Name: Sunset Girl
Location: San Francisco
Type: rented one bedroom (with the baby sleeping in the bathroom! I wish I hadn't missed the nursery show-off month!)
Why I use color:
I feel oppressed when I enter a room with no color -- for me color is the life of a space. I love to be surrounded by colorful and interesting objects. I tend to leave my walls white because I use furniture, art, photos, and everyday items to make a space interesting -- I have a hard time leaving a wall blank. I love grouped objects with contrasting colors to liven up a room. . .
. . .Entry hall: My dad had this great bullet belt and I used it to hang up the many scarves I seem to collect. The baskets under the bench are for hats, gloves and baby shoes.
Kitchen table: I love to have pictures of friends and family around, so I frame them and hang them on the kitchen wall, changing the pictures every once in awhile.
2 good color tips:
1. Use clothes, containers, food to bring color in unexpected places.
2. Don't be afraid to mix colors.
2 good color resources:
1. Mexico! The whole country is full of bright in beautiful colors in every aspect of life. I also love the book Casa Mexicana by Tim Street-Porter.
2. Thrift Stores. I find all my favorite stuff second hand. Well, not ALL my favorite stuff, but a lot of it.
I love the look of your house! It looks _real_ and lived in and isn't conservative about color. I myself find an obvious color scheme of a room seems a bit too planned. More like a show piece than a comfy place. Esp. like the coat rack
Finally, a real place! Just what juice sees in it, too. Yes, clothes do furnish a room. There have been far too many colored hospital boxes in this contest. The entries look to be straight out of catalogs with all belongings placed out of sight and picture frames arranged too neatly. I've been waiting for an entry like this. It gives me inspiration since I can't really paint the walls (or the effort would be lost since I move every year). The rack of hooks looks interesting...
I think there should be a special club -- if not a separate award -- for those of us raising kids in one-bedroom apartments!
How delightfully San Francisco! While I'm neatnik-y enough to like some of the magazine-ready rooms, this kind of funky, quirky treatment gives me a warm feeling of nostalgia for SF as it used to be.
And that bullet belt is THE coolest thing I've seen in ages.
the first pic shows an interesting use of garments to add color, something the contest hasnt seen much of. However the second picture has no cohesion at all.
And as for the comments about a "magazine ready house" - its a NATION WIDE contest...if your house were going to be on television I'm sure you'd neaten up a bit!!!
I never liked the southwest thing. This isn't helping. The first photo has potential. I don't know why the second was chosen to be shown. I almost don't believe they're the same house.
Michelle, no home is more "real" than the others in this contest. Unless indicated otherwise, everyone lives in these spaces and apparently enjoys them. I would personally have an anxiety attack in this place from all of the "clutter" as I see it. To others, it is homey, inviting, and "real". It's all individual perception. No prescriptions on what is "real", please.
I think these pictures are amazing in that they reflect a family home so obviously filled with joy and self-expression. Aesthetically, the homeowner has a wonderful eye for composition and detail, not to mention the more obvious color--and the fact that many of the pieces she uses belong to or are associated with family members makes this one of the most personal, idiosyncratic, loving, and stunning interiors I have see on this site or elsewhere. Makes me want to toally redecorate, although you can't buy this kind of eye...
Inviting, quirky, eclectic, warm -- a winner.
One of the ways I react to the Color Contest entries is pretty gut-level. Do the colors suggest that I'd be comfortable in the space? Sunset Girl, this is just beautiful. Thanks for posting it!
i like your entryway a lot, it has personality. i think the wall area above the chair rail in your kitchen would look good painted a strong color, maybe a bright medium blue to pick up on the upholstery on the back of your chairs. it would make your framed photos look more cohesive.
I love the first photo! Your entryway reminds me of a photo from Mary Emmerling's Quick Decorating book. Whether you used that as inspiration or not, I think you have definitely pulled off the look. Now if only I could reach into that second photo and straighten those pictures on the wall.
i like the way you've decorated your home, but i think there just needs to be more color to bring your decorations home, or to frame your collections.
Thanks for your comments! I like the idea of painting the wall behind the pictures. I think you are right -- that would hold the collection together. Too bad I can't paint my walls. Maybe in our next apartment. Susie -- that made me laugh about straightening the frames! I will do it for you.
I love the feel of your place. The first photo makes a beautiful photograph on it's own. Your house has a warm, used, loved feel to it.
The first pic is great... well done. The second pic needs to be a "before" shot. It is actually an un-designed space. Too bad. You win the thrifting award though... cool stuff.
fun place to smoke pot.