Devine Color's Blog

Ceiling, ceiling on top...who is the fairest?

My dear friend Michelle De Courcy (yes, the Michelle who designs beautiful clothing for stars and clients) recently painted her fireplace Devine Buffalo at the suggestion of her besty friend, Melanie Sessions (yes, that Melanie who's home was voted "people's fave" at the 2011 Portland's Street of Dreams.). Melanie knew it was the perfect color to give the fireplace the attention it needed. But then, we all need attention. Perfect as the room is, with a sunken living space, seating arrangement that hosts lots of colorful conversations and lots of colorful art (I should have taking a picture of her kitchen: white marble, white cabinets, 2kill4), I took the liberty to take it one step further and imagine color on the ceiling. Not just a light shade to keep things light but a rich color to give the room the attention it's begging for, so I went for it. After all it's only a suggestion, and as they say, "it's only paint."  But Devine colors are so much more than only paint...

I'm Peachy Keen, Thanks For Asking!

 

My husband loves the color "peach". He fondly remembers it being the color du jour at the Four Seasons Hotels for many years. I was not surprised to still find the color peach is alive and well at the Four Seasons, and continues to survive through renovations and trends. Devine has the kind of peach colors that transcend time and make your mouth water with rich flavor.

Red, Wise, and Blue

A house of blues of a different kind: Some will say that blues are aloof, and cold but blues can be warm, and hospitable. Blue walls can allow you sprinkle many colors together, like confetti, to liven up a space. Whether it's with a mix of current trend colors (in pillows), or old traditionals (see rug), "having the blues" can be a reason to party while leaving the pity out.

Colors below are Devine Truffle on the cabinets, Devine Saffron on the soffit, and Devine Pool on the walls.

 

 

 

On A Gray Scale...

When you use deeper gray on walls, such as Devine Humidor, Devine Buffalo, or Paseo it tips the scales of color with balance. Stack as many colors as you want: a colorful sofa in the latest, greatest trend color (Tangerine Tango 2012 anyone?), on top of a navaho mauve/red/green print, add gold frames, colorful art, Turqouise glazed lamps, a casual pine table, a chocolate and white printed pillow...and voila' who counting how many colors ar in the room, but me? This looks like a fantastic room waiting to host great conversations.

Add yellow and reds

Love the look of this room. I have to say that adding reds like Devine Paprika, Cayenne, or Lobster (our version Tangerine Tango Trend for 2012) and mango yellows found in our Natural Blondes Collection would make the room come alive for spring!

 

How do you mend a broken HUE?

 

I heard the news today, oh boy...Ashton Kutcher (33)  and Demi Moore (49)  are over. I met them in 2004, at a quaint restaurant. They seemed madly in love. This is me sitting with Ashton. That is Demi's red Bull. Sure, their obvious age difference may have been a factor, but regardless of their particular challenges we all know that people don’t change, but they do change their minds. We can get excited, bored, relaxed, or unreasonable about a color—just like we do with the people we are in relationships with. While human relationships are more complicated than color ones, some of the same rules still apply:

1. Don’t like a color because your mother likes it, or it's what is in style. Understanding why we love and feel good around certain hues makes our living spaces look like they are meant to be, silencing critics.
2. Don’t strive for a perfect match. Color relationships that allow for compliment, as well as contrast, end up making what we love more exciting and interesting through out the years.
3. Show your true colors. If you are not upfront with the colors you love, sooner or later you will feel an anxious-like tension induced by subtle beiges, covert taupes, and fearful whites that stiffle you and make it impossible to know how you ended up living as someone else.

Call it a color counseling tool, our Trend-Proof Collection, along with our Road Map Process , helps you figure out what HUE need for you (and your walls) to live happy ever after to allow for change and growth in your decor style. I wish I had something as fantastically easy to help Demi and Ashton.

What if no one loves it but you?

My daughter (who goes to Oregon, Go DUCKS!) played a prank on me the other day. She sent me a picture of her new short hair doo with a fun green (U of O color) strand, and pretended she had cut her hair. She had actually pinned long hair strands under with bobby pins. She went on and on how everyone hated it and wanted to know if I liked it.  I like her with longer hair. But I know that more than honesty daughters want their mother’s approval, so it was tricky. I said to her, ”what if the whole world hates it but you? The only thing that matters is that you love it. If you love it, you will make it beautiful.”

I have a life philosophy: when we love something or someone, we care for it, protect it, live with it confidently.

When we love a color, and choose that color, it is hard to know what to do when it goes out of style because color trends in the market change, making it hard for the color to look fresh and current. That is where Devine’s trend-proof perspective comes in. i believe personal choice is a good thing as long as you LOVE it!

This client plans to sell her home and knows that her carpet and kitchen countertop color is dated. Yet, you can see that that color, along with several others in different variations in her art, fabrics, and accessories. This means that these colors are beloved colors and they belong together.

  

Once she went through the Devine Color process she was able to visually see not only the colors she loved, but also how they continued to be a personal choice in everything she owned. There are several things I wanted to accomplish: make the tile floor look fresh, make the kitchen cabinets pop, make the teal green recede and have a proper place among other colors. To enhance light, and balance the sheen of the tile floor I recommended Devine Delicate for walls and Devine Canopy, to absorb light and visually smooth out texture for the ceilings since parts of them  were popcorn.

Option A: Devine Cashew, Shade, Shimmer, Feather for walls and ceilings with a splash of Devine Pinot, Cabernet, Shiraz, Blush, and Cayenne (see a cool variation of red at the far end).

 Option B: Devine Bavarian, Cappuccino, Mist, Stone, Ash for walls and ceilings with a splash of Devine Pinot, Cabernet, Shiraz, Blush, Steamer, Moss. (see a cool variation of green at the far end).

So here is the deal: regardless if you change the carpet color or not, Devine will still deliver a trendproof look that makes you happy with what you love, so you can have a choice!

ps. there is something personal about the teal that makes you miss it once it's gone!

 

 

 

When colors look nice but nice is not what you want....

And I quote this client  “I have painted my dining room about 4 times and my living room twice – (lets just say an attempt to work with a designer that failed - I have spend a small fortune on samples and a trip with a designer and the house still feels disjointed..."

I so understand this dilemma.

These wall colors are nice. They are soft, play well; you might say they keep conversations light, but sometimes nice feels shallow, empty, and non-committal. Nice is often attributed to anything and everything that does not offend, stands out, or creates conflict. How many times have you been somewhere and commented about something not being quite right, only to be met with, "but it's nice." OK, so it is nice and unusable, nice and ill prepared, nice and boring. I get it. "Nice" covers a multitude of sins by making us feel guilty for wanting what ever it is to be more than, right for, perfect yet. In all the years working with clients, one thing I know is for sure: color can be nice, but if it does not feel right, personal, or express our inspirations and aspirations, it's not magical, it des not sing. Here is the deal: it’s not that the current colors (Devine Honey and Glass) are wrong, they are indeed, nice. But in this case, they don’t capitalize on the colorful self-expression and qualities this home has with art, fabrics, and accessories. I am not going play nice. I am going to create bold expressions of color and contrast to make this environment sing out loud, so it can be more than, right for, perfect yet. The walls need pop, snap, and sizzle so that white moldings and existing colors become even brighter. This means we have to go strong, assertive, and confident…

 

Option A: Devine Colors like Devine Cayenne, Blush, Orangutan, Café, Lion with ceiling colors like Devine Sand, Peanut, or Almond as a dining room accent will make the space fill up with warmth and color. I recommend Devine Delicate Sheen for both walls and ceilings.

Option B: Cool sophistication with Devine Almond, Breeze, Steamer, Guajira (new) Lino (new) Mocha or Ginseng on both walls and ceilings. I recommend Devine Delicate Sheen for both walls and ceilings. 

Option C: Bold statement with Devine Tide, Swell, Iguana, Mantis or Cactus on walls with Devine Birch, Butter, or Bamboo on ceilings. I recommend Devine Delicate Sheen for both walls and ceilings.

Answer me this:

If option A is not nice, it's_________________

If Option B is not nice, it's ____________________

If Option C is not nice, it's ____________________

Remeber these words next time you are painting a color!

Field tile color trumps accent tile colors...

Wanting a strong wall color in a bathroom with natural tile can be challenging. The goal is to make sure the natural colors in the tile are complimented and not overwhelmed by colors that are too colorful, or too bright. This is why when it comes to choosing a paint color, the field tile and the  accent tile must look like one. I can read your mind right now. You are saying, "but the colors in the accent pieces is what makes the tile special or more important!" It does. Accent tiles often give us a palette of colors to work from. But how we work a paint palette on walls is a different story. Most people choose very neutral, light, and soft field tile colors.  If the wall color does not have the same tonal qualities, (regardless if you choose a paint color that is dark or light) it will pull the accent and backgroud colors apart making them look separate from each other.

The purple wall color below makes it look like there are three things going on: purple-ish diamonds, a tile wall, and purple walls and ceiling.

The following Devine Colors will make a HUGE difference by making the bathroom wall color flow with the rest of the house and adding a splash of fun and beauty that makes both field and accent tiles integrate as one. Think of the wall color framing the entire tile design like a picture mat.  Picture Devine Blush, Orangutan, Mocha, Dust, Penguin, Buffalo, Rain, Humidor.

 



Also, the color in the Devine Delicate Sheen is rich, without glare, mimicking the other surfaces in the bathroom.

That’s not a ceiling; it’s an Origami wall.

It started as a remodeling job that led to a re-coloring job. Five bathrooms were torn apart, new tiles were laid,  cabinets were replaced or re-stained and a fantastic Man-Cave was built. But, when it came to the family room, adjacent to a large open kitchen, it was the wall and ceiling color that remodeled the space. In the before picture you see the fireplace, some walls and soffits accented with a traditional plum red. There is light natural wood cabinets. The rest of the walls (see left wall) were done in a taupe and the ceiling had been left off white.

 

You don’t see is the white (support) column in the kitchen that compliments a matching white column and banister in the entry.

Here is how Devine Persian and Devine Komodo transformed this great room: I always make a case that unless the ceiling is horizontally flat, anything leading up to a flat ceiling is not ceiling, but walls that fold, curve, cove, or square towards the ceiling. We rolled (actually, the painter did) Devine Persian, mixed in Devine Delicate to reflect even more light, up and over the Origami walls to the different level ceilings. Instead of the ceiling coming down because of a darker color, the room opened up  by erasing all lines. Then we put "lines" where they belonged. We accented the fireplace, banister and columns in Devine Komodo, cabinets were stained to a black, and voila’! Brand new, no?

More to come on that Man-Cave!