White Room Challenge

Yeah, it’s sort of the “Color Olympics” for designers.  All white rooms can be so challenging that HGTV star David Bromstand is launching a new show on what to do with a bare room and 4 white walls.  I don’t know if he’s going to have designers from other countries come in and compete for the best white room (would they give it a gold medal, or glossy white one?), but I decided to ask some of my design pals for their opinions and let you be the judges.

Bonnie Lecat, of Bonnie Lecat Designs, www.bonnielecat.com, who is an artist as well as muralist and faux painter recommends:

  • Adding texture to all white walls by using plaster or even stencils
  • Adding great art work (nice one, Bonnie!)
  • She loves the look of antique or patinated furniture with white walls

Image from my Pintrest board

 

Eileen Henning, who offers color consultations and decorative painting (on Facebook at Eileen Henning Decorative Painting), suggests:

  • Utilizing a soft tint on the walls to set off fabrics and furnishings
  • Adding texture or glazing, a shimmering pearl finish or Venetian plaster
  • Her favorite white: Benjamin Moore’s Berber White # 955 as it works well with warm or cool tones.

Another Pintrest find

My thoughts for adding warmth to an all-white room:

  • Vary textures and tones of white throughout the room.  Think of a white flokati rug, white canvas sofa and white cut velvet chairs.
  • Bring in an element of sparkle like sterling silver, polished stainless steel, and even the glint of gold to keep it interesting and warm
  • Vary the sheen, mix in high gloss and matte finishes
  • Favorite whites: Benjamin Moore’s Color Stories Palette Crisp Linen # csp 305 and Benjamin Moore’s Feather Bed # 928.

Also a re-pin from Pintrest!

    Thanks again to Bonnie and Eileen for participating!  Be sure to check out their websites and facebook pages!

What are your thoughts?  Do you like all white rooms?  What’s your favorite tip?

 

Little Things Mean a Lot

There’s a saying that’s attributed to Mies van der Rohe – “God is in the details”, and I agree.  In the world of design, it’s the attention to small details that can really make a difference.  For example; in a recently completed kitchen project we were confronted with the challenge of making unsightly electrical outlets less obtrusive.  Ideally, we would have moved the outlets up to the underside of the cabinets, so the back splash wouldn’t be visually interrupted.  Unfortunately, we could not move them so we came up with an alternative trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) detail to camoflage the switch plate portion.  I called upon my friend Bonnie Lecat of Bonnie Lecat Designs www.bonnielecat.com, to paint the switch plates to blend in with the tile of the back splash.

Here are the before and after photos:

"Before"

Yes, I know the color combination of white switch plate and brown outlet is hideous.  The contractor just did that because he knew we were going to change it.

"After"

That switch plate practically disappears.

Again, it’s a small detail, but it makes the project as a whole much more “finished”.

Bonnie creates beautiful murals and fine decorative faux finishes for your home or commercial space.  You can find her at [email protected].