Gorgeous New Fall Colors!

Pantone, a standardized color system and a world renowned authority on color trends, recently released their hot colors for fall 2012.  While some are the typical fall standards such as the gorgeous dark brown "French Roast", warm "Honey Gold" and the 2012 colors of the year "Tangerine Tango", they also included in the mix some unexpected colors.  I am loving the beautiful "Bright Chartreuse", "Olympian Blue" and "Pink Flambe".

These bold and beautiful colors are not only making the fall fashions pop, but can be used in the home to give your spaces that WOW impact!

Wondering how to use these colors in your home?  Check out some great installation shots below!

I used a beautiful chartreuse, pink and ultramarine color scheme in the Lake Forest Coach House and the combination was delightful!

So, are you ready to add some color to your life?

Red, Glorious Red

When designing a space, the decision of color is extremely important as it dictates the mood of the space.  Color theorists as early as the ancient Greeks have been assigning meanings and symbolism to different colors.  White is perceived as pure, yellow as soothing, purple as royal. No color is as widely interpreted as red.  To many Eastern cultures, red symbolizes good luck.  Red is the color assigned to passion, romance, love and excitement.  It is also often the color associated with evil or danger.

Red is one of my favorite colors to use in a space.  While some people shy away from it, there are many ways to use it, whether as an accent or a dominant color, in a way that is calming, fun and just plain gorgeous!

So.... Are you ready to add some red to your home?

Athletic Abodes- A Sneak Peak Into Olympic Village

With Olympic fever sweeping the world, I got curious about what kind of housing the athletes had at the 2012 Olympics in London.   Here are some neat photographs of the Olympic Village.  Notice that while the dormitories are given very simple and somewhat utilitarian decor, the recreation and leisure areas are filled with fun kitsch and a mix of traditional and modern furnishings.  It was fun to see what kinds of details were included in the village, such as a spa, bar, performance space, lounges and more.  Check it out and don't forget to cheer on our teams to the gold!

Does the designer of the Olympic Village deserve a gold medal for the design of the spaces?  You decide!

Lovely Landscapes

My recent feature on Houzz.com got me thinking about landscape art and the impact it can have in a space.  Even the most indoorsy person can't argue that the natural world offers some of the most beautiful imagery and magnificent colors around. Landscapes can range from photorealistic paintings to abstract art using various mediums. In my French country estate, I used abstract landscapes to anchor the bedside tables. These used colors such as black and metallic leaf to create a landscape, but even when using an abstract approach, it is unmistakably a landscape.

Traditional landscape paintings are often seen in libraries and traditional settings, which may lead people to believe that they only belong in traditional rooms.  See the gallery below of landscapes used in many different settings, all to beautiful results!

Are you ready to bring nature into your home?

Funky Furnishings

The world of interior design is constantly stretching and crossing barriers to come up with the coolest, most innovative home furnishings.  Sometimes this is by means of using unique materials such as shagreen, bold colors or even taking us to great heights. Los Angeles based HStudio, creates funky furnishings by incorporating all of the above!  Their unique furniture plays with scale, color and materials.

Founder Shlomi Haziza got his start in the art world at a young age by painting found rocks.  His painted rocks were so extraordinary that he began selling them and soon had a large following.  Over the years he has worked with many mediums, including recycled Levis jeans.  He is well known for his mastery of the difficult material acrylic.  Through his acrylic art, Haziza found the furniture world.

What makes his furnishings so unique is not just the shapes of the pieces, but also the scale.  By supersizing a cool lounge chair, he creates a special bench.  By raising the back of an arm chair, the simple becomes exciting.

Check out some of his amazing work below!

Not for everyone- but certainly very unique!  What do you think?  Would you use these pieces in your home?