Color Therapy, Part III - Deep Purple

Dear readers, I did a little Christmas shopping at Target today. I don't really celebrate Christmas, but found myself in the spirit anyway. I happily contemplated a coral colored pillow that was on sale, and thought how lovely it would look paired with a deep purple. Then I saw this purse display and was smitten. I didn't buy one of the purses, but the color was now firmly entrenched in my brain. Humans sure make beautiful things, don't they!

As you know, I'm happiest when I am contemplating color. I use thoughts of color as meditation, and my apartment is my lab. I've been thinking about doing an accent wall in my place for sometime. Just when I thought I had settled on gray, now I am thinking of a deep shade of purple.

I realized I've been remiss  about writing about Pantone's color of the year. I like to keep up with their color of the year, IMHO they nail it year after year.  So what is their color for 2018? Ultra Violet, a deep purple. It's a synchronicity, that their color for 2019 is called Living Coral.  (More about coral in a subsequent post).

What I love about Pantone's colors of the year, is that they look great together. Both of these colors would look great with one of my favorite of their colors. Their color for 2014, Radiant Orchid. (See previous post here.)

When I think of purples, I seldom think of dark shades. I tend to prefer lilac and lavender. (See previous post here.) And of course, I think of Jamie Drake's designs. No one uses these colors better. (See previous post here.)

So Ultra Violet. Use a lot or a little. Use it in place of gray or black to create a sultry, romantic environment. Use it in a chair or a pillow for a pop. Pair it with hot pink or yellow. Just remember to have fun. Here's some inspiration. Hope you enjoy!

Deep purple paired with cobalt blue and turquoise, gorgeous!

In a minimal room paired with wood, beautiful!

It's fabulous paired with gray.

As an accent wall.

How fabulous is the Togo sofa in deep purple?

Divine! I wish I had this sofa in my apartment.

I love this photo! This makes me want to paint one of my doors purple. I love the color combination of purple, coral pink and yellow. Man, I want that rug.

Hot pink pillow provides a beautiful pop against the dark purple. In my opinion every room should have a hit of hot pink!

Have you seen the color palette paintings by Designer Ebtihaj Khan? I love them! Even though he stole my idea, lol. I used to do striped paintings like this to explain the color scheme in my apartment. (See previous post here.) Even though I don't think art needs to match your home, I don't think there's anything wrong if it does. These would look great in any modern or minimal home. 

I hope you forgive my lack of links. All of these images came from Pinterest. Ya'll know how to do a Google image search anyway, right? As always if you know the designer of one of these rooms, please let me know. Please also drop me a line if you decide to use dark purple in your decor. If you send me a picture, maybe I'll feature you on this blog! Happy holidays! xo

Color Therapy, Part II

Dear readers, it is a beautiful rainy day in Ohio. I have politics on my mind, and it's difficult to stay centered. With all of the violence going on in America, it seems frivolous to write about color. But here I am, writing about color.  Perhaps we could look at these beautiful images and be reminded that humans are capable of great things. There's plenty to go around. When you vote on November 6th, don't be lured in by fear. Choose love over fear.

I use color as a meditation, and my apartment is my lab where I experiment with color. In my post below I was thinking about lighter, dustier colors for Fall. In this post I am contemplating dark colors, like purple and gray. Purple looks great with burgundy or terracotta. Gray looks great with hot pink. It's not in my budget right now, but I'd like to do a dark accent wall in my apartment. I've been wanting to turn my apartment into more of a cavelike environment. Here's some inspiration, I hope you enjoy!

So gorgeous. Good example of how any color can become a neutral.

I think this last one might be my favorite. I adore the hot pink sofa against the dark wall. And how fabulous are those pops of yellow and blue?  I'm a sucker for jewel tones. This reminds me of one of my favorite rooms by Prada (see previous post here.)

Color Therapy

Dear readers, I've been remiss in my blogging.  I debate whether I want to continue blogging, but I do enjoy it. I also have been grappling with whether I should write a political post. I just don't have the energy to do it, the Kavanaugh confirmation took the wind out of my sails. I do believe it is important to interact with our readers politically, but I also fear adding to the noise. Please be sure to vote this November, our vote has never been more important than it is now. The only thing I'd like to say at this moment regarding our current Administration is this:  whether you like President Trump or not, our country has never been more divided. A great leader brings his people together, he does not divide them with fear. If you're not sure who to believe, think about whether you're being convinced by love or fear and choose love.

Today I need to cheer myself up, so I'm going to focus on love. If you're a longtime reader of this blog you know that I love color. So today is all about color therapy. Turn away from ugliness and turn towards beauty. Humans do terrible things, but they also do great things. It never cease to amaze me the beautiful things that humans create. I believe that beauty is for all not just the privileged.

Anyhoo... I still ended up saying too many words when I didn't intend to. So let's think about color shall we? I've been thinking about doing an accent wall in my apartment for some time. I just can't decide what color to use. For Fall 2018, I dearly love the powdery colors. Salmon pink, pale blue, coral, pale pink. I also love gray and turquoise. So many beautiful colors to choose from. I love cozy textiles and soft colors juxtaposed with an industrial setting. Pillows and throws are a great way to experiment with color and add that coziness needed for cooler weather. I've said it many times, pink is not just a girly color. Pink can be used in a thoroughly modern way, as these rooms prove. No matter what colors I use in my home, pink will always have a place of prominence. Here's some inspiration, I hope you enjoy!

These are the Pantone Colors of the year for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity Blue. Still look fabulous!

This is part of the Goop lifestyle collection for CB2.  I adore that sofa. Alas, it is only in my dreams.

Love these minimal paintings.

I apologize for the lack of links.  If you know the designer of any of these gorgeous rooms, please contact me.

A tribute to my father, a successful man

My dad died July 6, 2018. I've had a hard time writing this tribute. I'm still processing. It's so surreal.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you may recall that I wrote a rather scathing piece about the abuse I suffered at my dad's hands. I've taken the post down. It's not really relevant anymore. I am still an advocate for children and ending violence, so if you'd like to read the post, email me and I'll send you a copy.

I'm not here to talk about fluffy forgiveness stuff. But, I suppose I did forgive him. I spent many years not talking to my dad, at some point I didn't feel angry anymore. Afterall, I lived with my dad for 18 years. I've been responsible for myself for 40 years.

Well meaning people have said the usual about God, like my dad's with God or God has his plan or whatever. I find these words unhelpful, insincere and utterly unconvincing. We all recognize the loss of a loved one as devastatingly painful, and we just don't have the words for an occasion like this.

What's important is the now. I believe in Now. And right now, I feel grateful that I spent spent Father's Day 2018 with my dad. I hadn't seen him in about 15 years. That day I experienced a lot of love. My dad was a different man, divorce from my mother suited him well and his "new" wife (of 40 years) doted on him. They both expressed their gratitude for each other, as we sat on their porch overlooking their beautiful yard. The love was tangible. Dad told me he was happy, and at peace. He had everything he ever wanted, but his health had been poor for sometime and he was ready to go.

Dad told me I was pretty, and that he was proud of me. I had longed to hear this my whole life. I am tempted to say better late than never. But as a believer of the Now, I think we should change a lot of our languaging. If we believe only in the Now, then everything happens right on time. His words certainly were right on time for me, as I have been facing a difficult time.  I just need to say that again.  His words came right on time.

My brother and my dad sat and talked like buddies. My brother, who suffered the loss of his long-time partner this year, commented how much he enjoyed the camaraderie with my dad. He said he had forgotten to share his adult life with my dad. And he couldn't wait to see him again.

It was a short time after that we were standing in the hospital room saying our goodbyes to my dad, as plans were being made to take him off life support machines. I am grateful that we made our peace with each other and that he died a happy man. I won't bore you with a lecture on making peace with a loved one before they pass. But suffice it to say that once your loved one is gone, they don't need your forgiveness.

My dad was a wise man. He had the ability to drop a pearl of wisdom that would change your life. And he has taught me profound lessons in his passing. 

Have you ever considered what success is? We all know the accumulation of wealth is far too narrow of a definition.  My dad taught me by example, that the measure of a successful man is whether he dies grateful, happy and loved. Against all odds, my dad was all these things. That makes him a successful man. If I were to die tomorrow, I could not say the same.

Forget the flowery concept of forgiveness, forget all the other spiritual gobbilty gook.  Are you grateful? Are you happy and surrounded by love? These are the only things that matter.

Thanks Dad for the many lessons. Sorry this tribute is so lame. I'm sure I will be writing about my dad again, as I am thinking of his words often.

George William

8/7/39 - 7/6/18

My Beautiful Desk

In a previous post, I wrote about my brother, J Segal, who is a talented designer. (See previous post here.) I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of the beautiful iLean desk, designed by him.  The iLean desk is a marvel in balance. Though I am not usually a lover of wood, I had a hard time deciding whether to paint it. It's so gorgeous. I must admit that I adore zebrawood.

Before

Inspiration

I decided I wanted to incorporate pale pink and gray in its design.  Milk glass ashtray from Etsy, psychedelic pillow from Amazon.  Paint chips are from Valspar, pink icing, piglet and electric sky. 

After

I used piglet on top. I love this color so much, I want to do all my walls in this color. On the bottom is pink icing by Valspar and a silver gray from mistake bin by Clark and Kensington, which I used on a small bookcase also built by my brother. (See previous post here.) The shell bentwood chair is by the Novogratz, and is available at Amazon for a reasonable price.

Now I just need to decide what art to hang. A fun dilemma.  I love it!

Contact Jeff on Instagram @JSegaldesign

Addicted to Vignettes ...and Filters

One of my favorite things to do is putter about my apartment. I especially love rearranging my vases. I dream of having my own little boutique where I could putter to my heart's content. I was particularly pleased with the vignette I created today with two of my favorites: my moon lamp from CB2 and a graceful vintage Japanese vase.

Of course, upon completing a successful vignette, I feel the need to document it. Odd, right? But the technology allows us to take part in photographic experiments we never thought possible. So many filters are available, it's hard to choose. And these days, everyone's a photographer.

This filter is called Faded Glow on the Snapseed app. It's my current favorite. It creates moody pictures, and is perfect for rainy day shots (see a couple examples here).  What about you, dear readers? What's your favorite filter?

Shop Chic...or...the influence of a cute little purse

A few weeks ago I saw a cute purse at a vintage shop. I didn't buy it, but it's been haunting me. I have a confession to make, I am a purse addict in recovery. I've always wanted to do a wall of purses, but I've resisted, knowing my penchant to tire of things quickly.

Anyhoo...the lovely shop owner told me the purse was designed by Mary Quant. After Googling her, I must admit, I am obsessed. She is one of the most prominent designers of 60s London-based pop. A very playful, happy and exuberant trend. Here's a picture of Mary.

 

How freaking adorable is she?  I think this pic could be the influence for a beautiful color scheme. I also think this picture would be really cute as a poster.

Here's a pic of one of Mary's designs. I am in love with the pop flowers! Last week I decided to do a little retail therapy. I wanted some new happy pieces. Mary had me craving some retro mod influences.

Here's my loot influenced by Mary! All this loot was $38 at a local consignment store. Loving the orange. Look at those shoes, aren't they fab? I could see Mary wearing them.

Love this color scheme: orange, pink and turquoise.

Here's something I love, but didn't buy. How fab is this flamingo bag from Pat Catans? Would look great on my hypothetical purse wall.  I've said it many times -- I need a virtual reality machine.

I've always wanted to have my own a little boutique. That would satisfy my love of creating vignettes. It occurred to me, why should beautiful objects like purses be hid in the closet? Why not display them proudly? Afterall,  they are pieces of art. So I have my new shoes proudly displayed with a gorgeous beaded purse I found at the Goodwill. I called this new look Shop Chic. I'm sure Mary would approve.

Obliteration and Design ADD

Dear readers, there's a trend I hate in decor, and that is the amateur portrait wall. I don't understand why people enjoy walls covered in strangers. Creepy. In my own art, I enjoy the process of obliteration. (See previous post for an example). I enjoy reducing my artwork to render it deceptively simple. I also enjoying dismantling lamps and breaking vases. I don't know why I do what I do what I do, I just know that I have to.

Anyhoo...I was absolutely giddy when I discovered the work of Oliver Jeffers.

Love!  I'm a big fan of color blocking. Love how the lady's eyes are peeking over a sea of aqua. Also love how the color carries onto the frame. When I saw this I wanted to buy all the crappy art at the Goodwill and cover them with paint. (P.S. The Goodwill is a great place to buy frames.)

So here's a piece I bought.

Here it is after painting. I wanted to leave a little peek of what it used to be. I hung it in my dining room. As is often the case, I grew tired of it in short order.

So...I covered it in teal paint by Valspar. BTW, I am loving sample sizes of wall paint. I actually like this. My intent was to do a wall of color blocking using various pieces from The Goodwill.

Alas, after several weeks I grew tired of the piece again. This is what's like to live with the common affliction called Design ADD. The piece felt too heavy and in changing up my apartment for Spring, I feel the need to lighten up.

So, I stripped it down further and decided to use just the frame.

I'm a lover of simplicity and geometry. I hope that one day I will arrive at the perfect arrangement in my apartment, and that I will never have to move a thing again. Ah. Surely that is Nirvana.