PINK PERSUASION….

In honour of Valentine's Day and Pantone's Colour of the Year, this colour post is devoted to Pink!

Pink is a mixture of red and pink and the colour was named after the flowers "Pinks" (Dianthus flowering plants).  Pink is the colour of love and innocence.  Pink can also be called: blush, coral, flesh, flush, fuchsia, hot pink, magenta, raspberry, rose or salmon.

While red can stir up passion and strength, studies show that large amounts of pink can weaken people.  In North America, pink represents little girls.  Pink means romance and playfulness.  It is soothing and gentle, and you usually think of tenderness and contentment. 

Pink, when used in interiors will be comforting and relaxing.  If it is mixed with black, brown or gray it becomes much more sophisticated.  Using green or yellow with pink is another great colour combination that keeps pink feeling fresh.

If you love pink you think of it representing health, happiness, innocence and contentment.  If you dislike pink you will feel it means, weakness, frailty and naiveté. 

For some interior inspiration, we'll start with pale pink.  It'll add calmness and serenity in your space.

Dillard Design Group, LLC via Houzz

Here's a pale pink that helps to make the artwork pop and I adore the ceiling detail.

Tracery Interiors via Houzz

 

A soft, calm, soothing bathroom with a stunning marble tile floor pattern.

 

What a pretty soft kitchen!

Wouldn't this make a beautiful bathroom palette?

 

 

This living room looks so current to me - the pale gray and pale pink are soothing and calm and the grayed wood tones are very much on trend right now!  I'd have to do something about those throw pillows though.....

 

 

via Houzz

Here's a pop of fuchsia in a soft lilac bathroom

 

 

Judith Balis via Houzz

These chairs add some pop to this living room.  So feminine!

 

Casart Coverings via Houzz

All pink walls, sofas with mirrors to cause an optical illusion.  Nice to look at but I think I would grow tired of this quickly.

 

via Houzz

So cute for a child's room love the umbrellas on the ceiling

 

 

 

How about some pink and brown wallpaper.  This would be stunning in a powder room, bedroom or entry way.  The brown helps to toughen up the pink floral so that it's not too feminine.

 

Here's a pink and lime green combination that looks very fresh and warm.

 

 

Here's a idea if you don't want to paint your walls entirely dark pink.  I love that area rug, but wish it was larger.

 

 

 

 

Little pops of pink - on the walls, windows & seat bench make this neutral kitchen shine.

 

 

 

And here's a pink and yellow scheme that make this living room feel lively and young.

 

 

  

And a pretty bedroom done with turquoise and pink.

 

Hope you enjoyed this journey into the world of pink! 

 

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space! 

Lisa

IN HONOUR OF HALLOWEEN….

So another chapter in colour theory.  Today we’re looking at

 

 Orange! 

 

Emotionally, orange is a warm and lively colour and it denotes happiness.  It adds life to spaces and it can decrease hostility and irritability.  It makes you more sociable, friendly and extroverted and it can even help you see the brighter side of things.

Orange works well as a party colour and appeals to a large number of people, it is comforting, undemanding, uncomplicated and fun.   It’s friendlier and less intimidating than red.  For those people who dislike orange they can find it cheap and fickle. 

So without further ado here’s some photos:

via Houzz

It’s perfect for a child’s room, making it warm and friendly.   I’m loving that giraffe stencil! 

One orange sofa sure makes this room come alive!  It is a lively pop of colour and the purple chair and throw are great with it.

via Houzz Los Angeles interior designer Zuniga Interiors

Warm orange walls – this room feels so cozy.

 Another orange sofa with navy walls – great combo!

via Houzz Laura Britt Design

A room of neutrals comes alive with the pops of orange.

How about shiny orange floors?  I don’t think I’d love this for very long….

via Houzz

Wow love these stairs and that stripe of orange up the wall!

How about a soft peach bathroom?  This is one of the best colours for your complexion.

Beautiful orange walls in a traditional home!  I love that the corners and edges are trimmed in black.  It conveys the look of Hermes boxes.

What orange post would be complete without a photo actual Hermes boxes.

Another orange sofa – so pretty!

 

These next three pictures are of a room that was designed by Tobi Fairly and she used such an interesting combination of colours – turquoise and orange!  I am not a huge fan of orange but I have to say I love it used with turquoise.

And yet more orange and turquoise in a very modern kitchen!

And some more orange and turquoise – that rug is gorgeous in the space!

Hope you enjoyed this venture in orange! 

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

BLACKBOARD WALLS….

I love blackboard walls – I think it brings out the inner child in me – remembering how much fun it was to draw and write on them as a child….

Now it is so easy to do them anywhere, with the blackboard paint – personally I like the black better than the green and now blackboard paint can be in lots of other colours and they can even be made into magnet boards with some magnetic paint.

Here’s some inspiration photos:

 

kitchen design via Houzz

 

 

 

eclectic bathroom design by other metros interior designer Birdhouse Interior Design Consulting via Houzz

And my own blackboard on the back of my pantry door…

My daughters also have done this on their closet doors in their bedrooms and their friends love to leave them little notes and drawings on them.

Most of these photos show a blackboard in the kitchen.  Where would you put a blackboard??

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

DARK WALLS – YES OR NO?

How do you feel about dark walls? 

There seems to be a trend lately to paint your walls dark colours – a welcome relief from all the beige walls that have been happening.

In my previous home I had navy blue on the bottom half of my walls in the hallway upstairs and downstairs.  This was tempered with a soft buttery yellow on the top half of the wall.  I loved it and left it far longer than I probably should have but it was great for hiding all the little wee fingerprints of four young children.

The drama of dark walls is always something I am drawn to and now in my current home I don’t have enough dark walls and I am so craving a new painting project….

Usually I recommend starting with some dark walls in a powder room as it makes a great statement and it’s not a room you usually spend much time in so it can be a way to gauge the waters on how you feel about a dark colour.

This is my powder room and as you can see the wallpaper is a dark charcoal gray.  It covers two of the walls and the other two walls and ceiling are painted in a soft warm gray. 

I recently did a colour consultation for a couple who embrace dark dramatic colours.  I can’t wait to see the final results – they were fearless and I think it will be spectacular.   

home design via Houzz

So dramatic – I am loving how the hit of metallic on the chair fabric just pops off the matte finish of the black paint on the walls.

eclectic entry design via Houzz

The navy walls showcases the fabulous shapes of the chair and table. 

modern living room design by designspongeonline.com via Houzz

I’m using this photo again as it showcases how dramatic navy can look with wood and white.

 

contemporary dining room design by other metros interior designer Veranda Interiors via Houzz

Dining rooms are another place where dark walls are embraced as it is usually a place that you enjoy at night.  Isn’t this a gorgeous dining room? Dark gray walls with those dark wood floors -  love it!

Another gorgeous dark dining room!

 

home design via Houzz

And this stunning bathroom in black!!! 

 

 

A fabulous dark brown bedroom by none other than Nate Berkus.

home design via Houzz

And I adore this black bedroom – but I have to admit I don’t know if I could live with it…  Could you???

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or of in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

GOING ALL THE WAY…..

Okay, now that I’ve got you all with that title – the topic of this post is how to completely finish your rooms.

We all struggle with this, even us designers and decorators with our own homes.

However, the key is to keep making decisions and to focus on ONE ROOM AT A TIME!!!

So here’s a few key items to keep in mind when you are ready to start another project or to help you finish the one you’ve already started.

1.  Make a plan – decide on how you will be using the room and what you need to do that properly.  If it’s a family room and you will be using it to watch television and do crafts – then you need to have comfy seating for the television watching and a large table with appropriate flooring and lighting for craft time.

2.  Plan your lighting – lighting is so important to a room.  Just think how annoyed you are when you don’t have the proper lighting when you are trying to do something.  Make sure there is ambient lighting (the general lighting for a room) and the appropriate task lighting (such as table lamps for reading or pot lights set over the craft table).  Decorative lighting can be added as well for mood and ambience in the form of sconces, candles or a decorative floor or table lamp.

3.  Style and colour – this goes along with #1 in that you need to have an idea of what style you would like.  The best way to do this is with magazines - pull out pictures that you like and keep a file.  I do this with all my magazines – they are a great source of inspiration.  After you have a bunch in the file a clearer picture of your style will emerge and you can use them as your inspiration.  Colour will also show up in these photos – however, I still feel that the colour of the walls will be determined at a later stage once you have the bigger pieces decided upon.

4.  Large pieces – now is the time to invest in the larger more expensive pieces for the room.  Such as a sofa, area rug, draperies and case goods.  These are the items that you will be keeping for the long term and they form the base of your design.  This is where you usually spend the bulk of your budget and because of this I usually stick with classics and neutrals for these items.  You can however diverge from this tract, if for example you love red and fall in love with a red sofa.  GO FOR IT!  This is what will make your room, you

A note here about pattern – if the larger items that you have decided upon are all solids you may want to add some pattern either in the area rug or in a smaller upholstered chair or ottoman to give the room some pizzazz.  Otherwise I would consider adding some wallpaper to the walls instead of a solid paint colour.  The key with pattern is to ensure that the pattern sizes are not all the same – for example, if you have a large pattern on the area rug then have a smaller pattern on the ottoman.

5.  Shopping – Okay now that you’ve decided on the larger items and you know how much they cost, you can form a budget.  This will guide you as to where you can splurge and where you can save.  A great room always has some of each in it – that is what makes it interesting.  Remember to keep some money for paint and accessories (usually about 15-20% of the budget).

6.  Paint colour – this is when I usually pick the paint colour I look at all the major items purchased and the rest of the home and then decide what would be the best colour choice.  Since paint is one of the most inexpensive parts of the design process and there are so many paint colours this is the best way to go about it.  Once I know the main colour of the walls, I can then go on to the next step, accessory shopping..

7. Accessory shopping – Now that the bigger items are in place – go accessory shopping.  I do up a list of what I think I’ll need – such as: small round end table, gold framed rectangular mirror approximately 24”x12”.  This is also when I check to see if there is an abundance of one shape or another in the room.  If there are lots of square items, I then balance them out with some round smaller items and accessories.  Most decorators and designers will pick up way more accessories while shopping so that they have a choice when doing the final placement.  You just return the items that you don’t need.

8.  Keep on track – Now is when you’ll usually get distracted by other items for another room in your home.  Try and keep focused and only purchase for the one room – your budget will thank you and you’ll have one room done instead of all of them in progress.

9.  Put everything in place – if you have managed to hold off now is the time to put everything in place.  Of course, first off the room should be painted and then the larger items positioned in place. Then the smaller furniture pieces and accessories, such as artwork, mirrors and decorative pieces are added.  And Voila!! a perfectly finished space that is just like you!!

 

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa