Favorite Color Scheme of 2013

Happy New Year dear readers! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I've seen so many review posts on my favorite blogs so felt I should do one too.  A friend of mine recently said to me, "I wonder what 2014 will look like?"  Interesting thought. Each year does have its own unique look, doesn't it? In the next few posts I will endeavor to show you what I think 2014 will look like.  But first, let's take a look at what 2013 looked like.  Here is a review of my favorite color scheme for 2013.

Dove gray, pale pink, hot pink. Added to that are a small amount of black, and a large amount of white. No matter what color scheme you choose, you should always balance it with a large amount of white. There are so many beautiful variations of pink. You may opt for a coral pink instead of pale pink - or even in addition to the pale pink for a beautiful look. Peach will also work in place of pale pink.  This color scheme can be done in a soft hue or for more drama in a bold hue, or a mixture of the two. The possibilities are endless and experimentation is so much fun.

For those lovers of color, you may want to add just a pop of an accent color.  Here are my favorite accent colors for 2013:

Yellow, orange, turquoise and aqua. A small amount of yellow goes a long way.  Any of these colors can be used as a pop to the above color scheme, or could replace the pink (gasp!). In my humble opinion, every room needs a dash of hot pink. Color is fun, and I love experimenting with color in my apartment, and I will continue to experiment with color in 2014.  For now, here are some inspirational rooms in this lovely color scheme, some soft, some bold.  Hope you enjoy!

Love the softness of this room. Very restful and calm. Image via Milieu.  Fab tray tables by Hay. Perfect multifunctional pieces that work very well in a small space.

I dearly love the pale pink walls in this room.  Gray artwork and pillows add softness, while a gold ottoman and darker pink rugs add drama.  Simply gorgeous.  House to Home.  We will continue to see blush walls for 2014.

Love the softness of this room also. A perfect place to take a nap.  Image via Alcro.

Love the pink lounge.  A perfect place for reading.  Image One Kind Design.

This pipe bed adds just the right amount of edge to this room. The chandelier is the perfect foil to the pipe bed. The room is a perfect combination of hard and soft. Pink and gray accent walls are also a great combination of hard and soft. The room is both masculine and feminine and very chic. Proving once again, what I've said a million time on this blog. Pink is not only a girly color - it can be used in a thoroughly modern way.  Simplified Building Concepts.

Pink lamp looks gorgeous against the dark wall.  Image via Gild and Grace.

I am completely smitten with this apartment. I adore the pale gray rug and the pale furniture, floors and walls. The color comes from the accessories and art. And they've gone big with the art - which I love! I could live here. You must see the rest of this home, it's gorgeous!  Click Design Hunter.

Want a small amount of hot pink?  Add a pillow.  Love the Moroccan wedding blanket-inspired rug. Eva Chen's apartment via Domino.

Love the pops of of red, pink and that orange vase in this room.

Beautiful soft gray floor and cute gray furry stool.  Images via The Style Files.

Hot pink and gray sofas look beautiful together.  Gorgeous pillows, art and ottoman.  I'd love to edit the animal skin from this otherwise gorgeous room.  Image New Home Design Ideas.

The decorator of this room has skillfully added both ethnic and metallic touches to this color scheme. The room disparate objects unexpectedly meld together to form an elegant and, yet, cozy room.  Jennifer's Pink and Lime Room via Apartment Therapy.

Another fine example of mixing disparate objects with this beautiful color scheme.  Houzz.

This room looks modern and fresh thanks to its pale gray walls and hot pink pillows. It's a sickness - I know - but I want to edit this room. I'd like to edit the grouping of artwork on the right wall.

If I had my druthers, I'd take the grouping down and move that fab graphic orange and white painting there.  That painting deserves a place of greater prominence without so much competition.  Still, it's a gorgeous room. Elle Decor France.

Simply divine pink sofa I've had in my inspiration file for a while.  I'd love to paint those walls pale gray. Via Indulgy, original source unknown.

Another beautifully soft room in pink and gray.  Ministry of Deco.

This is very close to being my dream kitchen and was the inspiration for painting my kitchen gray (see previous post here).  Wish I could paint my cupboard white!  Image via Desire to Inspire.



While exploring this color scheme, I found some accessories from a shop called Leif.  Lovely pot holder, tea towel, dipped spoons and vase would look great in the above kitchen.

Gorgeous room from CB2 catalog.  I love that hot pink end table.

New vases from CB2 in this color scheme.

This color scheme can be soft, or bold and dramatic like this room.  I adore the pops of orange, hot pink, and blue.  House to Home.

And speaking of drama, look at this bold and beautiful bedroom! I actually found this in an ad for DNA kiss portraits, but it was the bedding and those fab lamps that caught my eye. I am drooling over those lamps, if anyone knows the designer of those lamps, please contact me.

That's a wrap of my favorite color scheme for 2013.  In my next few posts, I will be talking about what 2014 is going to look like.  We are going to continue to have fun with color.  Happy New Year!

Mini Reveal

As promised, here is a mini reveal of my apartment with its new items.  The lamp is such a surprise, but I love it!  Such a great shape, and according to Feng Shui, every room should have something red in it for luck.  I also adore the houndstooth pillow.

 

The tweed ottoman is a bit surprising for me as well.  It's a bit masculine, but I think a little masculinity is needed for balance.  Especially with hot pink.  I love a feminine room, but I always like a little edge too.  I've been telling you forever that I want to do a gray accent wall, and here it is:

Ta da!  Talk about edge!  Here's a quick reveal of the accent wall I painted in my kitchen!  I love it!  Such a vast improvement over the super-high-gloss-muddy-puke color it was.  I don't know why landlords paint walls such awful colors, they must get a huge discount on the paint they buy.  I will be in big trouble if my landlord sees this, but I don't really know what the big deal is.  They paint every time someone moves out. And I actually did them a favor.  The walls were in terrible shape.  I sanded and smoothed the walls, and corrected a lot of the mistakes and sloppiness of the "professional" painters.  Flat paint is a much better choice than high gloss when the walls are in bad shape, it doesn't show the imperfections as much.  Of course, now that I am done with this wall, there are no imperfections.

This wall really needed a new life since the kitchen is open.  When I am lounging on the sofa I am no longer staring at an ugly wall, but a beautiful one!  I think this kitchen would be so fab if I painted the cupboards a pale gray, but I won't do that.  At least the cupboards are simple.  Now I am on the hunt for a screen to hide my refrigerator.

A Perfect Accent Wall

The next place I move to will definitely be a place that I can paint.  I am jonesin' to paint one or more accent walls!  This fuchsia corner accent wall is the perfect color!  I am saving this picture so I can take it to Home Depot and have the paint custom mixed.  I love color so much, but I'd love to live in a place that is all pink with lots of white.  The softness of the curtain looks so beautiful with that color.

And oh yes, I believe I've mentioned one or a million times before that I want white floors!  Image via House to Home.

Simple Impact: Accent Walls and Large Art

I'm always obsessing about decor.  As you know, I think simplicity is key in designing a beautiful and relaxing room.  Over the next few days I'd like to focus on how to make a big impact in a simple way.  One of my favorite ways to freshen a room is with color.  I've been obsessing about Tiffany box blue for sometime and would love to do an accent wall in it.

This home boasts a stunning use of paint.  The room has just the right amount of drama and edginess, but still remains simple.  I love the look of a the large piece of over the sofa.  A large piece makes an impact and looks cleaner than a grouping.  The amazing light fixture on the ceiling is impactful in its size and geometry, and still maintains an airiness. The unexpected black boarders make the blue and yellow wall look like paintings.  I would love to do a room with large color blocks as the art.  

I love this yellow accent wall with the black border!  A great way to make an odd wall into a piece of art.  Above two spaces designed by Sarah Lavoine.  To see previous posts on color blocking, click here.

This is such a beautiful modern room.  I adore the color of the walls, and dig that coffee table with mismatched legs.   The only change I would make to this room is hang one large piece of art instead of the grouping.  I think groupings look cluttered.  Image via Falken Reynolds (this is a great post on lighting).

Here's my gratuitous plug.  I've edited the room to add one of my pieces to demonstrate the point.

Feeling Blue!

As promised, we are going to do an exploration of the color blue over the next few days.  Blue is a soft and calming color, often associated with healing in color psychology.  It looks great with pink, yellow and orange.  It looks great with purple and with the gray.  There are so many beautiful shades of blue.  Today we are going to look at every girl's favorite - Tiffany box blue.  I've been seeing it everywhere in decor and especially love it on accent walls.  We will also look at baby blue, pastel blue and turquoise.

No She Didn't opaque lipstick by Lime Crime.  Could you dare?  This lip stick would be totally fab with a pink streak in your hair.

I need this nail polish!  Tiffany imposter by Sally Beauty Supply.

Love the yellow and blue color blocking here.  Notice the bed is painted the same color as the bottom part of the wall.  Image Helenio Barbetta.

Not a great kitchen, but I am in love with the blue tiles, cabinets and cabinets.  Houston's Beer Can House.

An old rather dull table gets a face lift with the help of a beautiful shade of blue paint.  Etsy user minthome.

I know a ton of people who have this same boring wood table.  It looks so much fresher painted!  Here the owners have opted for painting the table yellow and adding blue chairs.  The look is fab!  Victoria's Perfect Blend via Apartment Therapy.

A pale blue chair looks lovely with pale lilac in the same hue.  Mimmi Staaf via My Attic.

 

I need this lovely round ottoman in my living room!  It would be great for storing blankets.  I love a piece that is beautiful and functional.  Room Service.

I adore this turquoise sofa.  My next sofa cover is going to be turquoise.  From Croatia via Desire to Inspire.

This stunning apartment features a blue wallpaper accent wall and blue accessories.  As you know, I'm not a big fan of wallpaper, but I think using it on an accent wall is a great idea.  The place looks very fresh.  Dragana's Apartment via Desire to Inspire.

Love the pale blue accent wall.  And dig those cute little tables.  They look kinda like mushrooms and they look great with that pop of pink from the rug.

Same place, other wall in a darker blue.  I love how they've used different blues, patterns and wood.  The place still looks fresh, organic and monotone.  Guilherme Torres via Desire to Inspire.

The blue pillows, rug and chandelier look great combined with the gray walls and sofa.  Also love the dash of silver provided by the phone.  Source for this gorgeous room unknown. Please contact me if you know the designer of this room.  Stay tuned for more blue tomorrow.