Celebrating Color: Blue and Orange

Happy Friday dear readers!  I have some exciting announcements coming up and am swamped with work. I know, I know... it's kind of passe these days to say how busy you are. We're all ridiculously busy.  Hey, take a break. I've got some goof off material for you. Grab your favorite coffee or tea, and let's have a color therapy session. It's good, clean fun.

I apologize that this post is hastily done. My blog is about to change directions drastically, and I have a backlog of draft posts. I want to get a couple of those done, and then make my announcements. I also apologize for the lack of links. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I will update at a later date. In the meantime, if you are the designer (or know the designer of one of the rooms below, please leave me a comment).  However, ya'll know how to Google image search, right?  If I can do it, I know you can do it, lol.

Here's some blue and orange inspiration for your Friday. Below for your pleasure are many uses of blue and orange. There are many different hues as well.  Some rooms use a pale hue, others are saturated. Some use large amounts and others use the colors as a pop.  Some rooms use blue and orange together. The possibilities are endless. Throw in lots of white, a pop of purple or a pop of pink.  As you know, pink goes with everything.  Hope you enjoy!

 

 

Have a great weekend!  If you have insomnia, my blog will be the place to be. Lots of exciting posts coming up.  I have a couple more color posts, a new fabulous artist to introduce and very exciting news.  Stay tuned!

Decorating with Fashion Illustration

I'm obsessed with fashion photography and illustration.  I'd love to decorate a room using a large prints of fashion illustrations.  Here's one of my favorite covers of all time.

Vogue Italia.  I'd love to see this print blown up and used in decor.  I just couldn't help doing a couple of mockups.  I used rooms from my post on green below.

Love it!  Electronic decorating is the best.

Celebrating Color: Green!

I'm one of the few people I know who are actually looking forward to Fall and Winter.  Fall is my favorite time of year. Lately I haven't been able to go outside much because the heat and I just don't get along.  But I love walking in the park in the Fall.  I love observing nature's cycles.

Our area of the globe has been lushly green because we've had a lot of rain.  I love rain, and I love grey skies. Still deciding where I'm moving - Seattle is a contender.

 Image by Peggy

I've been under the weather for a couple of weeks, I need to cheer myself up. When it comes to cheering myself up, color psychology works best. I love contemplating (and writing about color).  For the next week or so, I'll be focusing on color and will conclude with showing how I'm using color in my apartment at the moment (you might be surprised).

It seems appropriate to do a feature about green. Funny thing about green. Though I adore it outside, and am deeply in love with trees, I don't really like it much in my decor. I have used mint green, sage, aqua and chartreuse.  I'm not a fan of true green nor forest green in my home. Of course, when it comes to color in my home, I've learned never to say never. I've used orange and yellow in my home - two colors I never thought I'd use.  Still not really a fan of red in the home, but love red clothes.

I think no one can do green better than Mother Nature. Green is obviously on trend for fall.  Green accessories are everywhere. 

You are in luck if you want a green accessory for your home. Green accessories are everywhere. I took this photo at Home Goods.

Photo by personal friend of editor, not to be used without permission

If I were going to use green in my place, it would be bright green.  And of course, it would be coupled with pink. Pink looks great with everything!  I love this picture taken at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by my sister-in-law. Check those guitars and those bearded drums. I could design a room around this photo. Yep, bright green and pink art and white faux fur.  It would be fab.  This pic would also look cool blown up to poster size.

Designer Kristine Guico (Project Runway, Season 13) made this cute green dress for the unconventional challenge. I could design a room around this dress.  Yep, bright green and graphic vintage marquee letters.  It would be fab.

Remember the winner of Project Runway, Season 4, kid genius and designer extraordinaire, Christian Siriano?  Christian is arguably the most talented and successful of the Project Runway alumni. I've never worn green, but I'd be tempted to wear these gorgeous pieces for Fall and Winter.  Of course, they are a forest green.  I predict we will see a lot of forest green in fashion this Fall, and it will be paired with purple.

Here's a few pictures of rooms featuring green.  I love how fresh these rooms are.

This image is from an inspiration folder I started preparing when my friend Haley got a fab new place. She's an earthy kind of girl and I dig her style. Green sofa looks fabulous in this organic/industrial spot.  Love the unexpected pop of color from the pouf.  I also love me a round coffee table.  Image VT Wonen.

I love the color scheme of the pink, blue and green.  You wouldn't really call these pastel colors, nor are they exactly jewel tones.  Maybe you'd call them candy colored.  Love metallic touches as well. Fig House design by Emily Henderson.  Emily is a master at using the color green.  I adore Emily, even though our aesthetics are very different. Emily was the winner of Design Star, Season 5.  Remember her fabulous green ceiling?
 

 I miss her show on HGTV!  Oh and BTW - I just gotta show you Emily's baby son Charlie (click here).  Isn't he the cutest little guy you've ever seen!  Image via HGTV.

Emily recently designed office space for Oh Joy!  I dig that green sofa with the pink chairs.  Love the yellow and blue pillows too.  Don't really love the galley wall.  This is a big difference in mine and Emily's aesthetic.  I think it looks cluttered.  I prefer that art doesn't compete with each other and prefer one large piece.  I've written about this in previous posts, and this will also be the subject of an upcoming post.

I dearly love this bedroom.  Beautiful use of color.  Most of the room is white with pops of pink, salmon and green.  An unexpected touch is the use of the gray quilted headboard which mimics the pattern on the chair.  Love how fresh and airy this place looks.  Love the white floor!  Image source unknown.

Another beautiful earthy room.  Love the planks, love the white floor.  Love the sofa and pillows.  Hate the animal skin rug, but all in all a gorgeous room.  Nice take on lodge style.  Image Myrica Bergqvist.
 

I love this green coffee table.  You don't have to do your whole room in green, you can add just a pop.  Photo Patric Johansson for Elle Interior.

Eeeek!  My favorite sofa of all time - the Poet Sofa by Finn Juhl.  The sofa would look great in any color, but it looks particularly fab in pale green.  Love the green coffee tables, kinda look like floating lily pads. That's why I love legs on my furniture - so everything looks like it's floating.  The concrete planter is a nice touch as is the green wire sculpture.  Image via Living Etc.

Notice the sculpture behind the sofa in the above pic.  Reminds me of this green sculpture I saw at The Land of Plenty. I dig it. Would look great in a large industrial loft. Would be cool in a garden too. I didn't buy it because I 'm not making any big purchases because I will be moving soon.  More to come on that in the near future.

These art glass vases by Paola Navone would add a soft green, organic touch to a room. I was struck by these, thinking they look like sea anemones and would look great in a large aquarium.  They are appropriately named fish vases and are available at Crate and Barrel.

Here's an experiment where I was using emerald (Pantone's color of the year for 2013), in my home. I even painted the vase to match. My place doesn't look like this right now.  Reveal coming up soon, if I can ever get the place cleaned up!

After spending so much time talking about pop colors for your hair, it doesn't seem right not to include an example of green as a pop hair color.  This fab creature is sporting a fab green ponytail, yet another way to add your pop color.  It's all about fun.

Image via Teen Vogue.

For more fabulous green hair ideas, see my previous post about Natasha Lillipore here. Why not be brave and have fun with your look when you go out this fall?  Don't forget your green nail polish and eyeshadow.

 Image via EyeshadowLipstick.com

What about you dear readers?  Do you love green?  Are you going to be wearing green or using green in your home decor this Fall?

Tips for adding a pop color to your hair

Image via behindthechair.com

It was Dale Bozio who first turned me on to pink hair.  In college we used to experiment with dying our hair pink with kool aid!  It's been a long while since I've experimented with pink hair, and hair products have improved substantially.  I've been experimenting with adding a pop of pink to my hair. It still needs a little tweaking, but I'm having fun!  If you're thinking of adding a pop color to your hair, here's a couple of tips I'd like to share.

If your hair is already dyed with a permanent color, there's a couple things you'll want to consider.  Pop colors tend to be semi-permanent.  Freshly colored hair will be more porous and the semi-permanent dye will stay in your hair much longer. It won't actually wash out, but rather fade over time.  This is the look I was going for.

If you want the semi-permanent color to wash out quickly, postpone coloring your hair with permanent dye. For best results, have the color done by a professional.  However,these tips are for those of us with limited budgets, or who just like to do our own hair.

I used Garnier Fructis' new color styler in pink. I am still tweaking my technique, my hair isn't exactly like I want it yet. Garnier Fructis' semi permanent color doesn't have to be disposed of after each use, making it highly economical.  Here's a couple of supplies you will want to buy:

1.  Extra disposable gloves.  The box only comes with one pair and the dye is difficult to wash off your hands.

2.  Paint brushes.  The size will depend on the amount of hair you want to color.  For a dipping technique, use a larger brush.  For a streak, use a small one.  Trust me, it is not easy to apply a pop color with your fingers.  Save your fingers for all over color.

3.  Bobby pins.  It's easier to be more precise with the dye if pin back hair you don't want to dye.

4.  Be fearless and have fun!  Playing with your hair is the easiest way to change your look.  And the great thing is that it grows back.

Want to OD on some pink hair?  I'm your pusher. See my pink hair gallery at flickr here. See my pinterest board here.

I know I've been talking about hair a lot lately.  I'm going to change focus in my next post.  For the next week or so we will be talking about one of my favorite subjects - color!

Pink Hair Experiment

As you know, I've been obsessed with hair recently. I love talking about hair about as much as I love talking about color. Maybe I should have been a beautician.  Also, as you know, I recently got a hair cut. I cut off about ten inches. I love having my hair long, but the detangling of my hair became agonizing. Especially during the friggin' hot summer. I know, I know, I'm gonna piss some people off. But I like winter. I like rain.  I like gray skies. I know I'm a freak, and I do beat myself up over it. But hey, lately I'm giving myself a break. I'm just in the wrong environment. I should probably be in Iceland.  Hmmm.  Need to add that to my travel list.

Anyway, I love my hair long.  Worn it long almost my whole life.  But it was making me cry when I combed it out after washing. Seriously. It hurt that bad. A couple times I experimented with growing dreads. But not for me. I prefer soft, natural, ahem, platinum hair, just the way nature intended.

The cut felt great, the front was drastically longer, just like I wanted. (see previous post here). But here's the thing. I'm a lover of asymmetry. I even thought about having the right side longer than the left. The stylist wouldn't do it - bless her heart.  She said, this is a great starter cut. See where you go from here, and stay comfortable with who you are.  It's easier to cut more hair, if needed (and affordable since I was at Great Clips where this divine creature cuts my hair for $13, no lie.) I'd much rather go back to have more cut. The adding more on is the difficult part, lol.

So I did it.  It felt great and weightless, fluffy.  But I hated those pieces in front. Can't stand the hair in my face. Was really grateful I had enough hair to pull back in a scrunchy.  I had a short cut that I HATED once, so that's my rule. I must be able to pull my hair back.  But....like I said...those pieces in front.  I adore that cut when I see it on others.  I just don't like it on me.

One day looking in the  mirror, I cut them very precisely.  I am still a great lover of a super geometric extreme blunt cut  Younger friends tell me to get long layers. True, layers are better than they were when I was a kid. But...I think I hate them.  Yep.  I'm obsessive about my hair.  Have been since I was about three years old.  If I can work up the courage, I will share a couple of pics from my childhood.

Anyway, will you just look at that fabulous creature Zanna Roberts Rossi in this pic from Under the Gunn, Season One?  I mean look how fab her hair is.  Although that is deceptive. It's simple, but not easy. That took a stylist who had to blow it out, tease it and iron it and gosh knows how much product. But it's freaking gorgeous.  I am a lover of geometry.  She'd look great with a pink streak in her hair.

And okay, can I just mention those bitchin' shoes she's wearing.  I need them. Badly. If you know the designer, please leave a comment.

I wanna be Zanna when I grow up.  Look at that hair, look at that style. And when you hear her accent, well forget about it.  Working for Marie Claire, Zanna has to remain at the forefront of fashion, and she does it with ease. These vests are gonna be big this fall and winter. They're warm and allow for mobility. I want a gray one. I'd wear it with gray long johns, large clunky bracelet and rain boots.  I shit you not. I love wet weather, and I want to be stylish as well as comfortable.  Sorry I digress. Image via DuJour (warning!  highly addicting site)

Anyhoo...Zanna would like great with a pink streak.  I've worn pink hair in college, we actually died our hair with kool aid, and I was in love with Dale Bozio's style.  I had a corporate job so haven't played with pink hair in many years, and I've been itching to.  Wouldn't you know?  Garnier Fructis has a new line of pop colors?

Not a sponsored post

And reasonably priced too!  What's cool is that you don't have to dispose of it after each use, so it's very economical.  My hair was freshly colored with my favorite L'oreal dimensional color (see previous post here).


DAY ONE

oh dear. wish i had done a streak rather than a dip. the product feels stiff and the rest of my hair is so luxuriously soft. needs some tweaking. put it in a bun to go out.

DAY TWO

pink towels and pink hair, lol!  a little improved on the softness.  put the number three conditioner that comes with the L'oreal hair color on the pink and kept it in all night. was able to wash it and get a fine tooth comb through it. a miracle! felt much softer and like the fading. experimenting with hot ironing the front and leaving back messy.  can't wait to see how it grows out. i'm an expert at growing my hair out.

In my next post I'll have some tips for adding pop colors in your hair.  If you have insomnia, you can follow my pink hair experiment at instagram and/or twitter @margiemax....or not... because I may write about it more...or not....haven't decided if I am unplugging or not, lol. Just taking it day by day.

Today was a good day to stay in the A/C and play with pink hair.  What about you dear, readers? What are you doing this long weekend?