#13 - Skapes & Hegs' Old Texture + New Color

Name: Skapes & Hegs
Location: Akron, OH
Type: 1910 Downtown Row Building, studio 1 bedroom, owned.

Why I use color: We used color to define the new construction from the original architecture. During our year long renovation, we fell in love with the texture of the old plaster walls. By distinguishing the new construction with bolder color, we didn't blend the old & new into one style. Instead, the building reveals its history through color & texture.

2 good color tips:

1. Stick with your gut feeling about color and don't change your mind mid-project.

2. My Dad, an architect, always tells me to choose colors I like and then wait until the project is finished to decide if they work.

2 good color resources:

1. Your wardrobe- you dress in colors like so use them to live in

2. Corporate Interiors- they hire professional designers, take notice how they use color subtlely

Comments (12)

I didn't know there were cute places in Akron! I am from Ohio too. I love what you've done with the place so far. Apple green is one of my favorite colors.

What is the piece of pink art on your wall in the kicthen? A clock? And where did you get it?

posted by peggy on 2006-10-12 13:50:26

Nice space however not enough color complexity. The dominate color is white.

posted by lynn on 2006-10-12 14:59:52

I think I like it...but I can't tell. I'm having a hard time picturing the whole place with only these 2 pics. I'd love to see more of your place though! I like the light green in the kitchen, I find it calming. Good luck with the contest!!

posted by Cassandra on 2006-10-12 15:18:32

love the room, love the yellow ceiling. I have new respect for Akron, Ohio. Is this space in a neighborhood of old building lofts? Show us more!

posted by dj on 2006-10-12 18:53:04

The space appears very open and the colors make it very welcoming. I'd like to see more of it!

posted by Fred on 2006-10-12 18:58:15

I really like the fact that we are not being hit over the head with the color. I think that the colors that were choosen are airy and that the more saturated colors are used in the accessories like the orange pitcher. The saturation of a color can make it appear radically different. I love color, but I discovered that for me it works best to have it in the art and the accessories. I found that saturated colors on my walls made the rooms feel very depressing in the winter. So, now my walls are ice mist and the trim is paper white, but the sheets are cactus and ocean.
Suzanne

posted by Suzanne Caplan on 2006-10-12 21:43:01

Take everything out of the rooms, including all that white trim, and just leave the walls and ceiling and you've got something. With colors so pale, there aren't any clean lines to see them.

posted by charlene on 2006-10-12 22:13:19

Love it. Very nicely done. I do think the AT readers tend towards minimalism, so your place, which is probably totally normal, looks cluttered. (I have to admit there's a lot going on). But from a color perspective I think it's really awesome. If we took those colors and put them in a sleek and minimalist kitchen I'm sure we'd all be really impresed. But I think it's a color contest, not a design notest, so this is definietley one of my favorites. THe red counter is sweet (and unexpected).

posted by greeps on 2006-10-13 08:00:39

This is one of my favorites so far!! Green and blue are my favorite colors and these are the perfect shades imo. I love mixing them in the kitchen and it's very well done. Thosre red counters are just the coolest thing. That w/ the metal (at least I think that's what it is) around the side of the countertops, gives it a 1950s feel to me which I love!

posted by Amanda on 2006-10-13 16:14:12

great idea. i'm not sure it reads without your explaining it, though, as the immortal interior of, for example, john dickinson's san francisco fire house living room did. the original plaster was falling off, a beautiful sort of amber/caramel color. he stabilized it, left it as it was, half decayed, and painting the bead board wainscoting bright zappy white. leather upholstery was caramel. the rest of the furniture was white, chrome or brass.
it made his point about the old and the new, and it is the single best interior i have ever seen. it is republished (from a 70s' house aned garden, it think) in San Francisco: A Certain Style, by Diane Dorrans Saeks.

posted by purejuice on 2006-10-16 11:56:00

I love your colors and the girl in the picture is so beautiful!

posted by Greg Kavinsky on 2006-10-16 21:21:54

Strange that you have 525 Insta and 567 No ways
and only 108 incontentions. I guess you either love it or hate it.

posted by Vote Police on 2006-10-22 16:21:27