Name: Zee & John
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Type of Home: 2-bedroom 1930s terraced house
What inspired you to use color? We didn’t consciously decide to create a colourful house — when decorating, we instinctively chose the things we liked best and that worked well together, and the results turned out to be pretty colourful. I’ve always been colourful in the way I dress and have never been very good at working with a neutral palette — it doesn’t come naturally to me. We find that filling our home with our favourite colour combinations is stimulating and mood elevating...
Color Tip: Cramming as much colour as possible onto every wall, surface and item of furniture is going to look completely overbearing — colours stand out better against a neutral backdrop. Most people’s first reaction to our home is to comment on how colourful it is, but in actuality most of the walls are white or grey, most of the furniture is in neutral shades, and we’ve added colour using artwork, textiles and accessories.
Fall Colors Introduction -------------------------------
Welcome, everyone, to our Fourth Annual Fall Colors Sharing & Contest. We're looking for the most beautiful & colorful home in the world and sharing all of the great ideas we get with our readers. This year we're amping things up and hoping to do things better than ever. There are two basic phases, the Sharing Phase and the Voting Phase...
1. Sharing Phase - you comment, judges decide
The 40 best, completed entries will be posted on a daily basis for three weeks. You can view them all at anytime via our new, improved contest pages under ALL ENTRIES. During this time your comments are VERY IMPORTANT as our six judges will be choosing 16 finalists from each region based on comments and their own colorful opinion.
2. Voting Phase - you vote till you drop
Starting October 20th, finalist voting will begin on a daily basis through our new bracketed voting system, which will pit our 16 finalists against one another until only one remains. Sound exciting? We hope so.
Best, Maxwell
Wow, I love this one! What a nice foil to those grey Irish skies. :)
view PrettyKitty's profile
This is my favorite one so far. That yellow paint is something I would never chose but it looks amazing. And the kitchen is great too.
view jth's profile
NICE JOB!! I love the little pink lights on your headboard. Where can I get those?
view ncantine's profile
I love the shot of the couch with the puppies... so adorable!
Also very lovely home... it looks so bright and inviting.
view Lost Newf's profile
Definitely one of the best so far
view mrahhh's profile
natural and beatiful without trying too hard...
view JenO's profile
lovely place. i especially like the pic with the stairs and the flowers, the colors in it are so relaxing to me.
also love the pets included.
view sassydo's profile
I spy an adorable Basset Hound and Dalmation! Lovely home!
view Monica's profile
Love the colors!! so well done!
view mansi's profile
Your home is so lovely, Zee. :) You have such a natural way with color -- nothing here looks contrived or overthought. Wonderful!
view Anna at D16's profile
very beautiful - especially love the red couch!
view Tabitha (From Single to Married)'s profile
Nice and cozy - Not a fan of the Xmas lights on the bed tho...
view bepsf's profile
I love this! It's adorable and relaxed.
view shayshay213's profile
beautiful - - not too bright, not too beige.
view brookeb21's profile
I think this is my favorite entry so far!! I definitely love the color palette! The living room is cozy and relaxing, but still so bright and cheerful, not boring in the least. I love the red sofa w/ all the fun pillows and the great tablecloth (my mom always has a tablecloth on, but they're never that stylish). Then I love how the other side of the room still has color, but is a little more toned down and neutral. The bedroom is sooo cute! I love how all the furniture has color to it, but the color still isn't overwhelming. I could totally live here!
view TrueTex's profile
fave so far. It's got a tasteful, edited color palette and everything looks put together really well. I love that it's a real home â stylish, fun, but still totally down-to-earth and lived-in. I think this should get bonus points over entries that are submitted by professional designers that have professional photographers shoot their space.
view MayaB's profile
lovely place
view Nina79's profile
What a sweet, adorable house. Great job!
view PhillyLass's profile
YES.
yes yes yes yes yes.
view amazonikon's profile
gorgeous!
view gretchenalexis's profile
This is only the second one so far I've liked... LOVE IT!
view alicia's profile
Really nice. I love the living/dining area. I'd never have used those colours but wish I had. I love the coffee table.
view sierraberra42's profile
everything looks so bright and cheerful - i love your couch with the pillows (and the dogs!).
view Waleigh's profile
Wow, I love it. Great job!
view heps's profile
calm and joy... BEAUTIFUL !!!
view ziiip's profile
i'm in love w/ the kitchen!
view mariegael's profile
So lovely! What a cute tiny fireplace in the bedroom.
What do you do with the stuff on the radiator in the kitchen when it's on? I would put a floating shelf just above it.
view Tiffany's profile
I love your lamps (the one with the owl base and the one next to it on the side table)! Where did you get them?!
view AGG7383's profile
I've seen this place before and I always thought it was a beautiful place!
view Emmm's profile
My new favorite. This is great inspiration for my home - love it!
view Candice's profile
Winner!
view Sylvia K's profile
Hmmm... lovely, but where have I seen this before?
view ilovebc's profile
Duh of course... this is Zee from Homebug!!!
http://www.homebug.net/
Her lovely home was a Sneak-Peek on Design*Sponge:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/04/sneak-peek-zee-of-homebug.html
Great international entry!!
view ilovebc's profile
AGG,
the owl lamp looks like one they have at Urban Outfitters.
view TrueTex's profile
Thanks all for your lovely comments!
ncantine- the little lights came from a store here in Dublin, but I'm sure at Xmas time plenty of places do similar.
Tiffany- that radiator is rarely on so it's not an issue. Our house is so small, having just the living room radiator on heats the whole ground floor!
AGG- both lamps are from Urban Outfitters.
bclynn- I don't know if linking to further photos is allowed in the competition, but thanks for the mention. Mods - you might want to delete those links to keep the competition fair to other entrants?
view zee homebug's profile
Your entry is my favorite international space. I love your use of blue/greens and red/yellows. Your bedroom looks so very very restful :)
view Sylvia K's profile
Zee & John hit it out of the park. Love the b&w kitchen. Solid concepts. Also, I think the white circle lamp is from Wal Mart, not Urban Outfitters.
view keilers_81's profile
There is not one thing in these pictures that I would weed out, and I want to copy your idea for the entry and stairs.
view JJenkins's profile
I covet:
a) The media shelves. They make your music look so classy!
b) The magazine rack in the kitchen. I like magazine racks in the bathroom (otherwise SO leaves things all over the room), but have such trouble finding ones that I like.
c) The wall hanging of the woods in the living room.
view speck's profile