Color Blocking: Spring and Summer Trends

We’ve seen it on the runaways, clothing racks and make-up counters. “Color blocking.”  It’s the hottest trend of the year that involves the mix of solid colors in daring ways. Similar to mixing prints, the method combines two or more colors that include bright, complimentary and contrasting shades.  Orange, green, yellow, and blue are some of the most popular combinations.  If you’re daring enough to wear the combos, then you may find that the same mix will provide an artistic twist in your home as well.

Before you get started, keep these tips in mind.

·         Remember the rules of color. The color wheel is a perfect guide if you’re confused on what works. The rules are: colors directly next to each other (i.e. yellow-green); those that create a ninety- degree angle (i.e. green and orange); colors that form a “T” (think blue, orange and violet-red) and so on.

·         Try to stick to a maximum of four colors. The idea is to add bold touches, but you don’t want it to come across as being too wild and psychedelic.

·         Minimize the number of pieces in each room that display the method. Keep it simple.

Here are a few examples that you can use as inspiration.

KITCHEN

    Courtesy of Designernotes.modwalls.com

The kitchen is a great place to spice it up if you desire a modern look. The combination of yellow and orange on the walls complement the dark finish of the cabinets. If you have lighter color finishes, you can use more cool tone pallets such as mint green and light blue.

LIVING ROOM

      Courtesy of cococozy.com                   

Simple splashes of color on the walls can be a great complement to accent pillows on the sofa and other décor such as chairs and tables. Try to keep the color choices to a minimum of two on the actual walls, and mix and match throughout the room with simple touches as displayed in the picture above.

WINDOW TREATMENTS

      Courtesy of cocoonhome.com

Bright window treatments are a great way to temporarily add the trend in a room if you don’t want to go bold and paint the walls. You can mix up to three to four colors, but ensure that the colors complement the main pieces in the room such as the sofa and chairs.

You can also try the trend by adding color to a small section of the wall as a backdrop to a picture frame and painting dining room chairs using two different colors.

Color blocking is a fabulous way to add a modern twist when the trend is kept simple and chic. Remember to have fun and don’t be afraid!

Design the life you love. ™

Could your Kitchen Design be affecting your eating habits in 2012?

 There are many different factors in our environment that affect the way we live. Just like a well-designed office has been proven to increase employee productivity, the design of our kitchen may also affect our behavior when it comes to our eating habits. We have come up with a few strategies in kitchen design that could affect or change these habits.

 

Many contemporary kitchens today reflect more of a “great room” style which combines the living, dining, and kitchen space into one. This serves as the central hub for families and friends. Many other activities often take place here. While many of us enjoy this design, we may not realize that it may actually contribute to more frequent snacking or larger meals being that we never really leave the kitchen.

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Traditional home design incorporated more of a closed off kitchen design that was used primarily for food preparation. Other than food prep and cleaning up after meals, essentially the kitchen was closed down in between or after meals.



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As you can see from this comparison, the square footage devoted to the kitchen has definitely changed over the years as well.



Cabinets with transparent panels may also stimulate your appetite by providing visual access to food in your cabinets.



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Last but not least, color may affect your appetite as well. Have you ever noticed how you often find warmer colors such as reds and oranges in many popular restaurants? They often incorporate these hues into their signage as well because these colors have the ability to stimulate your appetite. If you want a strategy to suppress your appetite at home, paint your kitchen blue or green. Blue is calming and can often suppress your appetite, while green has a healthy connation to it which could support incorporating healthy eating habits into your life.



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