Do you sometimes feel color blind?  We all go through it.  In the morning when you're trying to pick out the right attire for work, the best outfit for ladies night out or date night, or horrors--color for your walls!  Yikes, this can be as scary as Halloween!  Why is picking a paint color the hardest thing for most of us?!  Well, walls are a lot of square footage--that's quite a commitment; isn't it?.  Purchasing a blouse or a t-shirt is only about 3 square feet of visual space, but a wall or a room is much more.  Why can't they make Garanimals for decorating?  (I just loved those little animal tags on clothing as a child.)  Some famous designers have tried to create a system like this, but with thousands of color possibilities and tens of thousands of combinations, its a little daunting.  

However, I have an early Christmas gift for you in this blog!  Yes, there are now online color Garanimals for you to play with!  And some let you upload your own photos, how fun and uncommiting is that?!

 

Here are two of the most useable online apps I found to play with color:  www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer and www.behr.com/colorsmart4/colorsmart/main.jsp

 

Sherwin Williams uses pictures of rooms they supply and can work very quickly by dragging and dropping colors into a room--even changing the color palettes that they suggest.  You can save the palette you create to your favorites, email your creation to a friend and change the room scene without changing the color palette.

Behr allows you to go a little further and upload your own digital photos and apply color to them.  First choose select colors from the website I supply above and pick a main color family to start with. (You must pick your color palette before uploading the photo.)  Choose a color from the color selector provided by clicking on the arrows on the slide selector to adjust the warmth.  You can fine tune a color by making it lighter or darker or add more or less of the undertone.  You can then choose to add additional colors to your palette by selecting them singly or by allowing Behr to coordinate colors to the color you've chosen by deciding if it's going to be the main or accent color.  Continue doing this until you are satisfied with your palette.  You will then be allowed to upload a photo or see the palette in rooms Behr has available.  There's even an option to puchase the samples you created in your palette! 

So there is now no excuse to be blind in your commitment to color!  Be bold, go forth and experiment--if only online!

I'm sure you ask yourself this question every day:  so what's new in window decor?  Yes, yes, it's always on MY mind, but all joking aside, there is something I want to share with you that's new, great for windows you don't know how to treat (as in treatment--not temperment), reduces glare, has 98% UV protection, increases privacy, is as decorative as you want it to be and can fit any shape window.  No it's not window tinting.  Does that pique your interest?

Let me share...

This new product feels like glass, looks like glass, refracts like glass, is maintenance free and allows 95% of light into your room.  It's custom decorative glass made from polyester and embossed vinyl, but it looks exactly like leaded glass!  The best thing is, you can customize it to your hearts desire and it's about 1/4th the price of real leaded glass.

Here is an example of a window with shutters vs. a window with the decorative glass product.

Now I do sell shutters and think they are a great product, but sometimes you may not need the application they provide.  Isn't the decorative glass product beautiful? 

 

So what other features and value does the decorative glass product provide that we haven't already discussed above?

Today, even though still chilly outside, I've become inspired by the bit of spring we've had.  New ideas and spring colors are popping into my head with fun ideas for decorating trends.

 

So what's a trend and how do you spot it?  Well, a trend is something that uses a common item in a new way, brings back something old and makes it new again, or it can transcend industries (look at the Hummer vehicle--its beginning purpose and where you see versions of the original today).  In relation to interior design, a lot of what you see begins in clothing design.  Just last month, our WCAA chapter took its biennial tour of the Kent State University Fashion Museum where we look at clothing detail as it may creatively relate to interior design elements or embellishments.  Why recreate the wheel, an abominable task, when you can just make it a little leaner, a bit faster, a new color, etc.  We also had the pleasure of meeting Isabel Toledo, designer of Michelle Obama's inauguration day suit, and her husband Ruben.  Isabel designed Michelle Obama's dress and coat from wool lace, YES WOOL LACE, woven in Switzerland.  It was backed with silk so it glimmered in the sun.  I can just picture window treatments in the same style or the leading edge of a panel with the wool lace detail for a client's window. 

 

New trends for window fashions show tab top panels in a new light with elegant tabs that are rouched, trim cascading down the leading edge and the hem gently breaking on the floor.  Panels of all sorts have made a comeback, from traversing panels to very full stationary decorative panels with shading systems underneath made of woven woods, decorative roman shades and shutters.  Or how about full and flowing sheer panels with a soft or colorful design on decorative drapery hardware with rings?

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Hardware can make or break a treatment, literally!  But that's a topic for another day. 

 

 Details can really add that wow factor to any style.  Write back with comments or ask me a question. 

Enjoy the day!

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Good morning!  What a bright and lovely day today!  The world looks greener from my windows as most of the snow has melted and I see grass for the first time this year.

I'm doing a little boasting today as I am very proud to have been selected the Person of the Year by my peers at the Valley City Chamber of Commerce's President's Ball held January 31, 2009.  ( http://www.valleycity.org/community/pb/2009/presball.htm )  I enjoy volunteering for the Chamber and have made some very nice friends as a fellow board member.  It's nice to live in a small town where people really do feel like family and understand your efforts can make a poignant impact for the good of the community.  I urge everyone to give what and where they can; whether it be time or money, compassion or relief.  No effort goes unnoticed, especially to those that it touches the most.  These days we see that a little must go a long way, we must live with less (and in my book that can be a good thing), and help each other more.

So today, if not every day, don't think about yourself, pay it forward--as little as it may be, give a nod to a stranger and be blessed.  Enjoy the moment...

What a lovely day today!  I took the time to take down most all the holiday decorations and even was able to get the lights down from outside.  We have a large live tree each year and that's something I can't do myself!  I captured O Tannenbaum before the de-decking and thought you might enjoy the picture.  The cats weren't very helpful, but they did take inventory of everything and wanted to see if some items were edible!

As part of this time of year, I love to clean up and clear out items taking up valuble space (don't toss the hubby!), so goes with all the organizing shows, commercials and ads we all see now!  I've also updated and cleared out my portfolio, so be sure to check it out to see the latest in window treatments and decorating ideas!  Make it a great month and check back soon!