Monday's Method

In today's Monday's Method, Lisa, who writes the lovely blog Destination Seaborn, writes in with a question about paint color and wood trim. The beautiful picture above is from Lisa's blog. Sigh ~ I wish I was there..... sorry for the digression :) Here we go...

Dear Paula Grace,

I'm having trouble deciding on a paint color that that will go with my wood trim.

About our room, it's currently a collection of leftover furniture and a play room. I plan on eventually scrapping everything except the piano. Here's a list of photo's that I've included in this message:

Sofa: this is the sofa we'd like to purchase for the LR...please ignore the pillows.

Swatches:
1)Fabric that I would like to use in the room as accent pillows.
2)Tile that I would like to use around the fireplace
3)Paint swatch Pittsburgh Paint Delicate White 518-1. Supposed to be a "pure white".
4)Drop cloth to use as affordable curtains?

We're thinking about changing the white plantation blinds to wood blinds to blend in with the trim?

I favor light colored interiors with dark wood (i.e. British Colonial Style). I'm realistic that I live in central Ohio and have two pre-schoolers:)

Thank you,

Lisa

Here are pictures of the room before they did some work (BTW ~ what a cutie)...
After a bit of work ~ refinished floors, border removed....
Wonderful job on the floors Lisa! The woodwork is in excellent condition!

A couple things before we move on to the paint. The first thing I notice is the ceiling line. This room has wonderful bones; it needs a bit of finishing work...
Crown molding. The room has such lovely molding everywhere except there. It does not need to match the rest of the woodwork in color, just in style. It can be inexpensive molding painted. This will be the creme de la creme in finishing architectural touches.

I agree with you that the white blinds need to be changed out. You mentioned wood blinds to match the trim. You are on the right track. My preference would be to use woven wood shades. They are a bit more of a current look and you could also match them to your trim.
In another email you also mentioned loving natural fabrics and here mentioned considering using a drop cloth for inexpensive drapes. I think that is fine. You also may be able to find inexpensive linen fabric online that may suit your needs. If you do stationary panels for aesthetics versus function (the wovens are the functional piece here) then you won't need much fabric to complete the job. I found this linen at Amazon for $12.98 a yard.
Moving on to paint. I really like the selection you have made thus far with your tile, fabrics, and sofa. It is wonderful that you have selected these before your paint color. Paint color is best chosen when it directly relates to what is or will be in the room. Many try to select their paint colors prior to fabric or art selection. Then people are trying to find things that 'match' the paint. Paint colors are infinate ~ the perfect color can be created for one's palette. Fabric and art are not. Yes, there is a lot to choose from but selecting at least fabrics first will be make it easier to coordinate the paint color ~ and may in fact inform the entire palette.

With that said, I think the paint color 'pure white' in your picture is too white. My concern it that the contrast with the wood trim will be too great and it may make some of your fabric colors look dingy ~ we don't want that! I am working from my monitor so the colors may vary. I think a cool color picking up on the blue-green in your swatches would be nice. I also think a white with some gray in it would be lovely. The cool hues will be balanced by your woodwork, and the golden hues in your sofa fabric and tile. Lets look at them all together... (here's my mosaic for Mosaic Monday)...




These are Benjamin Moore colors ~ Colony Green (694) and Gray Mist (962). You said you love light colors with dark wood. Both of these fit that description. You may also use Ben Moore's Natura line (this paint has zero VOCs and is practically odorless ~ good for you and your family and good for the environment). But please, please, please do not select your paint color from little swatches. Please email me your address and I will order several large swatches of these paint colors for you ~ if you'd like. Place them all around the room and observe them for several days at all hours so it may be seen in different lights. With this observation time, you'll be able to make a more informed choice as the appearance of paint color varies in different lights. Or simply buy a small sample and paint white boards and do the same exercise. The white boards or large swatches do away with painting samples right on the walls and then having to live with your 'samples' until fully painted. A caveat ~ I have seen folks place several sample colors right next to each other on the wall. This sets people up for indecisiveness as the colors contaminate each other. You want a pure sample ~ meaning try one color for a few days then change it out for another you are considering. This is where the large swatches or white boards really do their job. What ever paint color you choose for the walls, remember to mix 20% of it into ceiling white for the fifth wall in the room. This mixture will guarantee the ceiling relates to the wall color. I do this all the time unless I am painting the ceiling a different color than the walls.

Good luck Lisa! I hope this helps.

If you would like a Monday's Method of your own, just email your question with some pictures to me at paula@paulagracedesigns.com. Please place Monday's Method in the subject line.

Now I am hoping you can help me with a bit of housekeeping. I have two questions I'd like YOUR help with. I have seen Followers posted on many blogs and many that do not have them. I don't have a Followers section in my side bar. I see that Followers may sign in to the blog if needed. Is that the benefit? I want to be user friendly. Please let me know if you think I should have Followers in my side bar and let me know why.


poll by twiigs.com

Second is that I have been enjoying wonderful parties on many great blogs ~ for example Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday, Little Red House Mosaic Monday, Smiling Sally Blue Monday..... I love to entertain and I pledged to do more in a comment I left last year. Well, here's my chance. I have been thinking of hosting a blog party on Tuesday. I would call it Timeless Tuesday. The theme would be timeless classics (rooms, furniture, clothes, recipes, etc.) or trends that you would like to see become timeless. What do you think? Would you join the party?



poll by twiigs.com

Now that you've completed the question on parties... check out these wonderful parties that I have joined ~ Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday, Little Red House Mosaic Monday, Smiling Sally Blue Monday, Cottage Instincts Make it for Monday, A Soft Place to Land' DIY Tuesday, and Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special!

Enjoy!

Fun Friday ~ New Year Goals

I have been reading so many blogs where folks list their New Year goals and /or resolutions. I have a few too.....

1) Start yoga

2) Teach a class on the Principles and Elements of Interior Design

3) Volunteer and help others more (Monday's Method is part of this goal)

4) Expand the business

I have also decided not to drive myself crazy with trying to accomplishment them in 8.5 seconds. Vicente Wolf recommended this great book on his blog...


I read it ~ I'm now re-reading it. It is a very positive book about making change happen in one's life. It's a good read for a new year!

Lastly, I'll leave you with two songs pertinent to our 2010 quest ~ Jordin Sparks and Miley Cyrus (my daughter is a huge Miley Cyrus fan so I have listened to her CD over and over ~ The Climb has stuck with me).





What are your 2010 goals??!

Enjoy your weekend!

Eye Catching ~

I was perusing Houzz when these designs caught my eye..... They are the work of Bockman Forbes + Glasgow, Architecture + Design.

I really love this bathroom. I adore neutral colors ~ always have. I designed my teenage bedroom with many of these same colors. I have always found them soothing, This bath caught my eye first for the hues and then because of the tub ~ I love how it would hug me during a long soak.

This one is quite extraordinary. The red pop and connection between the zones is so well done to me... and that chandelier is breathtaking.

I'd say these folks have a great eye for focal points in their rooms. What do you think?

Krisitn Drohan ~

I have written about Kristin Drohan previously. She is a dear friend of mine but that's not why I write about her. You see Kristin is an up and coming star. She is an extraordinary interior and product designer. I'm sure she will be gracing the cover of Traditional Home or Elle Decor in the near future.

Kristin recently launched her furniture line. It can be seen in its entirety at Decorati. You can also see her portfolio. It's lovely. Let's look at some of her pieces and interior designs.

When designing furniture for her clients and developing her line, she took great care to ensure the highest quality, timeless beauty, and that it be eco-friendly.


Kristin is Green Accredited Professional with the Sustainable Furnishings Council ~ one of the first 100 professionals to be so.


She has studied at the Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Tres chic!


I adore her Madison Sectional ~ I have it in my home.


Her beds are focal dream boats for any master suite.


Functional splendor with her storage bench. I have used it as a bench and as an ottoman.


I love the graceful fluidity of the arms on this chair.
Here is the daybed that sparked the genesis of Kristin's furniture line. Stunning don't you think?!


I'll leave you with one of her bath designs... just add a martini and I'd be in heaven!

Monday's Method

Today I am starting a new series ~ Monday's Method.

A while back, I asked my readers what they would like to see or learn about on my blog. Some folks asked for design advice. Great! Love to do it. This is a marriage made in heaven to me. First of all, I love to design and I love to help ~ some of you know I already do an advice column. Second, I am a huge fan of Susan's Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday. If you have never attended Susan's party, you are missing a wonderful event. Susan invites people to link their Before & After posts. So many ideas are there for all to see and be inspired by!

My Monday's Method will differ from Susan's but relate. My concept is for those of you that have a design question, just drop me a note at paula@paulagracedesigns.com. Be as specific as you can and send photos. I'll offer a design solution for you! It may be the first step to your metamorphosis. If you implement the solution, you'll have a follow up post to link with Susan's party! How fun is that?!!

For the first Monday Method, I'm answering the design question of a lovely gal who also writes a fabulous blog, Karen at Strictly Simple Style. Karen writes about her defined scale problem:

Hi Paula,

I've attached a few pictures of the fireplace area of my great room. The fireplace is 62 inches (The mantle is 69 inches). The open areas on either side of the fireplace are 64 inches each. I would have to dig out the blueprints for an exact floor to ceiling measurement, but they are approximately 16 feet high.

As I mentioned in my comment on your blog, the horrible old television set will be going. I'd love to hide the new set in some type of built-in unit. The other issue is the window treatments. They were custom made just two years ago and I'd like to keep them, but the panel near the fireplace wall could interfere with a wall-to-wall unit. Can you see why I need help?!

Thanks for taking a look Paula. I look forward to any suggestions you might have.

Karen

Some pictures of her dilemma.....
I see what you mean. This is a question I get asked a lot actually because many of the homes around my parts have these soaring ceilings. They are both awesome and challenging. You mentioned built-ins but were concerned about them interfering with your lovely drape panels. You could do built-ins but just not wall to wall. Another option is to embrace and control the expanse at the same time. How?

I love paying homage to architecture such as this with a floor to ceiling application. The soaring vertical line will give one the feeling of freedom ~ reaching new heights. Plus it may be enjoyed by both floors, main and upper levels. The best way to show you is with an elevation...
Here I have remove the existing mantel (carefully so I may donate it) and replaced it with a floor to ceiling application of slate tile. I found these samples at Mosaic Source...


Prairie Falling Water, Prairie Octagon

Desert Gold Falling Water, Desert Gold Octagon

Slate is beautiful and familiar thus almost universally loved. Great appearance for the here and now, wonderful for resale. I adore these neutral hues in either of these samples (the upper being a bit warmer than the bottom palette). I think the hexagon is a bit more unusual so I am drawn to that one. Plus I like the metallic inlays.

The television can be mounted just above a simple mantel so a separate cabinet won't be needed. Since this is in a public room in your home, I would suggest you conceal the television while not in use. It is simple now-a-days with a mirror or art ~ there are many options. I found these examples at Home Entertainment...


The gorgeous slate and television could be flanked symmetrically with larger scale cabinets with a traditional style and interesting details such as the French Window Cupboard from Sarreid, Ltd. (I love Sarreid for large scale pieces)...
The symmetry along with the horizontal line provided by the tops of the cabinets will contribute a more formal appearance and secure feeling ~ balancing the expanse of the slate. Beautiful, tall vases or other accessories may be placed atop the cabinets for added height and interest.

This design with enable you to keep your beautiful window treatments, provide display and storage cabinets, and highlight the architecture with an eco-friendly slate tile that will be very easy on the eyes.

Thank you Karen for the suggestion and submitting a great question! I hope this helps.

There is always several ways to resolve a dilemma. Any other ideas for Karen?

Also, if you have things you would like for me to cover other than advice, just let me know!

Just read Cottage Instincts blog ~ lovely ~ I'm joining that party too!

There are so many great parties out there! The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday is wonderful!

Found another lovely blog ~ the photography is amazing and the music beautiful. Little Red House ~ I joined Mary's Mosaic Monday party. Please take a look! You'll be glad you did.

Idols Revisited

Here I am again thinking about Adam and Kris. I say again because I posted about them before. I spoke about wanting to see Adam in a Broadway show ~ I think I saw that on the American Music Awards. And listening to Kris most other times. I still feel that way.




I first heard Kris' song above on a pop music channel. I didn't know it was Kris. I found myself liking the beat. Then I started listening to the words. Positive, focused on living life, not being judgemental..... Great song ~ great message!




Adam's song is quite good too ~ directly to the point ~ "I'm here for your entertainment." Man, is he ever!

You see there is room for many ideas and feelings in this world ~ profound, informative, and playful ~ I wouldn't have it any other way.

Enjoy all that life has to offer!