Friday, May 31, 2013

GRAY AND ORANGE KITCHEN

Hey Everyone!  I am sure that you will all have thought I have lost my mind.  I am being totally assaulted with Gray and Orange in my world.  As I said.... I have been working on the Man's office as of late and those 2 colours are the main colours that are being used.  So I suppose that I am noticing it everywhere.  I came across this great little kitchen.  If you are into eclectic, bordering on slightly modern then this kitchen will be your cup of tea.  And from the looks of it, it can be recreated on a fairly good budget.  With a little paint and a little flair you too can come up with something just like this.......






What a great little kitchen.  It really has a great 70's vibe to it yet it is also modern.  I love the hit of Orange on the Upper Cabinets.  The only thing I may have done differently was to use a different back splash.  But that is just me... not a criticism....  It's just I think it needs something a little more neutral.  I do love the Ceasarstone Counter tops...... at least I think that is what it is.  Overall I really love this kitchen and feel it is the kind of look anyone in any budget can achieve.  This is a great example on how one can achieve a great modern look without breaking the bank!!

Have a great day everyone.....
Megan

Thursday, May 30, 2013

ORANGE IS ALRIGHT!

Hey Everyone!!!  I suppose I have been thinking a lot about the colour Orange as of late.  It is the colour in the logo of the company my Man is a part of.  When thinking about working on his office I had to keep this colour in mind....the closest colour match to the Pantone is Sharp Cheddar by Benjamin Moore:

Sharp Cheddar 2017-20

It really is an awesome Orange.  I will be posting later about his office.  So with all of this Orange on my mind I am kind of noticing it more.  I came across a few pics and wanted to share them with you all.......


Even if a lot of colour isn't your thing, you really have to admire the full on assault this room gives.  I love this paint colour:

Orange Appeal #124 Benjamin Moore

Not only is the colour fabulous but it looks amazing with the Chiang Mai fabric by Schumacher on the chair that is just visible in the above pic.


It is one of those fabrics that I LOVE.  I know that it isn't for everyone but I adore it.  You can do so much with it.  You can pull out so many colours to work with from it.  And I love that they chose that great Orange to work with.

And if you want to see a full on Orange that will blow your mind then see the following:






I love how brave and bold this is....go big or go home.  The Orange paint colour is Bold Orange IB63 by Ralph Lauren.  I too love how it is paired with that great red: Lattice Red IB53  Ralph Lauren.  Now some may ask...why a stark white floor in the above pic or a stark white Ceiling Fan?  Well there are times when as a designer you have to make certain decisions based on many factors.  One factor being the clients wishes.  They are after all..... your client.  They have the ultimate say.  Two and this is a pretty big one..... Budget.  Sometimes budget does not allow one to change certain elements in a room.  Changing out tile is a huge cost and a huge job.  The designer has tried to tie in elements so that the white floor isn't the only white element in the room....thus a white ceiling fan and bright white trim on the fireplace.  Well that's my take on it anyways.

I am sure that I will be revisiting this amazing colour in the future.
Have a great day everyone.
Megan

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

GINGHAM RUG & GINGHAM SOCKS!!

Hey Everyone!  As you know by now I am a huge fan of Gingham.  I can't quite put it into words except that  when I see Gingham it puts a smile on my face.  And if it is a Gingham Rug....well it makes me Uber happy!!
Case in point:


This room makes me kind of giddy.  Gotta love the rug, gotta love that window seat!!





Oh how I would love to have this room in our cottage.  Toile and Gingham...yes please!





What is not to love about this??  That tile! That sink!!  That Faucet!!!  And of course that Rug!!!!





This is a Preppy Dream right here my friends!!!




So there you have it....my Gingham Rug musings..... Hey.....I think I may have to design a little knit something in Gingham.......Why haven't I thought of that before???  I will say that I have always admired the following sock pattern and have always wanted to give it a go......


I mean.....just look at these little lovelies!!!  What I love most about them besides the fact that they are gingham is the variegated red yarn that was used....it adds so much depth to the simplicity of the gingham.
Only I could turn a posting about Gingham Rugs into blogging about Gingham Socks....Guess that's just how I roll!!

Have an awesome day everyone.
Megan


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

GRAY OFFICE

Hey Everyone!  Hope all is well in your Universe. Sorry for the absence but things have been quite busy around here as of late.  I am currently helping my Man out with painting the board room of his office.  Let me just start by saying that the current colour of that said office is quite the "eye opener".  If he and his cronies aren't awake when they get to work in the morning, they certainly will be once they go through their office doors.  To say that the walls are 'bright" would be an understatement!!  I have used my fan deck to try and figure out the current colour...the closest I can get is........

Key Lime 2031-50 Benjamin Moore

Spring Meadow Green 2031-40 Benjamin Moore

Now...looking at these colours you might think, "they don't look so bright".  Well you should see them on the paint chip never mind on the walls!!!!! I am hoping that in time that we will be able to tone down the colour!  So as for the board room..... I wanted to stay neutral for the a couple of reasons.... One being the dark mottled gray carpet i there and the "neon green" everywhere else.  In fact I had to pick the colours for the board room so that they would go with the green in the office as well as the "orange" in their logo....

That colour is very similar to if not bang on with:

Sharp Cheddar 2017-20 Benjamin Moore

As you can see it is a full on Orange.  It is quite a stunning orange really.....so I wanted to make sure that the Grays that we chose would go with all of the above.
In the board room the guys have a big flat screen tv on one of the short walls.  I wanted to help "disguise" the big monstrosity of a tv.... so I suggested that we paint out that wall a darker colour to help with that.  I originally wanted to paint the two shorter walls (in length) Iron Mountain:
Iron Mountain 2134-30 Benjamin Moore

As you can see it is a gray with a warm browny undertone to it.  The carpet too has a warmer undertone to it.  However, we were afraid that Iron Mountain was reading too brown in the Board Room so I picked:

Gray 2121-10 Benjamin Moore

It reads more as a true gray in that room yet does not read as a gray with a blue undertone to it.

So today I painted the two long walls the following gray:
Gull Wing Gray 2134-50 Benjamin Moore

It really looks great in there.  And it especially looks great looking through the doorway and seeing that crazy neon green with it.  In fact it makes that crazy green look better.  I can't wait until I get the darker gray in there....that is tomorrow's job!  This really was a lesson in picking the right colour with the right undertone for a space.  Like I said ....... I think that the Iron Mountain was the best "colour match" with the rug, however, the gray that we picked best suited the whole overall space.  Tricky stuff!!

On one of the shorter (in length) walls we also painted a "stripe" of  writable paint.  When you are writing code for programs, the guys love to be able to write out ideas on a "white board".  Well a 4'x8' white board will set you back around $800.00!!!   So my Man did some poking around on the interwebs and found this great paint called Idea Paint: Create.  It is a Dry Earase Whiteboard Paint.  How fabulous it that?  It cost around $150.00 and did a swath of 5'x16'.  Plus we did up a separate board that will be hung in my Hubs own little office area.  You just mix the two parts together and roller it on.  It ends up being very shiny when it has dried.  You can use it 4 days later.  I know that they are chomping at the bit to try it but they are being good boys and are not....they want to make sure that it has cured properly.  On that wall will be the Dry Erase Paint area and a border top and bottom of the Gray.  I can't wait until everything is done and I can show some pics.  Here is an example of what can be done with this great paint:


I will let you know how well it holds up for them.  The guys were recently in Toronto at a consultants office and they had the same paint.  Den said it was awesome to see the walls covered in this stuff and to see how it helped with the creative process.  People would just stop and write, have impromptu meetings....he loved seeing that.  Being creative without restraints can be such a freeing thing!!

So now you know what I have been up too......
Will keep you up to date.

Have a great day everyone.
Megan

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

TAKING A BREAK THIS WEEK!

Hey everyone!  I am taking a bit of a break this week.  I hope to be up and running again next week.

Until then......Why not visit one of my favourite places for inspiration.......I love that photo.....all that Red, White and Blue!!!
Have a great week everyone!!
Megan

Friday, May 17, 2013

SNEAK PEEK- ZIGGITY ZAGGITY!

Hey everyone......the first long weekend is upon us and we get to celebrate the official 1st long weekend of the summer!! WHOO HOO!! I so live for spring and summer.  I was just having a conversation just this morning about how  it would be great to live somewhere that doesn't have winter.  I know, I know....there are tons of people out there that love winter!  Well Kudos to you my friends!  I wish I did, I truly do.  However, I am at my happiest when I can wear capri pants, a t-shirt and flip flops!!  That's just how I roll!!  I suppose Australia would be such a place...but then I joked about how it seems that everything down there wants to kill you!!  Don't get me wrong I have dreamed of going to Australia since....well....like forever.  I can't remember when I didn't want to go.  And the funny thing is my family was supposed to move there from England all those years ago....however, the visa fell through and we ended up here in the Great White North instead of the Great Barrier Reef!!!  Go figure!!  So..... as this is supposed to be a quick posting......
I just wanted to give a sneak peek at my neck Scarf pattern.  It was made with Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn.  I was in one of my favourite yarn stores (Spun) last Monday and I couldn't resist buying it.  It was like Candy all wrapped up in Wool and Silk!!  So I went ahead and made a "one ball wonder".  It is probably one of the funkier things I have come up with. When I finish writing up the pattern I will let you know...should be up and running by Tues of next week on Ravelry.  It is a slightly involved pattern writing process this time as it has a major chart and a little tutorial on making Pompoms!!  Curious yet??



Just a little snap shot of what is to come.  I truly loved making something so different from what I normally knit or design.  Gotta love thinking outside the box sometimes.

Have an amazing weekend everyone.......

Megan

Thursday, May 16, 2013

GRAY KITCHEN-DROOL WORTHY!

Hey Everyone- Hope all is well in your Universe today!  I have a quick posting for today. I wanted to share with you all a great kitchen I came across.  It really ticks a lot of boxes...so without further ado....Enjoy:







How amazing is this space??  The main counter tops are White Caesarstone.  The cabinet and island paint colours are Farrow and Ball- paint colours not  given. However, one could probably pick out similar ones from Farrow and Ball......  For the Walls and ceiling perhaps:

Strong White 2001 Farrow & Ball


For the Cabinets.... perhaps:

Cornforth White 228 Farrow & Ball
or

Lamp Room Gray 88 Farrow & Ball


With.... perhaps on the island......

Stone Blue 86 Farrow & Ball

Oval Room Blue 85 Farrow & Ball


Again....I am only guessing as I can't find the info and I am going by eye with my screen.  So I can't really tell...but these colours do look awesome together....

In any event that is one amazing kitchen.....subway tile, butcher block island, industrial stools, open shelves, great pendants......I could go on and on.....
This amazing kitchen was created by Fivecat Studio/Architecture.  You should check out their other projects----amazing!!

Have a great day everyone.
Megan

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

EXTERIOR PAINT COLOURS

Hey everyone....Hope all is well?  So I got to thinking the other day about colour.  And specifically exterior colour.  Picking colour for the outside of your home is way more challenging than you might think.  Picking colours for outside is so tricky due to one main factor....and that is light.  Depending on where you live, this will determine what colours will best suit your home.  Not to mention the other factors such as the other materials on your home, cultural, historical factors,  indiviiduality, or even geography.  However, in this post I want to talk about colour and light and where you live.
For those of us that live in North America....and I mean for those of us that do not live in tropical climes...we get to deal with the ever changing light that is brought to us courtesy of our position in our Universe and the seasons.  For those of us that experience 4 seasons you may have noticed how different things look depending on the season.... why is that?  Well....it has to do with the quality of light that we are exposed to.  What do I mean by that?  Depending on the time of year or more specifically the season....the light from our lovely sun comes to us through our atmosphere at different angles.  Without being to scientific about it (although I do love these nerd parts....) depending on the angle that the sun comes through our atmosphere we get less or more heat and a different colour is perceived.  The heat part is what most people understand.  The "quality" of light or in simpler terms the "brightness"....well most people take that one for granted.
Here is an extreme example of what I mean:

This photo was taken the previous winter in Feb.  Granted it was close to 5pm when it was taken and we had snow...however, you can see how "blue" and muted the light seems.  This photo was not retouched in anyway whatsoever.  For those that do not live up here (we are near 43* North here in Burlington) would never believe how "blue" and dull the light can look outside in the winter.  This is all due to the angle that the sunlight is coming to us through the atmosphere  at this time of the year and time of day.  Now contrast this pic with the one below:


Excuse the craziness of the two toads above....... But as you can see the "quality" of the light is much brighter and more "brighter" and "intense" than the previous photo.  Now remember I am trying to find extremes in my photos to illustrate the point.
And to go even further.....


Oh to be on that beach!!  As you can see in the photo how much "brighter" the quality of the light is.

So now for a bit of tech speak!  When the light comes through our atmosphere the "temperature" of the light can be measured on a scale of Kelvin.  Everyone can relate to this just by looking at the back of the light bulbs that you buy.  In simple terms the higher the number in Kelvin the "brighter" or closer to pure sunlight the bulb will be.  Most Incandescent bulbs are around 2600K.  The brightest sunlight is usually around 5500K.  And if you pay attention you can see that your light bulb at 2600K has a more yellower and muter quality to it as compared to bright sunlight which is a very clear and brighter "blue".  The higher the Kelvin number , the "clearer" the visibility   This is highly illustrated in my photos I have shown.  Look how "clearer" and brighter the photo is of the beach as compared to the "dull" one of the winter scene.  So there you have it .... a quick and dirty version of  light and it's "quality".  This is a very simplistic version but one that I hope is easily understandable.
What the heck does this have to do with me picking a colour for the exterior of my house??  Well....it has everything to do with it!!  Even if you have never been to the tropics what do you think of when you think about a tropical beach house??  You are probably thinking about a lot of white and very bright, juicy colours.  And you would be right.  When you think of the colours used on houses anywhere north of the tropical line you think of more muted, less saturated colours. And again you would be right.

For the most part the rule of thumb for picking colours for the exterior of our houses here in the North is to STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING IN THE FAN DECK THAT ISN'T AN HISTORICAL COLOUR OR ONE THAT IS NEUTRAL.  For the most part if you stay in those two areas then you will be gold.  Why is that you ask?  Well.... think about it.  Really bright, tropical colours for the most part don't look their best up here in the North and you can thank your position on the earth for that one.  I love bright turquoise but I would NEVER put it on the exterior of my home.

Bahaman Sea Blue 2055-40 BM

How amazing is the above paint chip.  I can imagine this on a lovely beach cottage down south.  But put it on my front door and OY!!!  Let's just say that I DO NOT have the right light here to do this colour justice.  And I think that is the key here.  These amazing saturated colours do best and shine their brightest in...well...quite frankly brighter light.
If I had a client that was hell bent on a turquoise then a better choice but in the same vein would be either:

Majestic Blue 2051-40 BM

Caribbean Teal 2123-20 BM

Now....is this set in stone??  No, absolutely not.  If you want the brightest colour to adorn your front door then by all means go for it.  However, for the majority of people...when you go to the paint store..stick to the more neutrals and historical colours...you will probably end up with the result you were looking for and now you will know why!  That's always the rub for me...the why!  Why does tropical colours look so awesome down in the Caribbean yet here in the Great White North it doesn't...well now you know...it has to do with the quality of the light up here.
One other "little" detail you have to think of when picking a colour for the outside is how much of an influence the light outside effects the actual colour you pick.  You may want a super deep aubergine on your shutters but if you don't pick one that is deep enough the sunlight will completely lighten it up.  It is amazing how much full outside light can "lighten" a colour and wash it out.  When picking a colour for a room, many times people are told to go down on the chip to a lighter one so that when the colour is on the walls it will be the colour they wanted.  That is because paint tends to "intensify" on walls from when you take a little paint chip and then spread it out over a large area.  Well it is the opposite when thinking about colour for the outside.  Sunlight loves to really "wash out" colours.  And it makes sense when you think about it.  More light means more light bouncing off of objects, thus "washing out" the colour of the object.  The way I look at it.....More light bouncing off of an object, hitting your eye, getting in the "way" of that colour of the object you were looking at- simple , but that is how I think of it.

I wanted to share with you all some really great shots of exteriors and perhaps give you all some inspiration no matter where in the world you live.

I love this house.  I will take one to go please!!  Usually I am not a huge fan of white trim, but there are cases  where it looks stunning.  This house is just one case.  Although if the designer had chosen a darker trim colour it would have looked amazing too.....It just would have given a completely different look to the house.
The current Stain colour for the body of the house is Cabot Solid Stain in Pewter Gray.



I love red on an exterior.  LOVE IT!!!  Again, white was chosen as the trim colour but a darker colour...say the one used on the shutters or doors would have looked awesome too.  The main colour used here is Tomatillo- not sure the manufacturer though.



I have loved this exterior for years.  It is just so classic and well executed.  The architects picked the right blue for the shutters.  A lovely grayed down blue works so nicely with the stone work.  However, if this had been a plantation home in the tropics a brighter Turquoise would have looked amazing too.














Main body colour: Blue Note 2129-30 BM.  trim: Cloud Cover OC25 BM, Garage Door/siding: AF750 Sparrow BM.  If you look on the chip, Blue Note is very gray with a blue undertone to it.  Cloud Cover for the trim is quite grayish as well.  However, outside the colours would completely change as is evidenced by the above pic.  Love the colours used here.



This is a great example of seeing how light affects the appearance of the red on this house.  Under the porch where the light is less intense you can see that the red is truer and deeper than on the upper part of the house.



Just look how amazing the bright turquoise is on this house.  And being in Florida it looks right at home.  Put this same house on my block and well.....it would not look as stunning.



Here is a lovely little house.  It is known as the "Salsa House".  To me it is darling and an exception to the rules.  The homeowners went for broke for colour and I think it looks great.  I think that with picking all the colours from the "brighter" part of the deck helps out a lot.  Mixing bright with duller colours can be a challenge.  They chose all brights and I think it works for this lovely little gem.



Just look at this amazing modern bungalow in Los Angeles, CA.  I love the Ombre colour that was used here.  It is so great to see something just that little bit different.



This amazing modern home is located in Houston, Texas.  I love the hit of Orange with that gray.  Hits of  larger blocks of colour always look amazing on modern homes.  This too would look awesome in my neck of the woods, however, I would probably put a more muted orange on the home if it were here.


You don't often see green on a home anymore- at least around where I live.  However, on this lovely home it looks amazing.



What a lovely Victorian Home.  I love it when people adhere to the character of a home and use traditional colours to bring it to life.

Remember how I said that there is exceptions to the rule....one such example if for those that live in places such as Newfoundland, Canada, the Faroe Islands, and other Nordic places,  as well as little caches of homes that defy all rules.  But that is for another post !!  However, for the rest of us mere mortals it is best to stick with what works best for the area in which you live.  Does this mean you have to be boring?  Absolutely not.  Just do what is right for you.
And if you live north of the tropics it may be best to stick with more neutral, nature inspired colours

Have a great day everyone.
Megan