Name: Lori
Location: Surfside, FL
Type: Owned 3 bedroom house (1650 sq ft)
Why I use color:
Color is the best way to set the mood of a space. As a transplanted
northerners, we needed our home to be a cool refuge from the
subtropical Miami weather, and I've used color to visually refresh
when we walk in the door...
We wanted the color scheme to complement the
clean mid-century modern lines of the house and highlight the original
features, like the terrazzo floors and large windows. The color also
serves to down play the low-ish ceilings with little contrast between
wall and ceiling. I also think a home should acknowledge its location,
so I've incorporated shades of water and sky, from the ocean a few
blocks away.
There are various pale shades on the walls, grey-green,
pale blue and faded yellow, which I like to offset with accessories in
more saturated tones, like golden yellow, cobalt and lime green.
Tranquility is key as a family with two young boys, so the master
bedroom is a serene lavender, with shades of grey and white offset by
a turquoise lamp and artwork. We wanted to keep my son's room in line
with the rest of the house, but more playful with little pops of
color.
2 Good color tips:
1) Color is relational and changes depending on what it is near, like the floor color or view out the window, and light has everything to do with what a color looks like and how it changes throughout the day.
2) The color never looks like the paint chip, so you either have to be flexible and satisfied with a surprise, or plan to repaint at least once to get the exact color.
Favorite type and brand of paint:
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Ooooh, love it!
view Tiffany's profile
Beautiful, refreshing use of color. I love it! Everything feels like sea glass. Soft and pretty without being too precious.
I am also jealous of your terrazzo floors!
view Anna at D16's profile
I like that dining room shot about as much I liked sfgirlbybay's before she swapped it with the livingroom. (A WHOLE LOT!!!)
view Lady J's profile
so pretty and homey!
view angorian's profile
I love the curtain concealing the office.
view crewtag.com's profile
please tell me the paint on the dining chairs if known!
love your home!
view susunj's profile
so in love with that dresser! vintage or new?
view colellis's profile
beautiful!
what is the pale blue cabinet behind the dining table?
view annhint's profile
How fresh!
view gretchen's profile
As a fellow cool-color lover, THIS is the kind of space that soothes me. Very, very nice. Instant finalist!
view Candice's profile
i love your place! it looks very chic and the colors go together great. nice work.
view tealeaf's profile
Fresh is definitely the word--like slipping into a freshly laundered shirt.
You have a fantastic eye for the subtle make-it-or-break-it details. In lesser hands this would have been an amateurish failure.
view Bruised's profile
oh, i love this! what a wonderful place you have.
view jodi's profile
Wonderful place. Very impressive. I wonder: what's hanging over your son's changing table/dress? I'm seeking ideas for the same space in my home... something interesting for a baby boy to gaze at, and in keeping with my own aesthetic.
view sarahbee's profile
Lovely! Please share the paint colours, if you happen to visit this post. :)
view PrettyKitty's profile
I think she did a really good job. But I also think it has nothing to do with fall colors.
Hmmm....actually, I'm somewhat new to AT....does Fall Colors Contest refer to the color contest conducted in October, or a color contest of autumnal hues?
view st@cy's profile
st@cy, it's to do with when it's held, not the range of colours :)
view stringy's profile
gorgeous!!!
love the dresser-drawer chest!
view sanna's profile
Beautiful! I would love to live here! I'm very surprised that the votes haven't been overwhelmingly insta-finalist, this is the best I've seen so far.
Also, very professional pictures - I think that might make a difference...
view TallulahBelle's profile
I hated Terrazzo floors while growing up in south Florida. Your floors however are georgeous!! So polished. You have a very nice home.
view orangejuce's profile
The curtain partition of the office works wonderfully and adds sheer color. Very nice.
view NYS's profile
What a lovely space!
view LunaC's profile
that light filled dining area is beautiful! i love your place!!
view jamie*'s profile
So nice and neat. Nice floors.
view bonline's profile
Thanks for the kind comments!
Susunj - The dining room chairs are from Crate and Barrel, bought a few years ago and I think it was the "VIllage" style. I don't think they offer them in this blue now, but they always seem to be comingout with different colors.
Annhint - the blue cabinet in the dining room was bought in DC - its from a seed store on the Eastern Shore of MD. All handmade (read: rickety!), but I loved the color.
Colellis - the bedroom dresser is vintage, bought in Miami
Sarabee- the nursery wallhanging is a piece of vintage ebay fabric that I stretched on paint stretchers and stapled (its easy to do).
prettykitty - I'll post the paint colors in a day or so.
view Lori in Florida's profile
Sophisticated use of colour. Casual style. Love it.
view Alana in Canada's profile
oh yes please do post paint colours! Especially the pale blue in the living room (I think it is the living room...the one with the teak buffet).
view Amy in T.O.'s profile
that dining room is genius! and i love the turquoise lamp in the second picture!
view lemonpie's profile
Here are the colors I used in the house:
master bedroom (pic w dresser and turquoise lamp): Violet Sparkle, #1422, Benjamin Moore
living room and dining room, Silken Pine, #2144-50, Benjamin Moore
tall, thin blue cabinet: Sweet Bluette, #813, Benjamin Moore
kid room: Powder Sand, 340C-1, Behr
view Lori in Florida's profile