Sunday, June 15, 2014

inspiration at NeoCon



Last week I attended NeoCon at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.  It is the North America's largest design exposition and conference for commercial interiors.  As a member of ASID, I attended four seminars throughout the day.   I learned about multifamily housing, the science of color in the workplace, how to photograph architecture at the workplace, and retail branding.  


         



Between seminars,I had time to walk up down, and ride the elevator up and down, and see the latest and greatest innovations.  As I was heading to the elevator for lunch, I passed the display by 3form.  I remember using products from 3form when I was in design school.  They make resin panels that can be used for a variety of installations: wall panels, dividers, sculpture, lighting and shelving.  There product is unique in many ways, but I love how they integrate recycled and natural products  into the resin.  Now they have a new line of Pressed Glass products, which you see here.  It is a laminated architectural glass.

        
 

This juicy orange glass panel inspired me to design a kitchen this week.  I would love to see this kite design as a featured back splash- it is so whimsical.  I don't want any elements to distract from the backsplash, so I would pair it with traditional and clean-lined Shaker cabinet fronts in crisp white.  Another favorite product I learned about in design school are quartz countertops by Caesarstone.  It is a composite quartz that is pretty much indestructible, and it's so modern and beautiful!  This tone is a nice neutral to top off all the white cabinetry.  Now, I need something to ground the space, and I just love these country, and traditional styled oiled bronze knobs and faucet.  They are so classic, and will complement our existing finishes perfectly.  I was going back and forth on my pendent selection, but I decided on this woven drum pendant.  I like the chrome finish, and the style is very transitional.  Accessories in a kitchen should be functional or edible, so I finished the design with an  Analon bronze pot (I actually own this collection) and an industrial wire bowl with oranges, of course! Using different shades of a color also adds interest to this basic color palette: different shades of orange of bronze.



So, who would like a glass of fresh-squeezed juice from my 'missmatch'  Glass Panel Collection?







Sunday, June 8, 2014

fresh for SPRING

Well, it's been another gloomy day...The sunny weather just won't stay for more than a day, so I'm  flinging some spring here today.  I thought we'd talk about an unexpected color duo today- mint and neon yellow, so pucker up!  

Yellow and green are analogous colors, meaning they lay next to each other on the color wheel.  Instead of just mixing these two colors together, I decided to 'missmatch' pastel green, better known as mint, and neon yellow, better known as....well, neon yellow of course.




I've had a love affair with mint since I was a little girl.  The sea foam green crayon in my Crayola 96 set was one of my dear favorites. We parted ways for a while, but had a beautiful reunion for my wedding, a year and a half ago.  I'm sure you've noticed how mint has made it into every retail avenue during the last year- it's amazing...  When I was planning for my wedding in 2011-2012, it was impossible to find anything this tint.  I ordered samples and samples of paper online, had to special order bridesmaid dresses, it was so hard to find.  My family even tried to convince me that no one would notice if the invitations were moss green- what nerve!  They should know me better than that.  Luckily, my husband and I found perfectly minty mint paper just in time to make our invitations.  Now you can find it in every clothing display window, head phones, shoe store, blog layouts, and even my iPhone case.  

Another trend this year has been neon, you can't miss it!  With my fair skin I have shied away from this, but I wanted to participate so I do have one dress that is neon and taupe stripes, and it seems to be the perfect balance of colors.  Another inspiration for this pairing are our yoga mats, yes yoga mats!  Mine is mint, you guessed it, and my husbands is black with a neon yellow strap.  I stare at them every day, and I'm mesmerized by this atypical pairing. 





The best way to make these two opposite colors work together is pairing them with neutrals.  You can see the neon yellow and grey poufs topped together, and the neon dots on a taupe background pillow.  You also see the mint ombre throw paired with the grey chair and natural wood tones.  These colors work best as accents in a space.  Painting the whole room neon yellow with a mint duvet would make your eyes hurt, but using them as accents in a space let's them shine their best.  And of course, you can see proportion being used again in the white pillow with mint arrows, and just one neon arrow popping out.

Can you see the harmony in this 'missmatch' color duo of mint and neon yellow?



Sunday, June 1, 2014

just one, PLEASE

Today I was browsing on HouseBeautiful.com, and I was inspired by a beautifully designed, monochromatic apartment, by T. Keller Donovan. (see below)  This is a great example of using a strong color that encapsulates the whole space.  I also like the more traditional aspect of repeating the same fabric pattern through a room: on the sofa, on the chairs, and the window treatments.






This notion of repeating a fabric multiple times through a room can feel heavy depending on the composition of the rest of the room, as well as the fabric selection itself.  This room inspired me to make my Monochromatic Collection.

First I planned to use royal blue, then teal, then a grey-teal, and nothing was catching my eye.  Then I thought- Green!  I see grass along the sidewalk at my apartment, and I see grass along the bike path on Lake Shore Drive, and it's so lush.  It's been so long since I've seen bright green grass after this never-ending winter.  I ended up selecting this leafy green color, a bit acidy, but it makes a statement. This will be my "Just One" color.




So, as I've told you my fabric was the inspiration for this room.  I also chose an organic pattern, but instead of a solid I chose a stripe to mix it up a bit.  I would use the leaf pattern on the sofa and the drapery, and I would use the stripe on the chairs.  The clean lines on the sofa compliment the busy pattern, and the dark finish on the legs relate to the cut-out back chairs.  This Ankara chair reminds me of a updated perspective of a chinese chippendale chair back.  I brought in this beautiful, silver leafed armoire by Nancy Corzine.  It's a touch of metallic, and it's the perfect blend of modern and traditional with moldings and a geometric pattern in the mirror.  Next I wanted modern lighting, and found this great tripod floor lamp.  Then I dipped the other way and wanted something intricate for wall art, and this frame (yes- it's from IKEA) worked seamlessly with my leafy fabric pattern.  Last of all, I needed a place to set a drink or showcase some accessories.  My first thought was to use an upholstered ottoman, but ended up using this marble top coffee table.  It may seem like a lot of legs in the space, but I like how the white and medium wood tone mirror the floor lamp.  

Quite a 'missmatch' of pieces that I think really work well together in my Monochromatic Collection.


(images: linked within text)

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