Year of the Dragon

Happy New Year! Chinese New Year that is…”The Year of the Dragon”. It’s time to get your red on! Why? The color red symbolizes fire and is said to have the power to expel bad luck. Plus is looks awesome.

This morning as I was sorting my red laundry before the weekly ritual of ablution in the washing machine, the ranges of red were striking; pink undies, a maroon turtleneck and an orange sweater all made it into the “red” pile. What a beautiful mélange!

At Colormix 2012, Sherwin Williams’s Jackie Jordan was all over red in this year’s presentation, showing examples of its ubiquitous presence. Photo after photo were displayed pairing varying shades of reds, all working harmoniously.

During yesterday's color consultation, taking inspiration from a beautiful painting on the wall, we combined Benjamin Moore’s AF- 280, “Salsa Dancing”, with AF-225, “Firenze”. The color combo sizzled in the painting and it will on the walls.

Try Sherwin William’s SW2802 “Rookwood Red” on your front door or reinvent your staid study with the rudimentary ruddiness of “Audubon Russet”, Benjamin Moore’s HC-51 . Or, if you choose to exercise restraint, use it sparingly in a small niche with SW 0057 “Chinese Red”.

Whether one wants to go big with red or prefers a diminutive application, it never disappoints. And hey… summoning a bit of good luck just can’t hurt either. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

dragonsappetite.etsy.com

eb-color.com 206-353-0454 ebrown@eb-color.com

Decorate Your Walls With Gum!

Now that I have your attention…the famous gum wall at Pike’s Market in Seattle is indeed colorful, but maybe not how you want to dress yours. However, there are many colorful alternatives to paint in order to add color, and especially texture to your walls. Wallpaper, fabric or tile probably first come to mind. Yes, these are good choices, but let’s go a step beyond and consider options made from natural materials.

First, there is stone, which can be presented in a myriad of ways, including, but not limited to a smooth texture,

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or pieced into a beautiful mosaic,

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or even rough.

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What about glass? No matter its application, glass adds a nice reflective value.

This wall partition adds subtle translucent color,

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while this glass wall makes an artistic statement.

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Personally my dream house will one day have interior columns made out of giant glass prisms to scatter colorful light. How's that for the ultimate?

And ah, metal! Metal can be salvage yard cheap or Tiffany expensive. Think how many different looks one could achieve with the use of metal from a rusty metal wall to a contemporary shining silvery showcase. Scottish designer, Niki Fulton’s enlightening post expounds on the dynamic effects of metallic surfaces.

Here are two contrasting looks, from the industrial,

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to the refined elegance of gold leaf.

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I was taken by this metal exterior on a new distillery on the Fremont canal in Seattle. It could just as easily be used in an interior.

photo by Elizabeth Brown

We can't leave out wood and wood paneling, either solid or veneer. As a color consultant,I often specify a veneer to cover some existing unsightly wood as in a mantel, a beam or ledge when painting is not an option. Again, any look can be achieved, sleek...

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or rustic.

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This is only the tip of the iceberg because, yes, some walls are made of ice.

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What other alternatives can you think of? Decoupaging your bathroom with your Halloween candy wrappers is NOT an option!

Call me and let's discuss all the ways to we can successfully use color in your space!

ebrown@eb-color.com 206-353-0454 eb-color.com

Can Color Predict The Winter?

I just spent a wondrous week in New York with my time divided between NYC and a bucolic setting upstate on beautiful Seneca Lake. In Manhattan, I window shopped, soaking up color palette inspiration. Fur coats were on display everywhere, reminding us of a winter that will soon be overtaking us.

But it was THIS fur coat that really sent me… the one belonging to the Wooly Bear caterpillar, another harbinger of winter. As he crept along the road, I did my best to measure the width of brown versus black in his fuzzy corpulence. According to folklore, the wider the brown, the milder the winter. If you believe this legend, this little guy says it’s going to be mild. Are you convinced of this? I'm not, but the notion certainly bestows the warm fuzzies.

photo by Elizabeth Brown

I’m not a meteorologist, I’m a color consultant. I can’t accurately predict the weather in Seattle, but I do foresee the perfect palette tailored just for you.

ebrown@eb-color.com 206-353-0454 eb-color.com

Six Degrees of Separation

Recently there was an inquiry from Germany from my website contact form that read as follows:

Dear Sirs,

for the renvation of a "Royal Suite" in the hotel "Intercontinetal Genf" the interior designer Tonychi, New York, chose some colours which numbers are not known at us.
Those are: ELKHORN AF-105, WHITE DOWN OC-131, VAN DEUSEN HC-156, CITRUS BURST 364 and SPACE BLACK 2119-10.Please send us a colour sample of each .

Thank you very much.

Best Regards

G. Müller
Project Mananger

Did he just say Tony Chi? The celebrated New York designer? Be still my beating heart! Now, why they just didn't contact his firm for said information is beyond me. I was happy to oblige, send along the swatches and relish the six degrees of separation. And how did they find me? Easy… Google search. I've specified this Benjamin Moore color, "Elkhorn" a couple of times.

As an accent wall for a living room:

photo by Elizabeth Brown

And as the body of an exterior:

photo by Elizabeth Brown

This happy occurrence was a gift. I became privy to a cutting edge palette specified by an urbane designer without leaving my office. The specified colors were “Elkhorn”, “Citrus Burst”, Van Deusen Blue, White Down and Space Black.

I was so taken by them, they inspired an Etsy treasury entitled “Citrus and Midnight”.

What do you think?

Whether you're urbane or folksy, live in the city or the country, and you're seeking professional assistance in assembling your own unique palette, call me for a color consultation and we'll make it work.

206-353-0454 eb-color.com ebrown@eb-color.com

Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun...A Remarkable Colorist

Elisabeth Louise Vigee-le Brun. Sigh. My mentor, my idol, my goddess, Marie Antoinette’s favorite portraitist. And although she lived in the 18^th century, she still whispers in my ear.

Upon making my first acquaintance with Elisabeth at the Louvre eleven years ago, we’ve been fast friends ever since. There I was, meandering the rooms of the second floor of the Sully Wing, in total rapture drinking in such an embarrassment of riches only to be stopped dead in my tracks by the painting below, one of her many self portraits. Look at the sheer perfection of the composition, the exquisite color palette with its subtle passages, all the while expressing such expressive warmth.

And then, I saw this beautiful gem.

After that, I was hooked, happily undertaking pilgrimages to view her masterpieces whenever I was so fortunate -to the Kimball Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas,

The National Gallery in London,

The Uffizi,

Her life was as full and colorful as her paintings and her biography is a fascinating read.

A great site to view all of her work and learn everything Vigee -Lebrun is Batguano.com. (Why a site devoted to this amazing woman is referenced to bat droppings is beyond me, but what’s in a name, right?)

I appreciate beautiful colors wherever I may find them and as a color consultant, would love to help you with yours.

Elizabeth Brown 206-353-0454 eb-color.com

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What's In a Name?

I think I love words as much as I love color-and when you combine the two. YOWZA!

A few years back when I was a guest on Rachel’s wonderful blog, Hue, I briefly touched on the subject with a post entitled “What’s In a Name?”. Go ahead, read it. It’s fun.

On just about every color consultation, my customer chuckles at the names of the colors and says who comes up with these names? Well, here’s your chance to get in on the fun. Come to “Cupcakes and Color” tomorrow, October 1st, when C2 owner, Robin Daly and interior designer Christian Ursino are giving a talk on color trends at Modele’s Furniture. As part of the presentation, participants get to take a stab at naming some of the 50 new colors C2 will be delivering in the spring.

At our next consultation, lets's have some fun with the names, as we choose the perfect colors for your home.

eb-color.com 206-353-0454 ebrown@eb-color.com

Too Many Notes!

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Emperor Joseph II: Occasionally it seems to have…too many notes.

Mozart: I don’t understand. There are just as many notes as I require, neither more nor less.

Emperor Joseph II: My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in an evening. Don’t take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.

Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

This memorable passage from the movie Amadeus reminds me of several color consultations I’ve been on recently. In the instance of Mozart’s piece, every note made beautiful sense, yet in regard to these exteriors, this is not the case.

Here, indeed, there are just too many notes! On recent exterior color consultations, I’ve encountered pure visual cacophony -too many competing elements. The eye doesn’t know where to rest. Thank goodness for paint as it can help to edit the composition and camouflage superfluous or glaring elements.

Photo by Elizabeth Brown

Let’s take a look at the example above. I was called on this project by the owner, who was well aware there are “just too many notes”. Nine different competing colors comprise this composition which also exhibits a myriad of textures and values; roof, gutters, trim, window sashes, garage doors, stone work, stucco body (two colors here), front steps and iron work. There was even another color on the side. Your eyes are in perpetual motion as each element screams out “look at ME, look at ME!” like a spoiled child whose has too much sugar. (In this case chocolate.)

What did we decide to do? Well, eliminate about half the colors for one. The white window sashes, the roof and stone work were the only ”givens” we could not change. Not only that, they served as a point of departure for developing the palette. We chose SW 7038 “Tony Taupe” for the entire body. It melded nicely with the stone and front steps. We used the same color for the garage doors, but upped the ante on them with a double formula, so it would not appear too homogeneous.

We eliminated the dark trim on the upstairs’ balcony columns so they would disappear into the background .

Photo by Elizabeth Brown

To create a continuous line, the same color, SW 7047 “Porpoise” was specified for the trim, fascia and gutters.

And finally, we addressed the front door, which should really be the main focus. Here we used SW 6335 “Fired Brick”. It’s got sass and brings out the beautiful veins in the stone and says, “please come in.”

I will share the “after photos when they become available.

Students who undergo training through the IACCNA have to complete an assignment called “Over and Under”. In this exercise one must take an image and manipulate it with color to take it one step “over stimulated”, one step “under stimulated” and finally “just right.” There is a very delicate balance. For me, this was an invaluable lesson in training my eyes and sensibilities.

So now, if I may quote Emperor Joseph II, “Just cut a few and it will be perfect."

eb-color.com

206-353-0454

ebrown@eb-color.com