Name: Megan P.
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Why I use color:
"I use color to pull a room together. Because I like mid-century modern furniture, but live in a house that was built in 1915, I've had to be creative to make the room look cohesive. The solution has been to pull color from the furniture and accessories onto the walls and built-in cabinets."
Color Tips:
"1. Don't be afraid to go bold with wall color. A color that seems too bright in an empty room will be toned down considerably once the room is filled with furniture.
2. If you're looking for an accent color to complement an overall scheme, look to the opposite side of the color wheel. An opposing color will pop off the background.
3. Just because you can't wear a color doesn't mean you can't decorate with it. For example, pale yellow only looks good on Oprah, but it can brighten any room and give it a sunny glow."
Color Resources:
"Color Index by Jim Krause (Even though this book is meant for graphic designers, it includes tons of great color combinations that can be translated for interior design.)
Whoa! A room I could actually live in! Very nice use of the muted greens and beiges of the 1910s to integrate the modern furniture with the old house. (If you need a paying boarder for an extra bedroom, I'm your girl.)
An amazing sense of style---and color!
Seeing a room like this is inspiring me to paint some of the mostly white walls in my house. This room is warm and yummy.
I love those pillows!
Thanks, Michael. I made those pillows!
Great job on the use of the authentic period palette! It works well with the furnishings and accessories in the room. I'm especially loving the bar and THAT LAMP (nice counterpoint to the swank bar accessories). Can't really see the dining table and chairs, but looks to be period too? Heywood Wakefield? You must throw great dinner parties.
Get Out, Megan! You could give Jonathan Adler a run for his money...
Good eye, Enrique. The table and chairs are Heywood Wakefield!
I like the place, but why use a color that's not flattering to you? If you don't look good wearing it, you won't look good sitting in it. There's many flattering shades that can provide a sunny glow.
I'm no expert at decorating, so I'm just going to gush. Megan, you never cease to amaze me! Your home is gorgeous. I love those pillows, too.
I LOVE that bar! The blend of the rich colors with the splash of bright color are attractive. Heck, your cabinets are attractive. I'm working from a literal blank slate of a room. Good work and good luck.
I don't think the second pic is doing the entry any favors... it's blurry, and it blows the unity shown in the other pics out of the water. I don't like the orangy motifs on the walls. This might be remedied in a clearer photo. The last photo also suggests that there is more going on here than we can currently see.
Other than that, I do like the blues. The pillows and the bar are especially nice. The lamp! :D
And "Color Index" is a good book. I have another called "Color Image Scale" by Shigenobu Kobayashi, which is 130 basic colors broken down into many combinations, with a lot of commentary on how people described these combinations on a survey, and on how these colors are generally used (fashion/interior design/product design/visual media). It's a scale of how people view color, not a book on color, image, and scale. All the data seems to have a Japanese slant, and since the book came out in 1990, some of it seems out of date. (for example, the five colors seen as "modern" - urban/rational/sharp/progressive/metallic - are teal, white, black, silver, and navy.) But it can be really interesting to look through.
It seems like most people's favorite colors are the colors that look best on them. Not always, but often.
I lived in Florida for many years, so combinations of orange and shades of blue always remind me of A) The UF Gators and B) The Miami Dophins. I think this is the third entry that some form of that combo has shown up in. They are complements on the color wheel, which means extreme contrast... the white and browns help it here. I don't think it's any accident, though, that my fave entry so far does NOT feature blue with orange accents. YMMV, of course! :)
I suspect that the pictures are not doing this place justice, although the hazy, slightly sepia cast to them is really working the vintage vibe. It has a Woody Allen/Santo Loquasto (his long-time art director/set designer/decorator) feel to it. I can see Diane Wiest and Julie Kavner at that table...
I do like how this seems not to have come from just one or two cans of paint...
ps: that last part was NOT a comment about or slam against any entrants... it was more a reflection of my pet peeve about tee-vee design shows, where it looks like everything in the room was dipped in the same gallon of paint
Your place has some of my favorite decorating accents fo all. THe bar is killer, and the lamp, wohoo! So cool. You pillows came out fantastic.