Monday, April 18, 2011

Color Palette: Gray and Purple bedrooms

Gray and Purple - Royal Elegance
It's no secret that my favorite color is purple. From my favorite jacket to my attention getting handbag to my choice in bedding, the color has become my personal style statement. Many people find purple hard to work with, let alone wear. Some people even actually take an extreme disliking to the hue (I guess I can forgive them). But just as with anything else in interior design, it's all about how the color is incorporated into a space that makes it more livable to the most adverse homeowners.

The color purple is both red and blue; stimulation and calm. It is most associated with spirituality, royalty and creativity and no surprise here - favored by creative types, eccentrics and young girls. Depending on the undertone, purple can uplift or have a calming effect on the mind and nerves. Pairing this daring color with gray makes it more sleek and refined. Here are some of my favorite examples of Gray and Purple in bedrooms.

Purple as the secondary color
Talk about opulence. I love this room because of it's luxurious choices in silver gray foil wallpaper and ornate bed with a purple velvet headboard. Mirrored night stands add even more glamour to this ultra feminine space.

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Here a curvaceous silver-leafed bed, matching nightstand and dresser are the main focal points of this room. Floral print wallpaper in gray and white add dimension to the walls and keep it from looking dull. The room is rounded out with purple accent pillows and a very girlie crystal chandelier. This room is fit for a princess.

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I like the room below because the designer took a relatively calm room and livened it up with punches of bold purple in the upholsted bed and area rug and with the lime green wingback chair. No doubt the splurge in the room is the velvety damask fabric in plum on this elegant bed.

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Just when you were beginning to notice a trend in my post, here is a diversion; an ultra modern gray and purple bedroom with just a few feminine touches. This room takes a darker gray and pairs it with a purple on the cooler side of the spectrum in the bedding and artwork.

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Purple as the primary color
These rooms are not for the faint of heart. The purple is wrapped around you like a warm luxurious blanket fit for royalty. Purple is the overwhelming color used in these spaces and are accented in grays of varying degrees; light and airy, silver opulence, and masculine darker tones.

I like this room because the straight lines of the furniture are balanced by the simple, yet bold graphic floral wall stencils. When a room has a lot of geometric elements such as this boxy furniture, it's always good to bring more organic elements (i.e. florals, natural woods, etc...) to keep the room from looking one dimensional.

I love the art deco inspired wallpaper on the feature wall paired with this plumy purple. The designer really committed to using purple by painting the wall of windows in purple. From the wallpaper to fabrics used on the bed and lounge chairs, everything about this room is luxurious.

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I like the eclectic mix in this space. Traditional elements such as the purple damask wallpaper and tufted headboard are paired with a sleek and modern asian inspired white lacquered side table.

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In the room below, the designer choose to cover the accent wall in a delicous grape, but calmed it down with simple white, gray and chrome accents. The striped chair rails add visual interest to the walls.

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The room below is the perfect compromise if the shared by a man and woman. Masculine elements are brought in with the geometric wallpaper, the dark wood used on the headboard and the black chest of drawers. Feminine elements are added with the crystal lamp and chandelier, the light gray bedding and the room is further softened by the silk drapes.


Okay, so this may not be an image of a bedroom, but it deserves notice because of it's bold use of purple. The wallpaper on the fireplace surround is once again very geometric, but in this case it balances out the ornate silver leafed antique mirror. I love the other touches of glitz such as the polished aluminum side table and mirrored frames on the wall. I imagine this glammed up space as the sitting area of my dream master bedroom.

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@ASIDDesigners, 4/18/11 1:13 PM

ASIDDesigners (@ASIDDesigners)
4/18/11 1:13 PM
Dwell Studio Parrot & Peacock Trays From InStyle Decor Beverly Hills VIEW & SHARE LINK: bit.ly/ParrotPeacockTrays


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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Color Palette: Gray and Yellow bedrooms

Gray and Yellow: Sophisticated Happiness
The color yellow embodies optimism, energy, and happiness. Gray is the perfect foil to tone down this admittedly cheery color. Below are some amazing examples of how well these two colors work together in bedrooms.

I personally love this yellow ulpholstered bed against the gray walls. If the walls were left white, I don't think the yellow bed would have as much of an impact, but here the gray walls provide contrast and add depth and dimension to the space. Look at how the designer kept to the warm color family by incorporating the green velvet chair.
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In this example, the designer kept the room light and airy by using paler shades of gray and silver metallics on the walls and bedding, while pops of yellow were brought in via the lamps and arm chairs. Graphic black and white pillows and rugs ground the space.
 
Yellow furniture accents
 If you want to go for a more dramatic play on the gray and yellow color palette, consider using the darker more masculine tones of gray with yellow. Here the "almost black" gray walls provide the perfect stage to allow the yellow accents to steal the show. With all the dark colors used in the space, your eye is immediately drawn to the yellow vases and flowers. Visual interest is added to the dark walls by using a patterned wallpaper with metallic accents. The same look can be achieved with stenciling (If you know of any cool stencil sites, let me know).

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Here's another light and airy room featuring the gray and yellow color palette. In this room the designer cast both gray and yellow in a supporting role adding it to the bedskirt, throw pillows, artwork, and fabric on the side chair, while white dominates the space. I love the contrast of the soft and hard surfaces; the soft upholstered headboard against the white-washed wall.


Yellow fabric accents


Thursday, April 7, 2011

What color goes best with gray?


Pantone may have picked Honeysuckle as the color for 2011, but it's the color Gray that has my rapt attention. It's the new black and can certainly lend itself to either contemporary or traditional design. But the question on most homeowners minds' is what do you pair it with?

What's so special about Gray you may ask? SensationalColor.com defines it as "the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom". It's classic and contemporary at the same time. It's restrained yet elegant, but it can also be sleek and refined. To me, Gray is a perfect neutral.

Naturally in design, lighter Grays paired with pastel colors take on feminine qualities, while darker Grays paired with darker colors bring a more masculine mood to a space. Gray, unless it's in the taupe family, gives off a cool vibe and can be used to cool down a warm palette.

In this new series, I will explore several color combinations featuring gray in a supporting role, while it's better half becomes the "scene stealer".

Below are some of the color combinations we'll explore:

Gray + Lavendar
Gray + Turquiose
Gray + Yellow
Gray + Orange
Gray + Lime
Gray + Pink
Gray + Black
Gray + White

Explosion of Color! Global Inspired Mood Board

What's a girl to do when she's on vacation sitting in a hotel room while the kids and the husband have taken over the TVs? Log on to the netbook and create a moodboard inspired by the pending nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton of course.

My inspiration for this room is a well traveled young couple that isn't afraid of experimenting with color. Sure they may be living in the palace, but that doesn't mean they have to decorate it like the Queen Mum. This room has a few modern touches such as the teal sofa with a nod to traditional by bringing in elements such as the tufted chaise and beaded chandelier.

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