#4 - Lizm's "Color Rocks"

Name: lizm
Location: Oakland
Type: My husband, two kids, and I live in a 2 bedroom craftsman bungalow/house that we own

Why I use color:

Why do I use color? I use color to enhance our lives. White walls make me crazy and dull. Color can make a place welcoming and comfortable. People are too afraid of color - especially dark or uncommon colors - and when they add more of it to their lives, it can be a really good thing...

...Color can create contrast and life, enhance moods and inspire creativity. Color rocks.

2 Good color tips:

1) Stay away from too peachy and too minty, you will regret it (they go really far south as they age and get dirty)
2) Don't be afraid of color, it can be your friend

Favorite type and brand of paint:

I have been really happy with Benjamin Moore eggshell finish latex paint, but used oil paint in the bathroom, and the black went on like a dream (but it was stinky and messy to clean up).

Comments (25)

I like your black bathroom very much.

The photos are intriguing, but don't show enough of the rooms.

Oh my God. Where did that rhino head over the mantel come from? That is AWESOME.

I agree - too many detail shots, and no sense of how the colors move through the spaces. And whats with the magical hovering gumball in the last picture?

Pretty damn cool!! Dramatic and unique. Thanks.

Seconding bumblebeechicago - that rhino head is amazing.

As for the rest, I like what I see, but I'm really not getting a sense of how things look overall. It's like we're peeking at this house through a keyhole.

I love the green in the middle shot - is that your kitchen?

I <3 Mr. Rhino.

Love the rhino?

What's the Benjamin Moore color used on that wall? And on the kitchen wall (the creamy colored one)? I'm just in the process of looking at colors like those...

thanks!

Sorry I couldn't get past the rhino.

I can't really get a sense of your home. While your color choices are bold, I don't really see how they relate to each other.

While it looks like it could have potential, I can't even see a single piece of furniture (only hints of edges and corners).

I thought there was a guide on how to photograph your home... :(

http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/how-to/how-to-photograph-your-home-020319

Wow! That's the most beautiful bathroom I've ever seen!

May I ask where you got that shower curtain??

i wanted that shower curtain from anthro soooo badly but when i went to get it they had no more :(

yours looks delicious in that fantastic black bathroom :) good luck in the contest!

Where's the rest of the house? It's like everything's been manipulated to provide you with just a tiny taste of what's there. I don't trust a submission that doesn't provide a comprehensive look at the home. It makes me feel like the (e.g.) bedroom walls are supposed to fill in the blanks for what the rest of the bedroom looks like.

I would also love to know where the rhino head is from. Wow!

LOVE the bathroom, thought the rest of the colors were pretty typical and the weird blue/green combo was....eh.

not a fan of the metal rhino head, but i'll get yelled at for all my real taxidermy when i submit my apt...

the black wall was very brave!

nice bathroom. Too bad about the rooster curtains. I love love love the colored windows on the door, though - is that a DIY?

Love the shower curtain and the black bathroom! And love the contrast between the yellow and the fireplace tiles. Very original!

you lost me at cock a doodle- doo. window treatment?

i love the happy colorful door, that's my favorite.
the wall color contrast against the stone fireplace is fabulous.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your color choices! Wow...what a terrific looking place. Wish I could see the details of your home. Do you have more Rhino heads out and about???

:-)

love the rhino, hate the chickens
can't get a sense of the apt from the photos

is the rhino metal?
more info on the rhino, pls!

Sorry everyone, the rhino is a one-of-a-kind, made by a sculptor friend as one in a series of masks. It is welded metal.

I understand lots of people are opposed to the roosters, (good thing none of you live with me, because I would tell you tough-titties) but "hate" - come on - be a little more civilized than that, please.

I wanted to answer other questions too...

The shower curtain is from Anthropologie.

The colored windows on the door in the kitchen are diy - it is colored vellum taped to the windows!

The green color behind the oh-so-distained roosters is the kitchen, just above the sink, but is not Benjamin Moore paint, it is a low-voc stuff that is Celery Green, and the yellow/cream in the kitchen is also not Ben. Moore, it is a combo of Laura Ashley Cowslip 3 and white (my husband played mad-scientist until we hit a color we liked, sorry).

The ochre behind the rhino is called American Gold, and it is also a low-voc, which I bought at Eco Home Improvement on San Pablo along with the Celery green.

The magic hovering gumball, I believe, is Jupiter. That is my kids room, and they have a solar system hanging from the ceiling.

I don't think it's "uncivilized" to say you hate chickens/roosters in design. They did get a little over-played. I don't mind them, but I can think of a bunch of things I would say I hate if I saw them....butterfly chairs for one.

Your friend should sell rhinos online...from the reaction of everyone else he'd sell at least five (me included).