The Color Cat looks at Paint

Wow oh wow. The Brown Truck just delivered a box o' goodies - paint fans from Benjamin Moore.  Among them is the Affinity Colors fan deck, for use with the Aura line of paints. Since I intend to paint this weekend, this delivery was akin to opening the box with the big red bow on Christmas morning. For a person that primaily wears black, I love color. One of my clients once dubbed me "The Color Cat" and all I can say to that is meow.

The Aura Paint collection is a low VOC line, with GREENGUARD approval for childrens' rooms & schools. VOC translates to Volatile Organic Compound and refers to off gassing and/or that nasty odor that makes you sick when painting a room (refernece Modern Family's Phil on cracking open a can of paint). 

While this is all great - here's the REALLY great part.....EVERY color in the fan deck works with EVERY color in the fan deck! I love that ceilings are no longer "ceiling white" or trim is not just "anitque white" anymore . Painting your celing or trim can instantly change the atmosphere in a room. I love the fresh combination of colors - Blue Echo works with Coriander Seed works with Kona Brown. And - by the way my dream job would be to name the colors in the paint fan. I am such a colornerd.

Check out the link - and please comment if you've used the Aura line.  I'll test it out soon and let you all know my thoughts.....!!! Keep seeing your world in color - bring your space to life!

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fh_aura_hiddenPage&NodeUUID=%2FBEA+Repository%2F518032

The Ripple Effect

While swimming laps yesterday I began to realize that good design - like a good attitude - has a direct ripple effect on us and those around us. Did you ever step into a room, home or building where it just felt right? Alot has to do with proportion. The "Golden Mean" or the rule of thirds where all things are in propotion/scale to each other can create a harmonius space.  Let's take this another way - have you ever walked into a room where all the framed photos or pictures are hung well above eye level? How did that feel? Could you tell there was something disjointed about the space?

The same goes for a good attitude. OK, sometimes I wear my attitude on my sleeve and it shows. We get so wrapped up in how we feel  that we forget how we present ourselves to the world. We forget that words carry weight and affect not only how we are perceived but how our words affect those around and close to us. We become disjointed, or out of propotion. As in design, take a step back and see what's off kilter - what is disjointed. A little adjustment can go a long way in redefining your own atmosphere, and making that atmosphere around us a better place to live.

Traditions

Just back from a funeral in NJ, I began to think about our lives and those we touch. And this lady was one particularly beutiful soul in this world. As we talked about times together and viewed photos I pondered the traditions that are so entrenched in family life. They are what hold us together.

A very touching part of the procession to the final site was driving past the home where Aunt Kay lived. How very telling in the story of our lives. Her dwelling, her home was honored as an integral part of where the love, the bond sprung forth.

In our own space, our own home, our own dwellings we define who we are. I have iris in my garden that I have moved from home to home (sometimes stored in black plastic bags) that I have had now for over 30 years. You know, the pale lavendar blue kind that smell like grape popsicles. Part of the tradition of the iris is to give them away when I separate them in the fall so they may prosper in friends' lives as well.

It's time to part the iris again and let a part of me bloom for someone else. Our traditions weave a rich bond with those in our lives. Design a tradition of your own that keeps that bond growing and pass it on.

Live in Fashion

It's Fashion Week in NYC. Color and change are in the air - we are what we wear. Fashion and interior design are synomous. I learned a long time ago that the home  industry bases their design ideas - the furnishings, carpets and wall color - on womens' fashions. Consumers will buy home fashions based on their taste in clothes.  This fall trumpets the colors of olive green, muted metallics, camel and gray.  Colors I could roll in and wear like a dog rolls in a new smell.  Fall is my favorite time of year.

Take a look in your closet - then look at your living space.  Are there similarities?  Are the colors, textures and patterns in your home the same as what you wear?  Does the color and style reflect your personal style? We are a compliation of our life experiences, our outlook shaped by both internal and external influences.  The outward expression of our personal style and home design should reflect the culmilation of these life experiences.  For these are our "colors" of the face we show to the world.

Designed with love

We talk about design with a capital "D". The magazine worthy type that comes with a high price tag. What I saw over the weekend is truly inspired design - a Mom who took her children's rooms and created an enviroment that reflects each offsprings' individualism.  Imagine that - a Mom that accepts, enourages and celebrates who these people are.  It took paint, insight, a few Fatheads and a wonderful sense of both intuition and knowledge of the individual. And how does her family feel about it? Each one is proud of their space - and their Mom. Kudos to you Mom for taking it to the next level with your creativity and ability to see the whole picture. The rooms may change and the children will grow - but they will always know you're on their side.

Design that makes sense - and shows the love.