Posts Tagged ‘Color Guild’

Why don’t my printer colors match my monitor? Why doesn’t my TV have a yellow adjustment? Welcome to the confusing world of what makes color what it is. I was taught that the primary colors were red, yellow and blue and that black is the absence of color and white is the presence of all colors, were you? When I became an adult and entered the enlightened age I found out it was all lies, well maybe not lies, but at least misconceptions.  As it turns out the red, yellow and blue thing was true for most of the applications that I use, such as paint, but in that theory, also known as subtractive color theory, white is the lack of color, not the presence of all color. Subtractive color is the theory that applies to paint, plastic and die and most opaque finishes.

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Raise your hand if you made a New Year’s resolution this year!

Making the resolution is the easy part, the hard part is actually following through! All month long we’ll be bringing your tips and advice to help stick to your home improvement resolutions. We’ll be covering topics such as adding color to your space and picking the best “green” products for your home. We’re kicking off our New Year’s resolution month with our best tips for getting your home organized!

Clever Storage Solutions
Shelves and cabinets aren’t the only storage solutions. Invest in pieces that serve double-duty, such as ottomans and benches that open up to store blankets, pillows and other odds and ends. Have you ever considered using a toothbrush holder to store those rampant pens and pencils laying around your home office? Or decorative glass jars to store miscellaneous kitchen and bathroom clutter? Better Homes & Gardens offers these clever storage solutions and more!

Label It
A place for everything and everything in it’s place… it’s easier to know where things belong when there are labels. Toy bins, coat hooks, kitchen canisters – all can be labeled for easy identification and organization!

apartmenttherapy.com

DIY Home Organization
Before you go running off to the store to purchase a bunch of fancy bins, boxes and shelves, look around your home and see what you have to start with. Have an old wall-mounted magazine rack you’re not using? Hang it inside your kitchen cabinet to store and organize pot lids. Use an old door-hanging shoe organizer to store cleaning supplies in your laundry room or pantry. Do you have some leftover crown molding from your latest home improvement project? Turn it into a shoe storage solution! (Via Clever and Catchy)

Lovelyish.com

Here are our picks for best design books this year!

Dazzling Design by Amanda Nisbet
In her first book Dazzling Design, New York interior designer Amanda Nisbet presents a dynamic selection of work drawn from fifteen years of practice, taking readers on a journey through her bold explorations of color, texture, pattern, and other indelible elements that comprise her distinctive style. Nisbet reminds readers that home is for living in, and a designer’s job is first and foremost to answer a client’s needs, wishes and dreams.

Follow Amanda Nisbet on Facebook and Twitter.

Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love by Sherry Petersik and John Petersik
This book contains over 300 pages filled with tons of ideas, projects, and step-by-step tutorials for showing your home some love (in the same don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously DIY spirit of their blog). There are big picture decorating ideas all the way down to small sprucing projects and quick fixes – all written with the same dorked out, budget-friendly, and ceramic-animal-lovin’ approach that you’re used to from the Pertersiks.

Follow Young House Love on Facebook and Twitter.

The Home Within Us by Bobby McAlpine and Susan Sully
Architect and designer Bobby McAlpine creates idyllic houses that wed historical precedent with gracious modern living. This book presents more than twenty houses in a variety of settings that illustrate concepts running throughout McAlpine and Sully’s work. Juxtaposing intimate spaces with lofty entertaining areas and combining unexpected materials, such as stone with thatch, are among their hallmarks.

Follow McAlpine Tankersley Architecture on Facebook and Twitter.

New Classic Interiors by Alessandra Branca
Growing up in Rome, Branca was always surrounded by exquisite art and architecture. She learned early on that beauty is meant to intermingle with everyday life, and to this day her interior designs, while abiding by classical principles, comfortably accommodate her clients’ lifestyles. “You can’t just do something that looks pretty,” she says. “It has to work.” In this book, Branca generously reveals her step-by-step creative process, offering invaluable guidance to anyone who wants a home that is both gorgeous and livable.

Follow Branca Interiors on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy New Year!

Pantone

Anthropology

Remodelista

Pantone has announced their 2013 Color of the Year: Emerald!

“The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”
Will the 2013 Color of the Year will be making an appearance in your home? Or is it too soon to tell?

How is it that scuffs, chips and nicks can stay hidden, completely invisible to the naked eye, until you decide to have guests over? As soon as the RSVP’s start showing up so do all of those imperfections; the scratch on the coffee table, the nick in the banister, all of those scuffs on the kitchen floor. If you’re looking to take care of these tiny little eyesores before holiday guests arrive, here are some quick fixes that will leave your home scuff, chip and nick free!

Cleaning scuffs off of linoleum floors
Wash away scuff marks by rubbing them with a sponge or soft brush (nothing abrasive) and a solution of dishwashing detergent and water. You can also rub a pencil eraser over scuff marks to make them disappear.

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All sentiments that are sure to come your way this holiday season via the traditional holiday card. As these treasured expressions of holiday cheer arrive in your mailbox, be sure to display them in a way that honors the sender (In other words, don’t just throw them all in a basket!).

Here are three creative ways to display all of those holiday cards:

Card Tree (Via Martha Stewart)

I love the simple elegance of this DIY card tree. Pick your own ribbon and accessories to incorporate this display into your own decor. Go chic with a brown or crimson satin ribbon or go for a whimsical touch with some gingham or holiday fabric. The branches add a rustic touch and give this card display the height and grandeur to make it a stand-alone piece. How beautiful would this look in an entry way, a dining room buffet or on the family room mantle? Directions to make this holiday card tree can be found here.

Martha Stewart

Holiday Card Wreath (Via KatyDid and Kid)

If you want to save your mantle or counter space for other holiday decorations, display your holiday cards with this hanging holiday card wreath. The kids can even get involved with this simple project. This is also a fun way to display those holiday ornaments that just don’t fit on the tree. Directions to make this holiday card wreath can be found here.

KatyDid and Kid

Ladder Christmas Card Display (Via Executive Creations)

Put that old ladder in the garage to good use as a holiday card display! If it’s looking old and dingy, give it a quick coat of paint, but don’t be afraid of the rustic, weathered look. Attach some bungee cord in an X pattern to allow for more card hanging, and add some hooks to the sides so you can hang stockings or other ornaments. Directions for making the ladder Christmas card display can be found here.

Executive Creations

Do you have a creative way to display holiday cards? We’d love to hear from you! Share your ideas in the comments section!

We’re all familiar with the 3 R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle – but we would like to add a 4th “R” to that list! Repurpose!

Repurposing old and outdated furniture is a simple way to help reduce landfill waste and cut down on the carbon footprint required to make and ship new furniture. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

Some tips for refinishing old furniture include:

• You can paint metal: You can paint metal, just make sure to prime the surface first!
• The more you sand, the better you’ll get: The more you sand, the more you’ll pick up a technique. You don’t want to sand so deeply that you go beyond the top layer of wood. Learning how your sander handles will also help you when you “distress” painted objects.
• Don’t take shortcuts: If a piece has hardware or drawers, remove them entirely for prep and painting. Because these areas get a lot of use, they are ripe for eventual paint flaking. Sand drawer edges carefully so the old paint is gone before applying new. Two coats of sealer should give the drawers “armor” for future use.

(Source)

Now that you’ve got the basics, here are some of our favorite repurposed projects from around the web!

Old drawers as shelves via RemodelAholic.

Remodelaholic

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Desired by many, yet achieved by few – the ever elusive good night’s sleep! November is National Sleep Comfort Month, a whole month dedicated to the importance of sleep. Everyone has their own tricks and tips when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep – eat this, drink that, do this, try that – but did you ever consider that the secret to good sleep may be as simple as good design?

Design tips for creating a relaxing bedroom

Calming colors
Did you know that colors actually have sound? Pat Verlodt, president of Color Services & Associates, Inc., says the most common calming colors are blues and greens because they remind us of calming sounds in nature – the ocean, rustling grass, a whispering breeze.

My Home Ideas

Clear the clutter
Mess=Stress. And stress can interfere with sleep. Your bedroom is for sleeping – if an item does not fit this criteria get it out of the room. This includes exercise equipment, computers, TV, and just plain clutter!

House of Turquoise

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