apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hey! You're obviously around...if this means no baby then how bout some pix of your beautiful kitchen? Or is there baby news?

baby news??

No baby?

Would it be possible to have a discussion about color? What are everyone's rules? I have recently come to realize from using this site that I know very little about color, and really don't have any rules, which I do have about every other part of the decoration process. I didn't realize that warm and cool colors applied to space as well. I have gone over a lot of my old jobs and my style is major and minor warm, with a cool to make the room pop. Is that wrong? And is green warm or cool? Can a color be both?

I have a small moth problem in my closet, and I was wondering if anyone had any remedy advice that does not include mothballs or a chemical treatment but is still effective. Anyone?

k_darling,
you could try balls or blocks of cedar wood. They sell them at kmart and most of the big box stores. I've never had an actual moth problem but I have used the cedar as a preventative measure when I store my seasonal clothing.

If you care to go all out, you could build an entire cedar lined closet...

K_darling,

My Ukranian seamstress recommended using balled-up newspaper instead of moth balls or cedar blocks (I have a very serious addiction to cashmere). I've used the newspaper in my closets and drawers for several years and they work beautifully. Not only do they keep the hungry insects at bay, they are cheap, odor-free, and environmentally friendly. They work a lot better than the cedar blocks and planks I had been using.

I am coming to NYC this weekend to discuss the design and layout of my HenryBuilt cabinets and wanted to use the opportunity to do some home shopping. What are your top picks for stores with fabulous lighting/pillows/furniture that will not put me in debt up to my ears? I am planning to hit R&B as we do not have a store in DC. Other suggestions?

I'd be up for a discussion about color.

I love dark dark dark wood floors, and I love dark wood furniture, but I don't love all white walls.

I think the only way to get away with this is white trim, but I hate trim.

*shrug*

WOuld love other people's POV.

i'm also up for color talk.

personally, i have no 'rules' for color. i mix warms and cools all the time, use dark colors in small spaces, painted my kitchen blue (a big no-no, apparently). sometimes you have to break the rules to get the desired effect.

that said, i'm very interested in color theory, in the way it's used in the arts. not so much what looks good with what, but how color can be used to create a desired look or effect.

Team Decor, I treat green like a neutral. It bridges so nicely with either warm or cool colors, just as it does in a park or forest. It depends if it's trending more blue or yellow.

I'm really in love with all shades of green. I would love to do something soon with an inky, almost black, forest green.

claudia-

the best of NYC when it comes to unique chairs and sofas...

www.shimna.net --- on Lafayette in Noho.

-kellen

k-darling, moths can be dealt with. The first step is to take EVERYTHING out of the closet and inspect for damage. Vacuum every piece of clothing thoroughly to get the larva off (that's what's actually eating your clothes). Vacuum the closet thoroughly as well. You should then be able to hang things back up and not worry too much about it.

What really does damage is the larva eating your wool/fur/whatever. The aggitation of wearing the clothes plus sunlight is effective at knocking off /killing the tiny larva, so you really only need to worry about clothes that are in storage.

Your best bet for storage is cedar (blocks, balls, etc.). Remember that you should treat your cedar yearly with cedar oil to maintain it's moth-repelling ability.

Sydney, what does the balled up newspaper do?

Cedar Fresh makes a spray you can get at hardware stores.

Max,

Not sure what it is about the newspaper that keeps the moths out, but it works way better than cedar ever did. I have no interest in hearing a chemical analysis, I'm just happy that it is so effective.

I once got moths from buying bulk food in a health food store. I used something in a box called "Pantry Pest". No smell, no mess, and it worked.

Jey,
The moths you had are grain moths, which are harder to get rid of than moths that eat clothing. I also had grain moths, and Pantry Pest was the only thing that ever got rid of them. The reason it works is that in order to get rid of an infestation of grain moths is to ensure they can't reproduce. The Pantry Pest has a small pellet attached to a glue trap and the pellet emits a sex hormone which attracts the adult moths and they get stuck in the glue and die.

But it takes a couple of months because you then have to wait until all the larvae hatch and get trapped so they can't reproduce, etc.

Garbled a sentence in my last post, but that's because I haven't really had coffee yet.

Baaaaaby? Kiiiiitchen?

????

Yeah, I'd be up for talking color... My rules:

1. If you want something to be inconspicuous, it should tone with the walls and the floor. Doesn't have to matchy-match, but the color intensity and warmth should be similar.

2. Conversely, if you want something to be prominent, it should contrast with the walls and floor. It doesn't have to be a straight-across-the-color-wheel contrast, just enough different so you spot it as different.

3. A feeling of welcome and hominess is encouraged by having your accent color(s) appear multiple times throughout the room.

4. Darker floors and lighter ceilings usually feel homier, too.

RE: color
I really like the suggestion, I believe from Maxwell, to pick a favorite painting as a starting point for color. As an architect, I would never hire someone to help out - but most of us stick to neutrals because we don't know color. I love color and really want a colorful place to contrast to the neutrals of my job. So the painting idea really inspired me. After all, painters really understand color and use not just the theory but their instincts which they have developed over years.
Personally, I haven't decided on the actual painting yet. I am limiting my selection with things I already have and love - a persian rug, a leather chair, and so on. I am enjoying the search!

re: rachel's "I love dark dark dark wood floors, and I love dark wood furniture, but I don't love all white walls."

I'm not sure what the problem is. Elaborate?

claudia--

Not sure what debt level you are comfortable with ;) but here are some great places to at least drool on the window glass...

Aero Studios
Repertoire
Ochre
The Conran Shop
ABC Carpet & Home
cite
interieurs
Baker TriBeCa
Duane
Moss
Troy
Butter and Eggs
Moma Store

Some prices are just staggering in these places, but lots and lots of really diverse looks from some of the city's best tastemakers.

But definitely get to Room & Board here... it is a really gorgeous space (and that neighborhood yields some of the places on the list above, plus other smaller outposts).

Also hit the Crate & Barrel in SoHo... second floor is all furniture in a really nicely renovated space.

Oh, and hit Bo Concept and West Elm in Chelsea if you don't have either at home. The Container Store is right around the corner for some more practical home shopping.

Color is a really specialized field, so I'd think even a savvy architect *could* consider hiring a colorist/paint specialist/interior designer for help if no solution had yet been found...

Is rachel thinking of the current trend for dark wood furniture against stark white walls?

Dark wood looks gorgeous against equally dark walls (but you'd best have a night-time room, excellent lighting, and some sparkle). I'd think you could go anywhere with dark wood, once you found the correct warm/cool undertone in the wood and decided how much contrast you wanted between furniture and walls. For a daytime room with sunlight, I'd start with color chips that are bright and light.

Patrick,
Of course I could consider hiring an expert and I would for a jobsite. In fact, I have hired color experts for work.
But for my own place, I'd much rather take the time to study, learn and experiment. I consider my place to be an evolution and it is an process I enjoy too much to give to someone else. It's my place, not a hotel room, and I want to do it myself for myself. There really is no rush.
Alex

Patrick,
Don't you think a 'savvy' architect would want to learn more about design rather than deligate?
Traditionally an architect studied all of the arts - construction, building design, interior design, painting, sculpture. Just because it wasn't required for a degree, I see no reason not continue learning.
Really .... you may not believe it, but there is NO RUSH. It's nice enough to have company over right now, and I will probably spend my entire time (perhaps the next thirty years) getting it just right.

i'm hot and cold on the idea of using a painting (or other art, i guess) for all your color inspiration. which probably relates more to my creative process than anything else. i think everyone draws inspiration in different ways, and the art trick will work for some but not for others.

i do, however, have 2 or 3 art postcards in my style tray for inspiration on all levels. maybe it's just the idea of having the inspiration piece actually installed in the room that is a block for me?

The opoponax quoth: "maybe it's just the idea of having the inspiration piece actually installed in the room that is a block for me?"

Could be. I have a two shoeboxes of fabric that were supposedly meant to go *in* dollhouses but instead ended up inspiring the houses' color schemes without themselves ever fitting into a room.

I love the idea of using a painting as inspiration! I recently purchased a ginormous painting and am currently stumped for what color to paint my new living room where it will be a 'focal point'..Can anyone suggest a great benjamin moore color to complement my painting?(link above)

opoponax,
Yeah, I hadn't even planned on putting the painting in the room. I would find that to be a bit much. (Altho it might work for some.)

I am learning a lot about the paintings I like as I 'break them down' into a color palette. I am also looking a great rooms that I love and putting together palettes for them. It is interesting in that color and texture are so interwoven - but the palettes are often just as interesting, but different, in flat samples.

In the end, my studies will probably end up being a starting point, i.e. precedents, that I work around. If not, it is an interesting way to look at paintings!!

Alex--

Thanks for the clarification. Your original post of "As an architect, I would never hire someone to help out..." just rubbed me the wrong way (that's what I get for reading/posting too early in the day!)

But you've since rubbed me the right way. (Oh my.)

I've run across more than my share of architects who think their discipline is the be-all end-all, so I think I just projected some of that into my interpretation of your original comment.

And believe me, I totally get the "keep learning/no rush" aspect to interior design... or any artistic discipline, for that matter.

But thanks for taking the time to respond. Good luck with your space!

opo--
Maybe just semantics, but why do you call it an "art trick"? I think that demeans what Alex meant by using art as a jumping off point or inspiration piece.

I also think Alex was saying you can find unlikely but successful color combinations from the brushes of fine artists, if you are stymied or need a fresh idea. NOT to be confused with "matching the art to the sofa."

I just finished a room where the owner's art was HUGE inspiration to the ultimate palette... yes, for color, but also because the art was the right "vibe" of what he wanted from the final room.

Even the fact that the art had deep, white-painted edges informed the wall color, and even some of the furniture selection.

loli--
I think a lot depends on what you want the room to be like (Bright? Moody? Calm? Dramatic?) and other things like floor color, etc.

I think you can go any number of ways to find a background wall color for that painting (which is gorgeous, by the way.)

I appreciate your input! The floor will be a darkish walnut color. I have ordered a chocolate brown ultrasuede sectional and have a black arne egg chair.Bright? Moody? Calm? Dramatic?Sure any of those adjectives would be great. I'm open to anything--the possibilities are enormous--and overwhelming!

whoa. whoa whoa whoa.

i never said one couldn't find inspiration from the work of fine artists! i never said the art in a room couldn't or shouldn't be an inspiration to the room's palette!

i find inspiration from the work of artists all the time. it's one of the ways i'm most interested in thinking about color for interior spaces. i also think art is the most important part of any room, and it should be perfectly suited to the space and the space should be perfectly suited to it.

what i meant in my post (which was not meant as a critique of alex's methods at all, just a rumination of my opinion of that whole idea, which is a relatively common one) was that i rarely am able to see a piece i like, break it down into color influences or whatever, and go out and decorate a room based on that. i'm much more likely to develop ideas for the room, do the work, and then discover a piece (often something i already have, weirdly enough) that brings the whole space together.

it's just a different way of thinking about art and space. neither way is better or worse. and i'm definitely with alex on the ways that studying the use of color in the fine arts can add to an understanding of color in human space. i'd even extend that notion to other disciplines -- the things i've learned about color in graphic design have completely revolutionized my use of it in my home.

as for the semantic point, it's just that. i could just as easily have said "art thing" "art idea" "art tool" "art notion" "art approach" etc.

loli -- the way i see it, regardless of what mood or feel you're going for (which i think is ultimately the most important question to answer, as p2 said), you have two choices here. the painting in your link has a mix of very cool greys and very warm oranges. which means you could either go very warm in the room, so that those greys are like a soothing oasis, or you could go very cool in the room so that the orange in the lower part of the painting really jumps out at you. this depends on the 'mood' aspect, as well as what you see in that painting. my first impulse, based on my reading of the work, is that i'd want that orange to really pop in the room. i'd probably stick with a very neutral and cool grey-white or putty color. maybe something like last week's color therapy post?

on the other hand, my second impulse is to paint the wall you hang this on international orange. maybe leave the other walls a nice warmish white. they grey will pop like crazy, which could be really interesting with the browns in the room. but definitely not peaceful, sedate, etc.

re: "i could just as easily have said "art thing" "art idea" "art tool" "art notion" "art approach" etc."

But you didn't Blanche, you didn't. Somehow, your initial post sounded more alex-accusatory than opo-reflective. Just sayin'...

loli--
I love chocolate brown as a background, with my favorite being Benjamin Moore 2015, Loam. Rich brown, chocolate pudding, cola, merlot, plum... all rolled into one. Both cool and warm (no small feat) and a gorgeous counterpoint to the ruddy and stony tones of the painting. But this dark background will yield somewhat of a seventies glam vibe (not that that's a bad thing), so be prepared to temper it with great shapes in furnishings-- white and high gloss for maximum impact against a velvety flat backdrop, to share the bill with the art-- or go streamlined and mostly monochromatic to have the painting be the star.

p2, neither alex nor wende seem to have interpreted it that way. sorry you took offense.