2020 Colors of the Year
- At February 04, 2020
- By catherineschager
- In Design Trends
0
The 2020 Colors of the Year were announced in late 2019 and there were a bunch of them. You’ve probably seen them all but we’ve distilled the best-of-the-best to show you with some ideas for how you can use them in your home. This year highlights blues, greens and blush colors found in nature.
Such pretty eye candy! Let’s break them down:
Sherwin-Williams “Naval” SW 6244
Dark blues have been growing in popularity in recent years. We’ve seen more and more kitchen and bath cabinets using beautiful deep blues inspired by the sea. Sherwin-Williams chose this rich navy that they describe as creating a calm grounding environment infused with quiet confidence, paving the way to a new decade of wellness of the mind, body and soul. The company further says the color gives a nod to Art Deco influences, the power of nature, and the importance of our need as humans to interact with nature. Sounds like quite an inspiring color!
Check out our pinterest board for many more examples for incorporating this color in your life.
Pantone “Classic Blue” 19-4052
Pantone Color Institute chose a blue they dubbed “Classic Blue” for it’s solid and dependable feel. They describe it as elegant in its simplicity and suggestive of the sky at dusk, thought provoking, reassuring, and stable. Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman said this of the choice: “Classic Blue provides and anchoring foundation. A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.” You can explore their color suggested color pairings on their website here.
Brighter than Naval, this blue is still a solid and popular choice for kitchen and bath cabinetry. See our pinterest board for many examples of this classic color from home décor to fashion.
PPG Paints “Chinese Porcelain” PPG1160-6
Brighter than Naval but darker and more muted than Classic Blue, Chinese Porcelain gets the special nod from PPG Paints. They describe the color as blend of cobalt and moody, ink blue. It evokes natural elements like the sea and the sky, imparting calmness, hopefulness, serenity and sense of long tradition. PPG color specialists see the new decade as leaving behind neutrals like gray for more colorful backdrops. As the most popular favorite color, blue is the “easiest possible entry point” from neutral to color.
Check out our pinterest board for many gorgeous ideas to use this color this year.
Dunn-Edwards “Minty Fresh” DE5687
Dunn-Edwards choose a sweet, nostalgic pastel shade of minty green they call Minty Fresh for it’s fresh, clean feel. The company describes it as a subtle and relaxing pastel that conveys a partnership between technology and nature, bringing both an optimistic, upbeat feel and a tranquil balance. This color finds a home on many a front door and garden gate, but is no stranger in graphic design.
See our pinterest board for all the many places we discovered this shade in current home décor and fashion.
Behr choose a muted, organic green hue that looks to be straight from the forest or a meadow. They describe the color as restorative and revitalizing, fulfilling the need to create a soft landing at home. Behr sees the trend of bringing the outside indoors as continuing into new decade and a need to engage with nature will be ever more important in the hustle-and-bustle of 2020.
See all the ways we found to use this organic green on our pinterest board.
Benjamin Moore “First Light” 2102-70
Benjamin Moore sees this light, rosy pink as the defining shade to a new decade. They describe it as an uplifting, refreshing neutral that is soft, airy, and plays well with other colors. It’s a happy shade without being sticky sweet, luminescent and reflective without being too bright, and just crisp enough to look clean without feeling sterile. The company says it’s a cooler take on the very popular Millennial Pink that they see as continuing throughout this new decade.
See our pinterest board for all the ideas we found to bring this pretty pink into your new year.
All the colors speak to a link between nature and technology and a need to slow down and relax in a rushed and hectic world. (Sounds blissful!) The terms revitalized, optimism, and fresh appear in most of the color descriptions released by the companies. Do you love them?
No More Boring Front Doors
- At October 21, 2019
- By catherineschager
- In Tips and Advice
- 0
With Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner, front porches and entryways are resplendent in brilliant autumn décor or small-stage renditions of the spookiest day on our calendar, all soon to be followed up with winter holiday décor. Our front doors get the full makeover treatment in the last quarter of the year but during the other months they are downright dull. Your front door can be beautiful year-round and it doesn’t take over-the-top décor to achieve it. Here are some simple yet gorgeous ways to make your front door a star of your home and increase your home’s curb appeal:
- Color, Color, Color!
Benjamin Moore is a believer in the case for contrast and for good reason. The lovely options above are bright, cheerful, and the opposite of boring. Their front door inspiration page offers examples in just about every color of the rainbow. Match your shutters and window trim or choose a harmonious third color for even more options. These traditional color options are classic choices, as well as black and shades of gray.
Dotter & Solfjeld Architecture + Design (left and center); Faust Construction (right)
These next three colors are less traditional but no less eye-catching. The purple, chartreuse, and orange above harmonize beautifully despite being unusually bold door colors. The sky is the limit on front door color choices.
- Shapely Styles
Michael Fullen Design Group (left); Dotter & Solfjeld Architecture + Design (right)
Another way to dress up your entryway is to incorporate unique shapes. The two images on the left are of the same home – the front gate and the front door. Like hobbit doors gone modern, both use color and shape to charming effect. The two images on the right show the outside and inside views of stained wood door covered by dozens of squares that cast unique shadows and light in the entryway. This large wooden structure manages to look both imposing and charming at the same time.
- Metal Marvels
Metal doors aren’t just for warehouses and other industrial purposes any longer. Gorgeous modern and contemporary door styles abound, drawing on the organic feel of the various metals. Shiny, tarnished, powder coated, sculpted and glass incorporated options allow you to create your own unique door for your unique family home. Sculpted metal hardware options (like the two shown at the far right above).
- Wood Wonders
Last but never least, don’t forget the beauty and versatility of stained wood doors. From traditionally hung doors to these oversized, contemporary pivot door options, you’ll find nothing more beautiful and show-stopping than the perfect wood and stain.
Feeling inspired to show your front door some much deserved attention? Which option do you love best? Check out our pinterest board for more beautiful front door ideas.
Tackle Home Design with a Star Lineup
You’re ready to tackle your new home build or remodel your existing home and your trying to decide if you want to be the team manager, coach, and quarterback. Do you have the time and know-how for planning the strategy, writing the playbook, calling the plays, motivating the team players, hiring and overseeing all the players, and pulling all the details together for the win. More likely, you have an idea about what you want the team uniforms to look like, an excitement to watch the games from the sidelines, and vision of a glorious win at the end of the season. If that sounds more like you, you’ll want to recruit pros for the top team positions – in this case an interior designer, a contractor, and likely an architect. Let’s look at who these pros are and why you want them on your home project:
The Interior Designer
My personal favorite team position. Often, choosing an interior designer is the first hire on your roster. Your designer can assist in putting the team together. A good interior designer can help you express your inner vision, asking questions to discover your dreams, needs, and goals, then help you convey your vision to the architect and contractor, acting as your on-the-field guide and go-between. The designer is a mix of detail oriented and artistic, keeping the endless details of your project in play and the overall vision in sight as well. Your designer coordinates with the contractor and often recommends specific professionals in the various trades to see your home design come together perfectly.
You’ll get the benefit of a trained designer’s eye. Your designer can help you see possibilities you might not have envisioned and steer you away from poor design choices. A designer will also keep you realistic about your budget. Often, your designer knows where to find the best prices and has access to resources only available to design professionals.
Your interior designer can suggest color combinations you might not have imagined on your own, as well as textures and lighting effects. Designers can develop 3D renderings to help you see the design and help you shop for the perfect furnishings and accessories at the best prices. Designers stay on top of design trends and have the training, insight, knowledge and artistic vision to bring that WOW factor to your home design.
If you are only looking to redecorate your home, the designer will be the only pro needed for your project (or will be able to bring in pros from various trades to do installations). But if your undertaking a larger remodel or new build, you’ll need to expand the team to include a contractor and possibly an architect.
The Contractor
The contractor guides you in filling your team with star players, they learn the playbook know how to follow it, they can troubleshoot on the field, and they keep the players in line. Your contractor will bring the architect’s vision to life. They are familiar with all the different trades from plumbers to electricians to carpenters to tile experts and beyond. They know which players to call off the bench at what time, who to overlap and who must go in a specific order, and they have a network of working relationships with professionals in all the trades. They are good troubleshooters and can often head off trouble quickly if they see someone veering away from the playbook. They can also help you with specific goals like going green or being energy efficient. They know what works and what doesn’t through experience and who does it best. This can also save your time, money and stress throughout your project and make sure you achieve the home of your dreams.
The Architect
Architects know the league rulebook forward and backward and they write the team playbook. The architect does more than just draw home plans. Architects are well-versed in building codes and zoning laws. They work effectively with contractors to make sure the design is realized. They are creative problem-solvers, often finding ways to help homeowners get most of their wish-list items included in the budget. They guide homeowners away from awkward functional layouts by visualizing what it would be like to live inside the design. They think of all the details from the placement of electrical outlets and molding to energy-efficient heating and cooling to green building options. They also see the big picture, designing total environments rather than walls, floors and roofs. All this expertise can actually save you money in the long run!
Bringing this team together will undoubtedly save you time and stress. You’ll have trained professionals to help you make decisions and keep your project on time and budget. You’ll have others to track the details, make the phone calls, keep the checklists and monitor the work in process. Sweet relief!
Touchdown!
These kitchen transformations represent a culmination of professional knowledge along with thousands of decisions and details that came together in beautiful final designs. Go team!
The “No Furniture” Trend
- At September 20, 2018
- By catherineschager
- In Design Trends
- 2
I recently read a post by a young woman who wanted to experiment with the latest trend of going “furniture-free” to encourage a healthier lifestyle. She gave up most of her furniture for a week to see if she indeed would be healthier for it. You can read the post here: apartmenttherapy.com/furniture-free-living-262281
Kudos to Brentnie! It takes a great deal of courage to go without the daily “comforts of home” that we all take for granted. I couldn’t resist a humorous look at how those of us who are more “mature” might modify the trend (*ahem* those who might not be able to make it all the way down to the floor).
Modification #1
A few chairs, but only ones that promote correct posture as the only way to tolerate them. Let’s face it, you can fall off a yoga ball and break a hip. While you’d have the added benefit of physical therapy to get you moving around, I don’t recommend it as a way to exercise.
Additional added benefit: Not only will you not want to sit a lot, but none of your guests will either. Those kids will be out the door in about 30 minutes tops.
Modification # 2
No table or chairs in the kitchen. Stand and eat at the counter.
Benefits: You’ll eat less, and wash fewer dishes as you’ll be eating from pots, pans and containers! You’ll feel more youthful- like being in college!
Modification # 3
Get rid of the TV! (Brentnie didn’t say she made this sacrifice, and with a toddler, I completely understand why she wouldn’t) Hang some TRX bands in the living room if you want to “hang out”. Pretend you’re in the dungeon in the “Count of Monte Cristo”. Come on, we need to exercise our imaginations to keep our minds healthy!
Ok, so maybe this trend isn’t going to be around for long. I agree that we should all challenge ourselves to get out of the house and move more, but ultimately people want a place they can come to at the end of the day that welcomes them, comforts them, and shelters them. That’s a trend that will never go out of style.
Technology Meets Beauty in Motorized Window Treatments
What could be better than a gorgeous window treatment that works at the touch of a button? Or even integrates with your home assistant? In the early days of motorized window treatments, the options and styles were somewhat limited but today the limits are few. You can choose from many types of window treatments and the style choices are really blossoming as well!
They are so lovely and the technology so convenient that we asked Jarmila Singer of Sound Living to share her expertise in the field with us.
Can any window treatments be motorized?
Mostly, the category is roller shades, roman shades, tensioned shades (skylight) and draperies. There are also motorized wooden blinds and horizontal sheer shades.
Is there a weight maximum?
This varies depending upon the category. For draperies, it’s about 185 pounds. For shades, the restriction is not only weight but also roll diameter due to the thickness of the fabric. So, height is a restriction that is part of this equation.
How are they powered and how do they operate?
Power can be low voltage or line voltage. Sound Living only provides low voltage shades. The third category for power is actually battery-operated shades and they are quite popular!
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- Serena by Lutron battery housing
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- Lutron Wall Station
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- Lutron remote control
Do they integrate with smart phones and tablets?
Yes
Are they noisy?
No! That’s the best feature of low voltage motors.
Are there other special features we should know about?
Yes, the Lutron shade motor provides IHA which is Intelligent Hembar Alignment. Basically this means that Lutron shades in the same room will move in perfect unison. Lutron is the only manufacturer that offers this important feature.
Why should clients be interested in motorized windows treatments?
Motorized window treatments provide convenience, luxury, solar protection, and privacy.
- Convenience – control a large group of windows with one button, control all the shades in the home with one button, control hard to reach shades
- Solar protection – art, furnishings, flooring
- Room temperature control – especially for south and west exposures
- Privacy – dressing, sleeping, TV viewing
What makes Sound Living the best company to install motorized window treatments?
Sound Living provides the technical shade solution, the aesthetic shade solution, and complete installation and training of the client. All three aspects are critical to a successful project. Our hands-on process of working with the interior designer and home owner is what sets us apart. We view the aesthetic shade solution (fabric selection) as the most important part of the process.
How long has Sound Living been in business and what qualifications/certifications do you have?
Sound Living has been in business for 16 years and we are certified Lutron dealers for 12 years. We are also a certified dealer of motorized window treatments with Hartmann & Forbes and Conrad, utilizing Lutron motors.
Do the motors and other hardware come with a warranty or customer support?
Sound Living provides a 1-year warranty on labor and Lutron provides an 8-year warranty on its materials.
How would clients contact your company?
Please call us in our Highland Park office at 847.926.7034.
Sound Living is a boutique consultancy in Highland Park specializing in high-end residential technology. They carry Lutron motorized shades as well as lighting control systems and other home automation solutions. Jarmila Singer is the Vice President and co-owner with Gary Singer. She has worked with motorized window treatments for 12 of her 14 years with the company. She and the rest of the staff at Sound Living have invaluable experience in the field.
Thanks Jarmila! If you want to see more options in motorized window treatments, check out our pinterest board. Click on the youtube videos embedded below to see an overview of the Serena and Sivoia lines by Lutron.
Serena by Lutron
Sivoia by Lutron
