Chocolate Lovers' Series: Mint Chocolate Chip

Mint Chocolate Chip is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream and I do believe that its color plays a large roll in the love.

Over the years I'm sure you've seen tons of brown and green combinations right? Well I'm going to tweak that look a bit and show you a more “minty” version of that.

The chocolate brown in this Color Recipe is very dark, almost black. It's a very rich, very strong color so be careful how you incorporate this dark hue into your home. Here's how I'd use it:

A dark brown background will look great in any color scheme. This BR111 solid wood flooring would be the perfect flooring to contrast the minty green. 

If you're hesitant to put a mint green on your wall, try it in a fabric first. This tropical Kravet fabric would look beautiful in drapery, seating or even in some accent pillows. You call always go back and add an accent wall to coordinate the look.

Like these Sherwin Williams colors? Try

Well Bred Brown & Kiwi

Miss a post? Catch up here. It's going to be a long series!

Introduction to Chocolate Lovers Series

Chocolate Lovers' Series: Introduction

Who doesn't love chocolate and color? I'm about to show you a very seductive way to get color into your home and chocolate is going to be the main ingredient.

We are about to embark on a delicious journey into color. This is the start of my Chocolate Lovers Series which will include postings on color of course but also how a very specific color can be the “bitter sweet” ingredient to beautify your home. What color am I talking about? It's brown of course!

When we think of chocolate, the color that first comes to mind is brown. Brown is the perfect foundation to start any color scheme for your home and it's not necessarily a paint color I'm referring to. You can start with a brown carpet, dark, rich wood flooring, a deep brown field tile or even accessories in your home. But, it's how you use OTHER colors in conjunction with brown that will make this “feel good” color surprise you.

So get those serotonin levels pumping because if your not excited about brown now, you certainly will be by the time this series is complete.

Chocolate Chip Mint Color
Peanut Butter Cup Color
Peppermint Patty Color


* this series will be featuring the colors of Sherwin Williams. All the colors that will be mentioned here will have a name and number so you can easily get the look for your home. Any questions, just let me know here on this blog and I'll love to help you out.

Are you Afraid of Orange?

Photo by Taylor Mathis (not including color chips)

Orange is so bright. I wouldn't know how to use it.

What room will orange look good in?

What is the best orange to use?

Is orange a popular color?

Should I use orange on all walls or just as an accent color?

What rhymes with orange?

Minus the last question, these are all legitimate questions and concerns when it comes to orange. It's a tough color to use and a lot of people are not sure how.

I always say, 

“If you're hesitant about a color, start off by using it just as an accessory in your home then work up to an accent wall and it you are crazy about it, use it as your main wall color. Baby steps are key when it comes to exploring a new color in your home.”

Where can you use orange in your home?

Wherever you want to of course! As with any color though, there are a few things you need to think about before you choose any color for your  home. For instance:

Exposure … Orange is a bright, warm hue. Be careful when putting orange in a room that already has a lot of sunlight. It will glow. A low lit or Northern exposure room may be just right for it.

Energy … and orange has lots of it! Perhaps it would be a good choice in a child's room, playroom or even a kids bathroom. 

Kitchen … It may be a bit too much first thing in the morning if you have it in the kitchen. Be especially careful if you have the dreaded “orange kitchen cabinets.” There will certainly be orange overload in this case.

I would NOT use orange if you have these cabinets.

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Orange will look great with contrasting cabinetry. 

Here's how to use orange in the rest of your home.

Using the juicy Clementines as inspiration for your home, I would use the lightest tint of orange for your main foyer area. This way, you can put a pop of color in your dining room and you would have a great contrast.

I would certainly keep the bright color on the bottom of the chair rail and bring in more accents as seen in this Schumacher fabric for the drapery and seat coverings. That would be a very striking room!

Orange you glad you know about orange now?

Can You Have Too Much Blue in Your Room?

Photo of cake by Martha Stewart.com

If you really, really love blue, the question is, “Can you have too much blue in your home?” Probably. Even though there are millions of blue hue's out there, do you really need to have all of them in your home? You can if you wan to, it's your home after all but here's a few suggestions on how to break it up - just a bit.

Pinterest

Blue has been a very popular color since 2009. It really started out in 2007 here in Charlotte as purple but evolved into the softer spa like blues of the coast. 

Pinterest

Let me detail how you can incorporate blue 

into the main part of your home - the living room.

Using that delicious cake as a delectable inspiration, the main focus will be blue but I'll certainly change it up by adding light blue (B) as the main wall color, gray blue (A) as an accent for the recessed area's and navy (C) and the secondary accent color on the columns to give the rooms some division.

I would most certainly use a neutral color for the foyer entrance, lower hallways and upstairs halls. Can you picture how striking this will look as a backdrop to that navy? You do have the option to add this neutral to the mantle to soften the look a bit.

Schumacher

I'd love to see a stronger color in the center of the room with just a hint of gold in the fabric. You can also see green in the fabric. That will tie in the green that should be in the area rug.

So when you're using blue in your home, make sure you use a variation of the color you love. Just like you see in the cakes from light blue to navy and even incorporate the other colors in the photo. It all adds up to one delicious color palette.

Contact me, Donna Frasca, a Color Consultant in South Charlotte, to schedule an appointment with you if you'd like to see these blue hue's in your home.

Ripe Color

Color inspiration doesn't have to look beautiful it just has to have great color or at least color you like. For instance, look at this ripe banana. Is it a gorgeous photograph? No, not really but hey, photography is not my forte but color certainly is. Here's what you can do with “Ripe Banana”.

From the not so ripe part of the banana which is a bit on the green side to the very ripe, rich brown you see for the media room, this potassium filled color scheme is enough hue for your entire home! That is a wide range of colors!

Since choosing color for homes with open floor plans is my specialty as Color Specialist, I almost always use the lightest color for the foyer, halls, ceilings or trim.

I love to use warm colors in the kitchen such as golds, yellows or very warm greens. Since we all spend so much time in the kitchen, it's just a nice choice to have a color that will be gentle to the homeowner first thing in the morning.

In most cases, the living room is right next to the kitchen so make sure these two hues “play well” with each other.

You can get a bit more dramatic in the dining room so go darker! Keep in mind that many dining rooms have white or cream crown molding, white ceiling and maybe perhaps a white chair rail so dark and dramatic in this room is good - it you like that look.

Last but not least - the media room or man cave. I say, the darker the better here! Make it movie theater dark with dramatic hues.

The red that I highlighted here is actually from the apple. In this case, you can use this red as an accent color with ANY of these ripe colors. Do you know how many color combinations you can make here? Dozens upon dozens!!! How fun is this?

Choosing color for your home this way is perfect for the home that has an open floor plan. When you have one theme or inspiration piece, it ensures that ALL the colors will look great together no matter what combination you use.

Some designers will use various subject matters for inspiration such this design board. Here you see various objects from glasses to horses to sharks. Although the colors that Color Solutions International has pulled for this board are beautiful, one can possibly get confused if they were to choose color this way for their home. Keep in mind, CSI is in the fashion industry and color selection is different from fashion to home so the colors you wear may not be the colors you want in your home.

credit

Having said that, if you are choosing color for your home, consider using ONE theme such as a ripe banana or your favorite meal,  dessert or even a cocktail. If you are still reluctant to choose color this way, please contact me at DecoratingbyDonna@mac.com and I'd love to choose the perfect Color Recipe for you!

Color Trends for 2012 • Back to Basics

It's color I can live with. 

How about you?

Fine Dining, Fine Color

The finest wines, the best cuts of meat and the freshest seafood. Who wouldn't love that? Just about everyone I know enjoys the fine dining experience.

What is it that we love about fine dining? The flavor? The ambiance? The aroma?

The answer is yes to all those questions but there's one more detail that we probably don't realize when we dine - the colors. We eat with our eyes. If it doesn't look good, chances are we won't eat it. 

When I look at these delicious presentations, I not only see a fabulous meal but I see color schemes. Rich color, dark wood stains, accent colors to bring out architectural  features of a home, multi dimensional drapery to tie in the look and  a color palette that will tie in the clients likes and the features of the home.

Delicious food means delicious color. Wouldn't you like to see “Apple Crisp” in your kitchen? Or perhaps a “Ruth Chris Filet” in your living room?

Incorporate rich, unique color schemes into your home  - even the bathroom. These Rob Beecham bathrooms are cozy, rich and rooms you just want to spend hours in. Why? Because the towels are soft? No. Because the art is fantastic? Not so much. Why than? Because of the design and of course, the color.

You may or may not realize it but the color of a room has a huge impact on how we are going to feel in a particular room. Look at these bathrooms. The color scheme is cozy, spicy and luxurious.

This warm palette is comforting with it's yellow undertones and relaxing. Would you want to relax in this tub if the room was bright orange with yellow towels and bright blue window treatments? Not for long that's for sure.

So it's imperative to choose the RIGHT colors for your home. It's what turns a house into a home. With the millions of colors that are available to us how will you know which ones are right for you? 

I'm Donna Frasca, a Color Specialist in South Charlotte. I specialize in color schemes that are highly customized to suit you and your home. Contact me to help you choose the finest color for your home.