Name: Planetsusanna
Location: Silverlake in Los Angeles, California
Type: 1 bedroom garden cottage
Why I use color: I am a costume designer for feature films and I am from Finland, these are two inescapable truths of my life. My world has always been ruled by colors ranging from super saturated or to muted and subdued, either way I am always hyper aware of the psychology of colors and I integrated this into all my creations.

My home had always been a crash pad between films and I felt that it didn’t really represent me and my colorful travels and experiences around the world. Now that I have moved from “renter beige” to rich tones of gold I find that my home is filled with sunshine and good fortune!

For my home, my friend, Nadia Barker of Hue & Timber, took cues from the artwork of my grandfather and the funky textiles of Marimekko to create the color scheme of my home.
The colors range from a rich saffron, like a monks robe, to a jasmine tinged lime yellow in the dining room. The bath is a gold toned vinyl that disguises the uneven walls and looks like Venetian plaster. My bedroom is a muted taupey, grey color called Mt. Rushmore which is great when I have night shoots, cocoon city!!!! It’s just such a pleasure to wake up in a home that’s filled with color!
2 Good color tips:
1. Instead of using a white or ivory we used a white with a hint of pink in it, almost like white/pink/peach you would find inside a conch shell and used it on the ceiling. That way the reflected light in the room wouldn’t appear too yellow and all my guests have a nice healthy glow to their skin!
2. We used eggshell finish paint on all the walls and ceiling, not flat. I like how an eggshell finish looks so much cozier with lights that are on dimmers!

Favorite type and brand of paint:
I love the ICI Color chips, I pinned then up in every room and watched how the colors changed thru out the day, but honestly, for our budget we color matched and used Dunn Edwards paint for every room, such easy coverage!


Comments (44)
When can I move in?
such a lovely space. the colors are warm and sophisticated and the lighting throughout is great. bravo!
Holy sh**! This rocks! What's that living room wall color?
yes please share the living room color!
Excellent work, love the color pallet and the idea of a pinkish tint to the ceiling is indeed a great idea as part of lighting is as much it's reflective qualities as it is direct.
Nice work
I love the bathroom. Please tell me where you got the zebra print mat. J'adore!
I love it... but what happened to only getting to submit 5 photos?
This house is soooo close. I think it could do with a smidge of editing. What's in the corner in the dining room? That could be bare. And is that folding screen actually hiding anything? I would also lose the globe on the coffee table and a bunch of those pots on top of the green armoire. And the zebra pillow on either side of the sideboard have to go.
Those lamps on the sideboard are incredible! The bathroom is flawless and aside from the weird thing in the corner, I love the dining room. I've tried and tried to achieve that casual art gallery look and I fail every time.
I voted Insta-Finalist.
love the rug in the living room...
I love it, but yes the contest rules state only 5 photos can be submitted. This gives this home an unfair advantage.
I love this one! Please share more about the bathroom light fixture.
I like the tip about the pinkish white on the ceiling, I'll have to remember that when I paint my ceilings. I really like Dunn Edwards eggshell paint, great coverage and low VOC for a good price.
Well done!
Liking this a whole lot, but feeling a bit cranky about those extra 2 shots. No fair! (Not the fault of the submitter, I don't think?)
It's funny that you work in the film industry because before even reading anything I thought the second photo looked like the quirky movie set. Very nice!
Hey Color voters,
Sorry about the extra 2 photos--not that they weren't fantastic, but we got a little blog-spastic and accidentally posted all of the submitted ones.
Lush and interesting. The bedroom could have been left out,the other rooms are so much stronger. Costume designer! One of my fantasy dream jobs. Best of luck.
Bring back the bathroom! We don't need to see the hallway. BRING BACK THE BATHROOM!
Lovely. But wasnt this done by a professional????
This is very nice, but I'm not sure a home put together by an interior decorator fits with the spirit of the contest. It would be a wonderful Home Tour, but I voted it down for the CB2 contest.
What color is your living room yellow?
Doesn't the 3rd bullet under Eligibility, in the contest rules, state "It can be designed by a professional or by a weekend hobbyist"?
Lovely home. I like the tip about the bit of pink in the white ceiling paint.
Wish I'd seen this entry when the other two pictures were still up! This home is oh so nice. Insta-finalist!
Beautiful home and colors. Yes, the rules do state that the design can be done by a professional.
This is an interesting, fun space! I love the green cabinet with those walls and the zebra-striped chairs.
One of the best, top 3 in the whole contest, in my opinion.
I have that same cabinet in red!
KARAATTTEE chop!
bathroom lighting is gorgeous!
Great work, a bit theme-y on the chinoiserie but I'm guilty of that myself. I love the bold black and white, and that dining fixture is way fun. Good luck!
I'll be bringing over my sleeping bag, THanks!
Seriously, I LOVE YOUR HOUSE!
Beautiful! I can't help but look at your pictures and think about the "karate chop" pillow discussion a few months back.
Jamie, I thought I was the only one that noticed!
Ooh, so lovely and sophisticated. But why, oh why, is the bedroom so bland? The putty color is a bit dead, and that wimpy piece of artwork over the bed is, well, wimpy. That room lacks the energy and life of the rest of your home. But I'm just nitpicking -- the bedroom is your private sanctuary, and thanks for sharing it with us.
Beautiful, indeed!
While I think this is a really lovely house, I don't think it has the "pow" of color I think of when I think of a "colorful" house. Yes, they took a yellow (which I hate for walls, but which I think looks nice here), and put it everywhere. Sure, there are some accents in artwork and decoration, but really not that much. This is sort of like the house where everything was all natural-colored. Lovely, but not really "colorful."
totally gorgeous and lush
where is the green cabinet from. ive been looking for one in red!
i love the warmth and the personality of this entry!
Lovely. And you still managed to sneak in the required cat on bed image! ;-)
Hello,
Thank you for all your kind comments!
To answer some of the questions about the colors and accessories used in this home.....
The inspiration was famed Hollywood design legend Tony Duquette, hence all the gold, blatant lack of self control with the accessories and chinoiserie elements.
The living room wall color is: Yosemite Gold from Benjamin Moore.
The ceiling color is: Almond Wisp from ICI
(I wish the bathroom pictures were still up!)
The zebra rug in the bath is from this quaint little french boutique called...Tarrrgettte!
The bathroom wallpaper is an amazing gold wallpaper from a green company called Tri-kes (in Texas).
The bath fixture....is from Belgium, made the 1930's of bronze it's a chrysanthemum chandelier. We found in a junk store and it was totally crushed and bent out of shape. Ray Ferra Lighting on La Brea spent hours carefully bending all the leaves back to shape.
The living room lamps and the shades on the sideboard....Z Gallery.....(I kid you not).
The Livingrooms green asian cabinet or one similar is from Peking 62 in Los Angeles, ask for Monica.
Last question....the “cat” on the bed, is actually a dog...a dog named Misty, but she wouldn’t mind that you thought she was a cat...
Thanks Again!!!
What is the yellow (?) rug or flooring in the bedroom?
I'm wondering if it could be a "natural blonde" bamboo rug (Anji Mtn.)
Thank you
Warm, inviting, personal and colorful. Hope you win.
Must. Have. Those. Chairs. Where did you get the zebra fabric? Can you tell us the story behind the chairs, please? I need details!
what a warm home.
The flooring is just the regular blond wood flooring that came with the house, but the bulb in the light fixture is a full color spectrum flood, which makes a warm halo on the head of the person who stands under it and answer's the front door, so maybe thats why folks thought it was a rug.
The fabric on the chairs is a block printed unbleached linen from fabric.com and it was all of $9.99 a yard (score)....which was a heck of alot more thrifty considering the fabric that it was inspired by costs $150.00 a yard at the PDC. (I chose the unbleached linen (vs. bleached) for the chairs because Suz has pets, and the sofa had been purchased 2 years before and was already lovingly "broken in" by the dogs.....)
The chairs came from one of my fav junk stores in NOHO and I had my upholster reconfigure the channels and the welting to look more Hollywood and then make up some extra pillows for the old ultra suede ottomans that we tucked on either side of the buffet....
Oh, about the "Karate Chop" pillows, since everything 80's is back (again) this is my bow to my childhood.....(and maybe Miss Piggy) hiiiiyaaaahhhhhh!
I love the playfulness and the chic comfort! This place is sassy and has substance. The mid-century lines of the g-g-gorgeous credenza (is that rosewood?!) is a nice foil to the funky lamps and the zebra-print pillows/chairs.