Bright Colors, Found Ojects and Favorite Things

 

Organize a focal wall or entry space with a collection of objects and paint it a bright color.  Think of the design in three pieces. The main piece is the console table, here I used a vintage hairpin leg table. The second piece is the space above the console table, the wall space, which I filled with my growing collection of black and white photos, some are old and some are new.  The third piece is the space underneath the console, ottomans are the best for this space as they are both decorative and useful.  I can pull the ottomans out and use them anywhere around the room. 

 

 I gathered up similar objects from around my house. Glass, coral and succulents make up the majority of items. I tried for mostly green objects as a contrast to the teal wall, but ended up with one large teal statement piece as well. Black acts as the neutral that brings it all together.     
 

 

The middle photos are some of my favorites. They are original photographs of my grandfather posing with models for an eye glass marketing campaign. He was an actual salesman in the company and someone whom I never got to meet.  Since I am using a mix of old and new frames the trick is striking the right balance. The Goodwill or other thrift stores is a great place to get old frames. Look for frames with clean lines and a little texture. Stay away from anything ornate or decorative as that can look messy and be distracting.

 

 

There is so much industrial vintage out there. Start mixing it in. I love these old frogs in a rustic green metal. And a stack of design books with a lamp on top, gave me that little bit of height that I needed.

  So take your boring entry way with it's coat racks, key holders and safe wall color and give it a little pizazz.  Steal objects from other parts of your home and combine them in a different way to make them new again.  Think bright colors, found objects and favorite things.  You'll be greeted with something both lovely and functional.  

A Bright Day

Winter blues have come to the Pacific Northwest.  And nothing quite beats winter like color. Color is so much a part of our every day lives, we don't even pay attention to it most of the time. Color is how we see. The more contrast the better we "see" something.  And during the winter months, the outside world provides us with little more than shades of grey and green.  Some of us can't live with color, we get too much stimulation from the people, cars, signs, houses and television around us that when we return home, neutrals are our comfy retreat.  But, some people enjoy the color that can be found inside the house. And now is the best time of the year to appreciate it!

Designer Angela Adams lives in Portland, Maine and this is her house featured in Coastal Living Magazine. Angela makes me feel like I want to paint.  She makes me want to live in a coastal town.  Angela inspires me to live with color.

 Angela Adams makes me want to add more turquoise to my house. She makes the ocean and the forest floor look like things I want to roll around on. She makes them soft, plush and abstract. She makes me want to stare at the ocean until I see what she sees.

 This room inspired me to put a vintage needlepoint owl on top of a floor pillow.  Our cats now call it home.  

 Angela's bedroom all dressed in hot pink, magenta. It's simple and wonderfully colorful.

 Blue and green make for a comforting dining room. And finally, a guest room dressed in shades of turquoise, green and yellow, grounded in chocolate. Does it get any closer to nature than that?

And what about you, do you like living with color?