designs. These accents add a flattering touch as they pick up on faucets, light fixtures, and drapery or cabinetry hardware in the room.
Youthful Decorating With Wallpaper!
January 29th, 2010
Designing a child’s bedroom? Planning for a new arrival? When decorating a child’s bedroom parents typically seek a look that’s open, airy, playful, and allows the imagination to soar. The design should allow for growth as the child matures and takes on more sophisticated interests.
Wallpaper is a great idea for decorating a child’s room. It is durable, washable, and moreover, the colors, images, and shapes are important for a developing mind. Paint alone does not allow for such diversity.
Choosing a design that appeals to your child as well as your own sense of style can be challenging. Stacy Senior, marketing manager at Thibaut Wallcoverings suggests finding designs from adult collections that have a hint of whimsy. Pictured here, this fanciful “Canterbury” design from Thibaut’s “Far Hills” collection fits the bill. Woodland animals such as birds, rabbits, and squirrels give the design a youthful tone, while the elegant sketching technique used in the pattern makes the design suitable for children of all ages.
Sometimes toile designs can be another good choice. Some take on a youthful tone while offering a sophisticated look. The “Countryside Toile” from Thibaut’s “Toile Resource” collection, a timeless design available in colors ranging from pink to yellow to blue, is one such pattern that works well in a child’s room and also coordinates easily with other designs and colors in the home.
Decorating can be an enjoyable family project. Involve your child in the process. Remember, your tastes aren’t necessarily the same as your child’s, so you may need to make compromises along the way. You can enhance any look, however, with some additional creativity: frame your child’s artwork; suspend coordinating fabrics from the ceiling to create a canopy bed; use coordinating fabrics to make a fort out of bunk beds; tack kites made of coordinating fabric to the walls; or decorate shelves, wastepaper baskets, bulletin boards, and trunks with wallpaper pattern cut-outs. Personalize the room by cutting out fabric letters of your child’s name or initials and applying to toy chest or sewing on pillows. Try to incorporate your child’s favorite color into special accent pieces—desk chairs, pencils and pens, paperweights, throw pillows, etc.
Chic Traditional Designs
January 28th, 2010
Traditional style is chic once again! Today traditional décor is everywhere from television set designs of Will & Grace and Gilmore Girls to music videos and print advertisements. It’s also becoming more and more popular among designers and homeowners.
Once reminiscent of the stuffy rooms of your grandmother’s home, traditional décor is now back with a twist – a fun kick of color. Although the colors of today’s wallpapers are not new, they are more vibrant. The new combinations of colors are fresh and enticing. With the help of advances in printing techniques, wallpaper colors are lush. Thibaut, a wallpaper and fabric company known for traditional designs and fresh colors, offers “Great Estates.” The collections’ colors range from azure, pink, cherry red, and black to pistachio, turquoise and gold. Lori Reagle, art director at Thibaut, a wallpaper and fabric company known for traditional designs and fresh colors, believes “the colors are what baby boomers, thirty-somethings and everyone in-between find exciting.” Taking a cue from fashion, more people are moving away from the relaxed style and monotones of the 90’s to a colorful, lively, and tailored look.
Not only are the colors vibrant, but also the designs themselves are exciting. Wallpaper design houses like Thibaut are taking antique fabrics and papers, mixing up the designs and recreating them to fit today’s home décor. Thibaut’s “Marco Polo” design from its “Great Estates” collection pictured here is an example of these newly created designs. In this pattern, drawings that were once popular in the 18th century were rescaled, re-colored and rejuvenated for today’s home. “The shift now is away from the small, closely clustered designs of the past, to larger open designs that have a jolt of color. Traditional designs are a lot more daring and this has people inspired,” states Reagle.
With their bold, vibrant patterns, today’s traditional designs can also add an instant “shot of style” to the home. They are easy to use, and can create a polished look. Obtaining a chic traditional look can be as simple as adding a bold wallpaper or fabric to a dining room, front hallway, or powder room. To keep the look stylish, remember to include furnishings with clean lines and focus on a simple color pairing to maintain a focal point.
Wallpaper! Wallpaper! Wallpaper!
January 27th, 2010Why Wallpaper?
With so many design options in the world of home decorating today, why use wallpaper? Besides the obvious beauty that wallpaper brings to a home, the practicality of its durability and cleanability is a definite bonus in adorning your walls. Wallpaper is the single most effective way to change a room’s decor. By simply applying paper to a wall, elegant design is instantly present in your home to enrich your living quarters and your everyday experience. While wallpaper has astonishing historical relevance, it is also completely en vogue for today’s home fashions. Artistic designs and contemporary color palettes will enhance your home’s interior and ultimately contribute to the value of your home.
The opportunity to add depth, complex textures, intricate patterns, and varied colors is easily achieved when you choose to use wallpaper. Modern technology has integrated sophisticated printing techniques into today’s wallpaper, providing everyone with the chance to incorporate stunning art into their homes. The colors and patterns of wallpaper can subliminally affect your emotional well-being and attitude, adding a boost of energy, serenity, or cheer to your daily living.
Much attention has been turned to our children’s’ rooms within the world of interior design. Pattern is very important in decorating for children because of the repetition within a design. This repetition, or rhythm, of a pattern promotes problem solving and gives the child a sense of stability. Many visual learning aids have been combined into the designs of Seabrook’s recent children’s’ lines. Designs such as large alphabet blocks, vivid animals, full-size trees, jungles, beaches, and even a construction site are all depicted along with so much more to ignite a child’s imagination and understanding of the world in which we live. Yet another reason to use wallpaper in a child’s room is the inherent durability and ease of cleaning – always welcome where kids are concerned!
