Dear Palm Springs, I Have a Crush on You!

My recent and first trip to Palm Springs was exciting, too brief and left me with the following sights I am still thinking about and loving:

Architecture, architecture architecture!

Mid-century of course!

Use of color and high contrast: 

 Parker Palm Springs Hotel

 Saguaro Palm Springs

 Unexpected color:

Petal pink doors on church near Joshua Tree

Swimming at night

Night time color:

 

Drinks at the famous Riviera Hotel where Elvis, Sinatra and others entertained

Street Color

 The haunting beauty of Joshua Tree

The fireplace in our vacation rental:

The wonderful Deco bar in my friends rental home:

Looking at all the mid-century furniture for sale-at outlandish prices.  This recovered sofa I fell in love with ran over $3000!

 Unexpected encounters with unusual wildlife; This large bird came over to my car to say hello!

 Following the movie star maps and oogling the homes of past Hollywood greats:

 Elvis's Home

Sinatra's Home ( for a few thousand a night you can rent this-it even still has the chipped bathroom sink where Sinatra threw a champagne bottle at then wife, Ava Gardner!)

Elrod's home used in the James Bond film, "Diamonds are Forever"

was the only disappointment.  It's secluded up in the hills behind a gate.  It is for sale, however, if you've got 13 or 14 million dollars to spare!

 Although we missed a few "must do's" and the thrift stores were a disappointment, I look forward to my next trip back to the dessert.

My New "Big Girl" Office!

Photo Source

Confession time; I have very busy with a new adventure these last 6 weeks! The fun started when I began looking at fresh ideas for different ways I can offer my color services as well as the baby steps towards another little side business. With commercial rentals being at an all time low, it occurred to me that I could take my business in a whole new direction. 

My home office (which shares space with my guest room and the family computer) was getting cramped with color samples, books and project stuff. My fledgling side business with clothing was also starting up so our little home had reached overflow capacity! I started to dig around one of my favorite little cities, Alameda, and found a couple of waterfront offices at shockingly cheap prices.

Although I've had an out of town client pick up items at my home office once before, I usually see people at their site. Color is best viewed, when possible, on site. But I've been rethinking the possibilities of this lately and decided to try an approach where I do have a public office that people can meet me at, if needed. Having open office hours at my home didn't seem practical or safe.

I guess one of the few bright spots in a bad economy is the opportunity for small business owners to get into an office. I canceled one off my list when they asked for a one year rental lease. The other one immediately caught my eye not only for the price (and month to month rent) but it's amazing location! One side of the office building is bordered by a pretty little marina full of boats while on the other side is on the San Francisco Bay with breathtaking views of San Francisco. 

I was so excited to find this, my mind raced at the possibilities for moving some of my careers goals and passions forward. I didn't mind that the building is older and in a time warp of 70's/80's design in the common areas.  What is the real estate saying? Location, location, location!

My first order of business was furnishing the space.....on a tight budget!  As usual, I turn to the holy trinity of my sources; Etsy, Craigslist and HomeGoods. My landlord is so cool and is allowing me to paint the office....music to any colorist's ears...or perhaps, eyes.

But as tempting as it is to paint a vacant room and then furnish, I know better.

Here is the back part of my office with by bamboo desk found at a local antique store. The big question is to paint or not to paint?

Example:

Source: 1st Dibs

Next came an upholstered chair from my mothership, HomeGoods:

I also picked up the Drexel Heritage lamp there for a steal as it was missing a couple of crystals.  I started to see this space was taking on a Hollywood Regency feel.  I've always liked that style but never had room for too much of it in a house full of boys/men!

I didn't like the idea of file cabinets for my color chips so I found this very long dresser on good 'ol Craigslist.  Two antique dealers I purchased it from routinely buy good quality, but outdated furniture, and paint it white. They even redid the handles in silver. 

This piece is from Bassett Furniture, probably early 70's, and I can tell you from moving it, it weighs a ton!! There is no way I could have purchased a new one of this quality.  I think I spent $125 on this and it has lovely lines as well as solid drawers.

I wanted something quirky and cool for drinks, cups and my coffeemaker.  The idea of a cocktail cart

has always been interesting.  For this, I turned to Etsy.  I quickly found a few sweet carts at great prices.  As I tried to decide, I also found out that they sell quickly! So I pounced on this little green and chrome number.

I still had some substantial wall space to deal with.  Visions of velvet loveseats or chaises started dancing in my head!  This was tempered with the reality of the prices I was seeing online.  $800 for a mass produced, poorly built one? Na, I'll pass.  Back to Craigslist again!  Two weeks of searching lead me to this one:

  This antique, coral velvet one was being offered by a dealer of abandoned storage space contents for $300!  My poor husband was not happy about the drive out to a sketchy warehouse area near Candlestick Park in San Francisco to pick it up in the pouring rain to save the delivery charge... nor the effort it took to get it up to my second floor office.  After 21 years of marriage, he says he knows better than to get in between me and a furniture find!

Lastly, considering some artwork.  Already bought this on Etsy but it's small. Love it:

Source : Kathy Panton/Etsy

Considering this in a very large format:

 Source: Bomobob/Esty

I also need a large mirror, but I haven't gotten that far yet.  I'm going to keep the walls neutral as much for balancing out all this color as for viewing color chips within my office without a lot of competing  wall color getting in the way.  Perhaps Benjamin Moore's Shaker Gray, Night Train or Gibraltar Cliffs?  Maybe darker? We'll see as things progress.  Sometimes progress seems painstakingly slow but it's actually come quite far this two weeks.

  I'm so excited to have a little office to call my own.  My husband and I call it my Big Girl Office! The fact that I can have a little 165 square foot slice of the waterfront is just icing on the cake. I'll be sure to post an update when it's finished.

The Latest Rankings on Paint Brands

 

Source: Aircanada

The discussion of paint brands is always a hot topic and often a hotly debated subject in this industry. Whether you are asking designers, painting contractors or homeowners, there's a variety of opinions. Not everyone is aware that there are a few different official rankings available that are based on testing and criteria. 

The three I frequently look at are JD Powers, Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping. While JD Powers ranks consumer satisfaction, Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping rank paint brands based on testing. Unless you're a color nerd, it can be a bit daunting to sift through the data to filter out the overall results.

For example, my latest issue of Consumer Reports (March 2012) tested various paint lines from 13 different major brands, ranking by 3 sheen's and challenging:

Hiding

Stains

Gloss change

Scrubbing

Smoothness 

Mildew Resistance

Resisting Sticking (tackiness when dry)

Fading

VOC levels

In 2012, Benjamin Moore edged out Behr which held all three top ranks in 2011. Benjamin Moore came in first for Satin/Eggshell as well as in the Semi-gloss category. Consumer Reports states they've seen a steady improvement over the years in Benjamin Moore's quality but Behr remains the best value for what you get money-wise. Blue checks were also given for overall good values for the quality in different paint brands.

Here are the rankings for the top 4 in 2012:

Satin/Eggshell

Benjamin Moore Aura (Up from #6 last year)

Behr Premium Plus Ultra Satin Enamel ( 1^st Place last year)

Kilz Brand (Stayed in #3 spot from 2011)

Glidden Premium Satin (Down from #3 last year)

Flat and Matte

Behr (Premium Plus Ultra ) Same rank as 2011

Benjamin Moore's Aura Matte ( up from 7^th place last year)

Behr's Premium Plus Flat Enamel (#2 last year for Behr)

Benjamin Moore's Natura Flat (3^rd Place in 2011)

Semigloss

Benjamin Moore's Regal Select (jump from #7 last year)

Behr's Premium Plus (Held at #2 spot)

Benjamin Moore's Aura (Huge jump from #13 last year)

Royal Interiors by ACE ( Up one spot from #5 in 2011)

Bottom rankings in all three categories goes to Color Place by Walmart.

Good Housekeeping ranks paints differently ….......This data is harder to sift through compared to Consumer Reports and it's fuzzy regarding how many paints were tested overall. Less precise rankings were given besides letter grades and a conclusion of pro versus cons in the resulting 25 that they listed.

Good Housekeeping 2011

The test process was explained for achieving the following tests:

Splatter Resistance

Scratch Resistance

Drying Time

Coverage Area

Coverage Quality

UV Resistance

Stain Removal

Color Consistency

Overall Quality and Texture

A grades went to:

Freshaire

PPG Pure Performance (Eggshell)

Dutch Boy Interior Semi-Gloss

Ace Royal Interior Flat

JD Powers and Associates 2011 Consumer Rankings

These rankings were based on 6 criteria from consumers/homeowners only for 19 major paint brands:

Application

Production Offerings

Durability

Price

Design Guidelines

Warranty

Benjamin Moore came out as the stand alone winner while Porter Paints and Sherwin Williams came in second and third reflectivity. At the bottom of the heap were Color Place (Walmart), Martha Stewart (Surprise!) Glidden, Olympic, True Value and Ace paints. 

When I analyze the plethora of data and the fact that:

1. Not all paint brands were included in all rankings.

2. Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping listed different criteria and ultimately conducted testing in different ways.

Ace: All over the place with higher rankings through Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping but below average points with JD Powers.

Behr: Middle rankings with Good Housekeeping and JD Powers but high marks with Consumer Reports.

Benjamin Moore: ranked top in both JD Powers as well as Consumer Reports although the Aura, Regal and Ben paint lines only scored in the B grade ranges for Good Housekeeping. You're not going to find too many colorists who don't use this line as one of the back bones of their paint and color preferences.

Glidden: This was all over the place! While placing well in most of Consumer Reports 2012 rankings, they placed a B grade in Good Housekeeping and below average with JD Power.

Kelly Moore: The darling of painting contractors in my area, Kelly Moore only appeared in the JD Powers reviews and ranked average in all criteria but above average in durability.

Olympic: Wide ranging reviews again from middling to low reviews in latest Consumer Reports, B grades from Good Housekeeping to poor reviews from consumers for JD Powers.

Sherwin Williams: While receiving lower reviews from Consumer Reports, they received high marks from consumers in the JD Powers rankings. No published reviews from the latest Good Housekeeping latest list.

Valspar: Middle of the road reviews from all three rankings.

 Photo Source

Bottom of the heap: True Value received middle lower to downright bad scores over all three ranking systems while Walmart's ColorPlace came in last place with Consumer Reports and JD Powers but are not in Good Housekeeping's latest rankings.

Hey I'm only the messenger on this but I do love asking my clients and painter for their experiences with paint brands. Many of the other paints reviewed only appeared in one of the rankings so I didn't delve into them. Where do YOU stand on paint brands? What are your experiences?

Modern Colors and Inspiration for a Bayside Kitchen Remodel

Happy New Year!

  As promised, I'm starting the year off with a post about kitchen colors. Much of what I seemed to work on this past year involved helping clients select colors and materials for kitchen remodels.  We're not just talking about repainting and adding a few new appliances.  All of the kitchens I've worked on this last year were ripped down to the studs and redesigned to fit the homeowners tastes and provide better space utilization. Exciting stuff!


One of my favorite projects involved a bay side condo. The owner was fortunate enough to own two lovely condos in this condo community and was able to live in one with his family while working on remodeling the other unit. 

This is what we started with!

 

 Although I always prefer to work with colors in a completed kitchen, this is almost never the case.  Many decisions are being made and most homeowners prefer to start thinking about colors as well.  Luckily, the cabinets and counters were already installed and I was able to see the hardware and flooring that had been purchased for the rest of the remodel. 

The lovely Caesarstone counter tops were a high contrast from the deep, rich cabinets.  The floorplan is open to the living room so the entire great room has to be considered in this situation so colors flow. 

 My client had some wonderful inspiration pieces we initially worked with.  The first one was a wine label on a favorite bottle of wine from Napa Valley.  After much consideration, my client agreed that working around the purple/silver combination was not going to easily allow for the other colors he wanted to bring in.


 Another inspiration piece he brought out was a colorful leather purse he had purchased for his wife in Italy.  The lovely deep burnt orange was the direction I was hoping we would go in.  He also had a business card from a taco bar in San Diego which had a similar deep orange/red he liked as well as a deep grey.  A small sample of tile he had picked up recently contained more colors he liked.  Although we considered the tile for the column on the left side of the kitchen, it was ruled out budget wise.

Colors used were Concord Ivory, Amherst Gray, Cornsilk and Fireball Orange.

Inspiration pieces: 

 

Fast forward and I returned to see the result.  My favorite part!  Although my clients are still working on the rest of the condo and have not moved in yet, they are thrilled with the outcome.  They love to cook and entertain so this modern kitchen compliments this perfectly! 

A huge thanks to them for letting me help them realize their vision!

How Flowers Can Be the Perfect Addition of Color for Your Home

The busy rush of the holiday season makes blogging a challenge to fit into the hectic days.  As a treat, I'm happy to have London based florist, Patricia Hall, take over for me this month to discuss the importance of flowers in adding color to your home.  I'll be back in January to show you one of the many kitchens I worked on in 2011.   I'm excited to show you the inspiration that my client and I worked with on the path towards the color palette for his family's dream kitchen.  Until then, happy holidays and enjoy this lovely post from Patricia!

 No matter what the decorating style of a home is, adding the touch of flowers brings a new feeling of freshness, cheerfulness and peace. 

Each variety of flower and way of arranging fresh cut blossoms has its own touch of flair and way of setting the atmosphere. They bring a splash of color and brighten the appearance of any room in a simple, natural and unpretentious way. Instead of worrying about redecorating or repainting a room, focus on bringing flowers into your home to add the desired pop of color. 

Flower Personality - Use the Common Impressions of Color to Create Atmosphere

For centuries, flowers have been prized for their beauty and color. Whether from the formal Language of the Flower, which attributed certain emotions to each variety, or simply from hours spent in a grandmother's flower garden, flowers have come to have special meanings. Much of this has to do with the unconscious part of the mind that attributes feelings to colors and shapes. Sunflowers give people an impression of cheerfulness because of the big size and bright yellow petals. A bouquet of baby's breath and white roses is romantic and subtle. These associations with certain flowers makes choosing the flowers to display easier, by turning the focus on the desired feel for the room.

 
  Keep these common impressions of flowers in mind when you order flowers for your home. What atmosphere do you want the room to have? Do you want to keep in style with the decor of the room or would you rather spice things up a bit? If you aren't sure, try lots of things. 

The wonderful thing about the short lifespan of flowers is that it gives you lots of room for change and different arrangements. To add excitement or cheerfulness, order flowers that are red, orange, bright yellow or hot pink. For a more peaceful atmosphere, choose soft pink, pale yellow, purple and blue arrangements that have lots of white and green in them. 

 

  For a room that feels bland and boring and that needs a touch of cheery color, choose arrangements of bright, big flowers. Simple, symmetrical bouquets of daisies in bright pinks and oranges are stunning in the minimalist, modern room. If your decor isn't quite as simple, pick arrangements of flowers that are big combined with a few other varieties of complimenting blossoms. 


 Placing Flowers - How to Use Bright Color to the Best Advantage

Once you've chosen your flower arrangement, it is key that you put it in a place in your home where they can shine. Pick a central location to display the flowers. The middle of the dining room table or a coffee table is a great choice. To let the flowers bring their perfect splash of color, clear clutter away so the eyes are naturally drawn to the arrangement. Think about pulling a few buds from the arrangement, cutting the stems and putting them in a tiny vase in the bathroom or on a windowsill. Having flowers in more than one place around the room spreads the color and warmth. 

If you don't want the flowers to be the centerpiece, pick a dull corner. Balance the color in the room by putting the flowers where there isn't much brightness. Keep in mind that they'll flourish more near a window and the light will shine through the petals, but don't be afraid to brighten a darker part of the room with colorful flowers.

 

Instead of stressing the need for a change in decor, enjoy the effortless beauty of flowers. Flowers bring bright spots of color to rooms that need change. The freshness and natural beauty adds life and interest. Taking note of the atmosphere desired and flowers' natural personality will simplify the process of choosing flowers and changing the feeling of a room. Knowing where to place the arrangement will make the flowers change the room completely. Whether you want to brighten your own home or send flowers to a friend to share some color, don't settle for the first choice, but think about what feelings you want the fresh picked decor to bring and how you can make them a beautiful focal point in your home.

 About the Author

Patricia Hall of Serenata Flowers works part-time for a London based florist but loves to surround herself with flowers at any given point of time. Even in her free time she loves to involve herself with everything flora and fauna. 'To me there is nothing more beautiful and global as the language of flowers - it is the easiest to understand all around the world in the same way. That is one reason why I truly admire flowers for what they represent in some ways - unity of all mankind!