Category Archives: Color palettes

The Best Paint Colors for Bedrooms and Bathrooms

blue green stairwell hallway
Not surprising that Benjamin Moore chose Breath of Fresh Air (806) as its color of the year in 2014. Close to a sky blue on a sunny day, the color is an up lifting light blue, pale but not quite pastel, calm and reassuring. It’s one of the best paint colors for bedrooms and bathrooms. One can’t help but feel a sense of relaxation settle in around it. Painting with blue and green works well because both are soothing and refreshing colors. Blue is associated with trust while green, with its tie to nature, relates to the essence of life. Together they remind us of cool water and the elements.… Continue reading...

Choosing Exterior House Colors

house colors in a dry localeArid mountain home
Shakkei ~ Borrowed Scenery As an exterior house paint color specialist a knowledge of landscape design and an understanding of the affect of landscaping on a home’s curb appeal is a bonus. When studying Landscape Design at the New York Botanical Garden, one very important concept taught was the Japanese idea of Shakkei or borrowed scenery. This meant that as you were designing the garden and considering its elements, you needed to take into account the existing landscape which was part of your immediate view shed. If, as you stood and looked at your plot, a distant mountain, a nearby pond or a stand of tall grasses in the your neighbors yard were visible then they, in effect, became part of the garden you were designing.… Continue reading...

A Shutter Story. House Shutter Colors.

Homes with green shutters
One of the most appealing details on a home, shutters work with so many architectural styles . They were first used in ancient Greece to provide light control, ventilation and protection in that scorching environment. Eventually, the concept of shutters spread throughout the Mediterranean, and the form began to change. Soon movable louver types were born to allow varying amounts of light and air into a room and provide privacy when needed. With the louvers pointed in the downward direction, the shutters also shed rainwater. Solid varieties provided more insulation and were able to prevent insects from entering the home. As the Spanish started colonizing in the Americas, they brought shutters to the New World.… Continue reading...

A Caribbean palette

tropical fronds
I escaped. One week away from the brutal cold temperatures and the winter wonderland I profess to love. (But I do!!) And the best part of it was immersing myself in the warm sea and the Caribbean color palette. The colors of the tropics are emblematic of the blue green seas of the Caribbean we all love. If you’re going for a Caribbean color palette in your interior it will look out of place if you don’t live in a tropical climate. Bold saturated colors indoors in the Northeast or Mid-West just don’t make sense if you want your interiors to fit into their environment well.… Continue reading...

Colorful Barn Exteriors

Red BransIconic Red Barns
Living in the country it’s impossible to ignore the variety of colorful barn exteriors around. But I’m often zipping by at speeds way too fast to stop and take a photo. Who doesn’t love the iconic red barn with its endless variations of that red hue. The origin story for that comes from many angles. It’s hard to know which is the true cause. In the Great Plains and Mid West Scandinavian immigrants with a history of painting “Falun Red” buildings back in Sweden brought this tradition with them. In the earlier days of US history it was discovered that iron oxide mixed with Linseed oil created a sealant for the barn exterior that helped preserved it.… Continue reading...