FARROW & BALL'S NEW PAINT COLORS

I LOVE Farrow & Ball paint. I am so picky about paint colors. They make all the difference in a room. (I think I say that about almost everything, don't I?)

I get really excited when new colors from F&B and Benjamin Moore are released and this latest release from F&B did not disappoint. In fact, it was downright impressive.

Let's start with the dark and dramatic colors:

Okay, I LOVE Downpipe, so a slightly "bluer version" is going to be my new go-to navy blue color. I think it might even beat out my fav Ben Moore color, Hale Navy, that I used in this powder bathroom.

Wow. Such a pretty dark warm gray/putty color. This color would be amazing in an office, or a formal dining room, especially on wainscoted walls. I would love this as an exterior color as well. A pretty shingled home with white trim. Love!

I don't use color like this often, but I think this bright happy pink would be amazing in a girl's room (obviously). I wouldn't personally use it for any other room, although it would work for a formal living, family room, or dressing room.

And now for the light neutrals:

If you know me at all, you know that I am always on the look-out for the perfect white paint colors, and I know I'll be adding this one to the list. "The colour of fossils" describes this perfectly. What a great wall/trim color. Not too bright, not too dull.

Say no to beige and yes to Purbeck! This muddy perfection of a color is great for when a room calls for a beige-ish color but you don't want a brown with yellow in it. This is a cool brownish tone and I LOVE it. Super classy and architectural.

According to my monitor, this color doesn't look gray at all, but I'll take their word for it. I still love the color. Another great "white-ish" color for your walls or trim. I need to get a sample of this, but I will be adding it to my arsenal of fantastic neutrals.

RULE OF THUMB WHEN PICKING PAINT COLORS: Paint either a barely color/neutral or a saturated/dark color. 

I think paints tend to get tacky, somewhat distracting and unfortunately cheesy when they are in the mid-tones. Take blue for example. A barely blue - beautiful. Dark/saturated blue - dramatic and moody. Medium-tone blue - cheesy baby boy, bright and sometimes tacky turquoise. Get it?

(Now that's just a rule-of-thumb for painting beginners, and that's how I like to decorate. I'm not completely against medium tone paint colors, but I very rarely use them because they are hard to get just right.)

While we are at it, what are your "rules of thumb" for paint colors? And what are your favorite F&B paint colors?

DESIGN DILEMMA

We've had a great time working with readers on their Design Dilemma questions. Fabulous Angie needed some direction on how to update her living room. Her home is beautiful, and she has great taste as you can see! One question she had was whether to add grasscloth to the back of her bookshelves. We love using grasscloth but instead in this case recommended a few paint colors. Painting the backs of bookshelves gives similar impact for much less money and less effort, and you can change the color easily as your decor or tastes change. Looks great Angie, thanks for sharing your pics with us. If you have a Design Dilemma and need a little help click on the tab at the top of our page. For $10 per question we can help!

BEFORE - what a pretty before shot

AFTER - Love the interest and depth the dark blue-gray adds to the space. Great job Angie!

 Have a great week everyone!

A VINTAGE FLUSHMOUNT + NEW FAV PAINT

I was at my favorite antique store in SLC (Thomson & Burrows for you locals) and saw this beautiful art-decoish flush mount made of wood and painted a beautiful gold color. I had to have it and whomever buys the N Street home is one lucky winner of this light because Jamie and I really want it for ourselves.

This light will be in the dining room of N Street in the coffered ceiling, somewhat like this photo from the House Beautiful kitchen of the year. (the blue color on this ceiling is a little too Las Vegas for me)

You get the idea. It's going to look really nice.

And we just finished painting N Street. I chose Benjamin Moore's Halo (one of the OC colors) and everyone loves it. It's a little green, and a little tan. It's a soothing color that is great for homes looking for a nice warm neutral. I'm going to add this to my list of favorites (with Revere Pewter, Intense White, Gray Owl, and 50 shades of white, of course).

And while we are talking paint colors. Have you checked out my BFF Darryl Carter's paint line with Benjamin Moore? It's AMAZING! I can't wait to use one of his colors on my next project.

I'm loving his Sheridan Gray.

And Grantham Blue

If you have a question about paint color and what to paint your room, don't hesitate to contact us! We love paint consultations!

WHAT'S UP - 10.1.12

This post was meant for Friday but that's the kind of week I've been having - I'm behind on everything! Sometimes I feel a little burned out and I don't want anything to do with work when I'm not working. But after my weekend of no blogs, design magazines, work, and (almost) no Pinterest I am excited to be back.

+ Last week Jamie and I worked on the N Street project quite a bit. We narrowed down our exterior paint colors for this historical home to two colors...

Benjamin Moore's Amherst Gray 

OR

Benjamin Moore Whale Gray

Exterior paint colors are tricky because when you are dealing with paint on this large of scale it is hard to imagine the paint on the whole house. It's way easier to work off of pictures so you can see what it looks like on a grand scale. I'll be picking up samples of the paint today and trying it on the house. ALWAYS paint samples!! That is a very expensive lesson I have definitely learned!

+ I've been looking for really cool black + white tile patterns for a client who is redoing their master bathroom. We have been inspired by these photos...

We are loving this tile from Ann Sacks (but don't love the price :)

This tile from Ann Sacks is also very fabulous.

This bathroom is so amazing and expensive (marble slabs on the walls!!) I love the floor!

+ Jamie has been searching for another client who is looking for rugs. I'm the biggest fan of Madeline Weinrib but she also found some other fantastic rugs that would look amazing in her home.

Madeline Weinrib

But I also love these beauties as well!

I could do a very long (Tolstoy long) blog post on rugs. But I would love to hear from you if you have a rug you recently bought and love. Especially if you got a great deal on it and it looks like you paid a lot more :) 

+  And it's this little girl's birthday in one week and I'm trying to throw together a game plan for her birthday party. Turning 4 is a big deal! 

You have to see this kitchen we bought for her birthday. I wanted the Pottery Barn one, but it wasn't a $700 want. I mostly wanted the PB one because it came in white. All of the other kitchens are so gender specific and we are hoping to one day have a boy and I don't want him to feel like he lives in a sea of pink. So, when I found this KidKraft all-wood turquoise kitchen it was an instant buy. 

Someone is going to have a very happy birthday!

Hope you all had a fantastic week.
And that's what's up!

DOES PAINTING A ROOM WHITE FEEL LIKE A WASTE OF MONEY?

I have a new client who needed some help with paint colors for her home. She wanted a more updated, modern look and needed paint to help her achieve that look. For some rooms in her home the only color I could recommend was a shade of white. What?! White? She thought that seemed like a waste of money to have the painter just paint it white. Have you ever felt that way? Does it feel too boring? Not enough color?

This isn't the case for all homes, or all rooms, but in many cases a white room is classy, modern, traditional - whatever you want it to be because it is a blank canvas for your furnishings + artwork to take over and do all the work. Add your color with your accessories, artwork, fabric. That's why I LOVE white rooms! White also feels happy, fresh, clean. All good things.

Check out some of my favorite white rooms...

 

P.S. I am finally having a professional photo shoot of my house tomorrow! I can't wait to post the pictures!

THE BEST BLOG POST OF 2012

I stumbled upon the BEST blog post yesterday that I had to share. Here is a hint: 1) it involves this beautiful actor...

2) and gray paint colors...

And it's by interior decorator and HGTV star, Emily Henderson. CHECK IT OUT!

Let me know what you thought about the post.

This is why I loved it: I am always looking for the perfect gray paint and I agree/love her choices. Oh, and any excuse to look at Ryan Gosling is great.