Name: John & Uyen
Location: San Francisco
Type: 2 bedroom condo, owned
Why I use color:
John and I are first generation immigrants. Our homelands of Italy and Vietnam explode with color -- in food, the land, the people, everywhere! We use color to bring energy into the cold fogs of San Francisco. We use color to modernize the 1980's fixer-upper that languished in pink shag carpeting when we first moved in. We love how our wall colors change throughout the day. It reminds us of times we’ve traveled the world and glimpsed sunsets or enjoyed a relaxing time in a faraway spa. It’s a joy to wake up to color, and a relief to come home and rest our eyes on it at the end of the day.
2 good color tips:
1. If you can't paint a whole wall, go for a big canvas or foam core that you can cover with fabric. It's an inexpensive way to bring color into a space and doubles as a piece of wall art that can be swapped out over the seasons.
2. If painting a whole wall, pick 1 or 2 shades lighter than you want the actual color to be. The size of the wall will seemingly darken and multiply the color.
2 good color resources:
1. Your neighborhood outdoor farmer's market! Great for fresh fruit, flowers, and seasonal harvests to pop color into your everyday life.
2. The neighborhood drug store cosmetics aisle. The new nail polishes and lipsticks are fun ways to experiment with color on yourself without spending a fortune!
I think this is a very beautiful start...a new vanity-either all white or dark wood and white bowl-would improve the bathroom.
would love to see more of this space - i can definitely see the cultural influence - which is great.
i like this, especially the riff on yellow, ecru, cream, bamboo, parchment and blonde you're doing in the LR. i like it bare and full of a range of the same hues, very nice, rich and clean and glowing.
I like the bathroom. colour + flooring and big buddha picture. The living room come across, as no doubt, beautiful, but a tad boring. However, there is a very striking thing about the towels, it lend the whole picture a balance in colour and provide a flash of excitement, however, the towels would not be folded on top of the toilet most of the time, am I right??
Is it put there just for the sake of this contest? just to balance out the colour in the pic?
I voted "insta finalist" because this is an amazing use of colour! I love how you used that fabric with words on it (is it Waverly?) to create a panel of colour above the sofa -- and to break up the yellow. I've seen that fabric and it always "speaks" to me... though I have no idea what it says literaly (is it French?). Best of luck... I love this!!
oh wow, that pic. of the livingroom makes me want to get the hell out of nyc and move to sunny california! if only i had the guts to do it.... siiiiiiighhhhh
The use of the yellow tones is so nice. I love the sconces, the floor (although I'd like to see an area rug) and I love the bathroom color and decor.
This definitely makes me miss the light in California. And, I love your comment "Our homelands of Italy and Vietnam explode with color -- in food, the land, the people, everywhere! We use color to bring energy into the cold fogs of San Francisco."
If it were my bathroom, I'd paint the sink cabinet the color of the walls for total calm, but yours is just fine.
Ooooh, I love your living room. You must be so happy to come home to it every day! I was starting to almost develop a distaste for walls in strong colors since so many people seem to hold them as the holy grail of skillful color usage--and so many of those entries feel dark and overbearing to me. But the way you've done it feels so tasteful and harmonious, and so nicely balanced with the use of neutral and natural materials. It makes me want a rich yellow wall, too. Do you sip lemonade and eat lemon merange pie in there every day? In all seriousness, though, I think a little citrus tree (not necessarily a lemon tree; maybe a kumquat or blood orange) would be lovely in your living room, and infuse it with the sweet smell of citrus blossoms.
I like your bathroom, too, and it does remind me of how beautifully colorful paint brings homes alive in many countries where houses are much less cluttered with objects, and paint is the main decoration. I'd almost forgotten how much I love that style.
Wow. That first photo is perfect to me in every way. That's really all I can say. Absolutely perfect - the yellows, the woody blinds, the warmth - lovely.
I love it in every way! Great main colors and so subtle! Great artwork! The bathroom is serene, like you'd want to take a long & hot bath every day!
The living room looks so relaxing! The bathroom is nice but I think it would look better with the vanit y painted dark brown.
Ooh I like. Very warm, rich & textural. A contrast of saturated color and spareness of furniture. What colors did you use?
I LOVE THE TONGS GIVES IT A RELAXED FEELING
LOVE THE YELLOWS VERY BRIGHT AND WARM
the comparitive number of "insta-finalist" votes for this space is alarming to me since i can't help but think that most of them were not clicked by the owners themselves. these rooms are hideous to me and do not display any good uses of color that i can see in the provided pictures. empty and primitive.