Name: Suzanne and Justin
Location: New York, NY
Type: 1 Bedroom, 1 Office, 1 Living Room with Galley Kitchen, Family-Owned.
Why I use color:
My boyfriend and I love to travel. We try to bring every trip back into our home, which has made for an interesting color palette. Once we decided on a deep, rich red rug, that set us up with all warm, red tones. Now we aren't afraid to bring something home that is bright gold or a bold orange. Everything we bring back with us finds a place somewhere...
Our artwork above the couch is made from a stack of papers bought at a Hong Kong street market! I think our greatest design discovery was when we realized the items we already have – board games, books, photographs, scarves, magazines – make for great color in the apartment. (Next, I'd like to top an old side table with beer mats I collected when studying abroad in Dublin.)
Throughout our apartment, we try to use the dominant colors of deep reds, browns, and gold. The office is the only exception – I wanted something that felt a little different, to separate work from home. I absolutely love mint chocolate chip anything, so that inspired the office.
2 Good color tips:
1. Sometimes the things from inside a drawer can be displayed neatly and creatively, adding a whole bunch of different colors into one little organized space. We wanted to jazz up our dark entryway, so we hung all my scarves, and now it's a wall of color!
2. So much can inspire color...certainly a great piece of artwork or a pillow, but as you can see, I used an ice cream flavor for the office!
Favorite type and brand of paint:
Valspar Pale Ecru – it's the perfect backdrop to the things we hang on the walls.
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eh...
I LOVE this house.
It's all magnolia!
I like this. Not a lot of bold colors like some we've seen, but still airy and warm. And put together well.
I love the rug in the bedroom.... but overall the entire place is way too ethnic for my taste.
Can someone id the bedside tables please?? Many thanks.
I like the look of this place, but I wouldn't single it out for use of color.
The black desk seems out of place to me, actually. The rest of the space is so light and airy so the dark desk seems a bit oppressive in context.
But I like the bedroom and living areas. They seem very comfortable and pleasant, and you can tell that friendly people live here.
The living room looks spectacularly comfortable, a warmth that exudes from the color palette...the wall art, rug, and pillows all connected to one another, very nice. The adjacent dining nook is a wonderful use of space and the table is a work of art in itself. The use of subtle repeating patterns makes its way to the bedroom very nicely, similar in style to the living room, except this time with cooler colors. From the decorative pillows to the ancient egyptian nick-nacks, this apartment is very nicely put together. beautiful job.
The bedside tables are Melrose Nightstands from Crate and Barrel (bought in 2002). Thanks for your comment, everyone. The reds are bolder in person than in photos, especially in the sun!
I think this a beautiful home, but for a color contest? Doesn't really fit the bill.
This is a lovely house, but it's much more interesting for use of patterns than color...
Really beautiful but not really in the running for a color contest. Please don't let the vote make you think it's a bad space though!
Thanks, Laura! We definitely don't think it's a bad space. We love it, and we love love love our colors. Thanks for your comments!
I love the use of color in the functional objects and artwork. The wall colors are the perfect contrast to highlight the artwork and nothing feels cold or staged. Real people - real living. Well done!
The palette throughout the house is subdued but works so well. Why can't subtle palettes be considered for a color contest? Color is definitely not an afterthought here. It pulls together each room and makes it work.
the carpet in the bedroom is beautiful!
I'm not trying to hate but i am not sure why this is entered in the contest for color?
This is space is very tasteful and sophisticated. It's warm, restful and comfortable without being too casual. The art and objets rock.
I love this place!!! The use of color in the living room make it so warm and inviting, and it's nicely offset by the cooler colors in the office. Very well done, Suzanne and Justin!
I especially love the artwork over the couch, and that you put it together yourself. Would you mind sharing how you did it?
This place is beautiful!
To scydream: one of the nice things about the color in this place is the fact that it's not overbearing. It's rich enough to be warm and inviting... bold enough to spark interest and generate conversation... but subtle enough to not overpower an NYC abode - they're known to be easily overpowered!
This looks like the kind of place I'd want to come spend the weekend... any chance Suz and Justin are available next weekend for an out of town guest??
A really interesting entry because, IMHO, it uses pattern both to introduce color and create energy like color does. Not sure how I will vote, but my compliments to the chefs.
Thanks, LauraC. We had a stack of papers from Hong Kong - they look a little like super thin paper napkins, almost identical. We just bought some inexpensive clip frames at IKEA and laid the papers in a pattern, clipped the plexiglass front over it, and that was it! The frames were around $12 each. We've tried it with postcards, photographs, holiday cards, even business cards.
They did a great job! Although i think it would have a better chance of winning the "AT Texture Contest", should there ever be one.
ditto, eh.
hmmm... "too ethnic", bonline? i think i see only 11/12 "ethnic" pieces in the whole place.
it doesn't scream color contest entry. it seems like they have a nice house, but its not really what the contest is about.
I have your coffee table!
I agree that the patterns are what really jumped out at me rather than the colors. I think your wall color highlights the patterns well without distracting from them. I'm torn on how to vote, but I think your apartment is very personal and homey. I really like it.
The reason that so many people are dinging this one for not being colorful enough is because the entry criteria states "boldest, coolest, most colorful" entry. Again, this is a lovely, homey, warm space - but I concur that its not really blowing my socks off with its use of color.
Thanks again for all the comments. A number of submissions display bold wall colors, which is great and really beautiful. We just like using color in other ways - not paint on the walls, but in the rugs, pillows, tapestries, and artwork. For that, the more, the brighter, the bolder, the better. But hey - everyone feels differently about what a color contest should be!
sorry, but i kinda dont get it. its -- well, dull. but what do i know.
Yes, what a gorgeous rug in the bedroom. Aquired through one of your travels, I'm guessing? If not, I'd go buy it now!
I see you have excellent taste in board games! Is that Ticket to Ride, Alhambra, and Blokus? ;-)
I LOVE all of your warm colours and patterns. The textures in the bedroom and so wonderful.
My favorite thing? The three remotes used as decoration!
Lots of pattern and texture; a differnt use of colors.
What does "family owned" mean?
Love your bedroom!!
i dont see color as much as i see patterns.
The colors are warm and subdued, except in the room with the black desk. So inviting and calming and soothing. I'm envious.
what color is that on the bedroom walls? me likes.
Here are a few responses:
The bedroom walls are Benjamin Moore Linen White.
The rug, like a lot of our non-travel things, is a hand-me-down. (Kitchen chairs, coffee table, etc.)
It's funny that the black desk has been mentioned - I'm a graduate student and bought that desk off Craigslist. I was so excited when I found it so cheap! It was from the former Hold Everything, and an office was closing down, so there were about 20 of those exact desks to choose from. A sea of black desks.
Thanks, and best of luck to all the other entrants!
Oh and tam-tbag, good game eyes! Yes, the games are Ticket to Ride, Alhambra, Bamboleo, and Blokus.
What does "way too ethnic" mean?
What a great apartment! Hats off to Justin and Suzanne. They've made some great choices.
Warm colors welcome you in with open arms and the appealing use of space makes lounging seem necessary. I'd imagine this is the perfect space for an informal gathering of ten to twelve friends.
i have to say i'm not a fan of this place. the bones of the place, yeah, it's beautiful. but the decor is totally lackluster. and i don't see the fit with a color contest. just my 2 cents!
I think your place uses color wonderfully. Great job on integrating all your travels - feels authentically yours while staying pretty and neat. Wonderful!
I always think its kinda funny because a few of my friends have done it too and I personally can see how its pretty but my (more traditional) sister and mom are horrified.
Those papers that you guys got from Asia is joss paper that us Asian folk burn for the dead. Kind of like "afterlife currency", it is supposed to help your departed relatives "cope" in the afterlife. These papers are usually folded into ingots and burnt in memorial services to the dead. Some of these joss paper-craft even come in miniature 3-d (papier-mache-like) items: as basic as books, scrolls and even toothbrushes to luxury items like mercedes benzes and gold watches, cell phones etc.
When I told my family about the "decorative" paper my friends put up in their dorm, they were initially aghast - not a very auspicious thing to do, invoking the dead, "teasing" them with these "offerings" that you don't burn for them. Totally cracked me up when my mom suggested that I take them down without my clueless friends' notice and destroy them. I guess Asians don't find too much mirth in the dead, unlike the celebrations of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos. Oh well.
i love this home. the colors are beautiful and creatively presented. the bedroom rug and wall hanging are stunning. the whole space feels very grounded. unlike some of the entries, which forsake a lot of personality in order to be sleek and modern, this looks like real people live there - real people with great taste, that is. i like that books, board games, wine bottles, and other evidence of living are not tucked away but showcased.