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Chinoiserie Saint Francis
When I saw this finely carved “ivoryesque” figurine at a church thrift store for a song, I couldn’t resist.
He is a Chinoiserie version of Saint Francis. See the little birds he is holding?
He looks right at home in my Chinoiserie powder room.
The wallpaper also has birds on it, do you see those storks to the left of the figurine? 
This little illustration shows one of my favorite decorating secrets, which I happily share:
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
It is visually and artistically pleasing to use repetition.
The eye will pick up on repetition as it processes what it sees in a room.
Sometimes the conscious mind does not recognize the repetition, but the subconscious mind has processed it as pleasing.
So, in the above vignette, the Chinoiserie St. Francis repeats several things from the wallpaper:
the antique cream color, the Chinoiserie style, the birds, the figural images, and even the cross-hatching in his hat is also in the wallpaper.
Take another peek and you will see these things that perhaps you didn’t notice before they were pointed out.
Now, let’s look at some elements in another room, images below.
Notice the repetitive geometric motif, diamond shapes, which I have broken down individually.
Diamond shapes are repeated throughout the room. You probably wouldn’t even notice.
Image ©Color Calling
Cut velvet upholstery, Image ©Color Calling
And here
Drapery trim Image ©Color Calling
Subtle, very subtle.
Powerful, very powerful when used together.
Because of the repetition.
Repetition, one of the best ideas in any good design professional’s bag of tricks.
Are you using repetition effectively to please the eye in the rooms in your home?
Is your sofa this comfortable?
Buy the best sofa you can afford. A good sofa can last 20+ years with a few re-coverings. There are several trade-only lines that I have had very good luck with over the years. There are also some excellent retail lines if you are a do-it-yourselfer.
If you are investing in a new sofa, check the legs to see if they are wood. Many brands use cheap plastic legs which will not withstand heavy wear. “8 way, hand-tied” is also an indication of quality.
Don’t think you have to have down or blend-down. Down backs require constant re-plumping to look good. Sometimes a “tight back” style is the way to go, which has no separate back cushions. Again, a good designer can help you make the right decision.
As for style, you need to decide how you will use the sofa.
In a family room where someone might lie down to watch television, for instance, you would want to avoid a Knowles-style sofa which has very high sides.
Toss-type back cushions will end up on the floor, especially if you have young children. Semi-tight backs aren’t able to be rotated, or even easily re-plumped, since they are attached.
A single bench cushion for the seat is a good look and on-trend, and is more widely available as an option now.
Two seat cushions are not as comfy for someone lying down to watch television, but more comfy if two people are sitting together (upright). All of this is worth a discussion with your design professional.
A good design professional will keep you from making an expensive mistake.
Source: cocoerosboutique.com via Coco on Pinterest
For color, a good solid neutral gives you the most flexibility.
Punches of color can come from pillows and accessories. You should avoid a pinky-beige undertone, because that particular color will limit your other design options the most.
Here is the pinky-beige color you will want to avoid if possible, especially if you have yellow or yellow beige walls. This creates a very undesirable clash of undertones:
A nicely designed quality sofa is always a good investment. The wrong sofa will just be an expensive mistake.
A sofa will probably be the third most expensive soft furnishing in your room. Drapery and rug will be one and two, most likely.
Good Design is always an investment, but Bad Design is just costly.
Should your baby’s nursery be neutral?
I am seeing a new trend: baby nurseries which are not only gender-neutral, but neutral in coloration as well.
Color is used in a nursery for a very good reason, and it bears reminding new parents:
a) babies can’t see very well, and
b) color is a wonderful intellectual stimulant for babies (just like it can be for adults).
I have seen some very neutral-in-color nurseries, like the one above, that are gorgeous.
But, remember, all those famous contemplative poets and brooding artists don’t retreat to
rainy gray Seattle for nothing:
in color theory, neutral coloration promotes contemplation more than stimulation.
Bring some upbeat color into the space if you decide to decorate with pale neutrals.
Use bright colorful accessories, crib mobiles, and toys to attract and hold your baby’s interest.
Are lamps out of style?
Judging by the last few issues of the design magazines I regularly read, the answer would be yes. There are certainly a very few table lamps in sight.
But, get real!
Overhead-only lighting –especially when viewed at night — is one of the real decorating “don’ts.” Fortunately, beautiful lamps and sconces are readily available at a variety of price points.
And, if I have any magazine editors reading today, please give us a little more real life and a little less photographic perfection.
A perfect fire-lit room, gorgeous upholstery and carpet, beautiful drapery and …..no lamps, just a few pot-lights on the ceiling?
Here is a room properly lighted, see how there is lamp or sconce lighting on each side of the room? So pretty and warm.
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Out of the current pictures on the living room page of the House Beautiful website, look at all these living rooms with few or no lamps:
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: housebeautiful.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Dear Editors: Please show us rooms which are both beautiful AND properly lighted!
My seven-minute cheese tray
Party cheese tray Image ©Color Calling
Here are my tips for an quick-and-easy-to-assemble cheese board:
You need a nice large platter. I think oval ones look great for cheese. I happened to find this beautiful ceramic one, handmade in Italy, for $8 at my church’s thrift shop. It is 22″ in length.
Green grapes and red grapes, seedless.
One small package of dates (see them right in the middle, to the left of the brie wedge?) You could also beautifully use halved figs if they are in season.
Mild crackers.
A selection of cheeses.
Cheese knives of several sizes and types.
Here is what the cheese experts say, “a goat cheese, a soft cheese, a hard cheese, a washed rind, and a blue cheese.” For more information on the cheeses to use to build a nice platter, a great article can be found by the ever-stylish Gwyneth Paltrow here. I did not use a washed rind cheese, but from a style perspective, an odd number (5, in this case) is more eye-catching than the four I used.
Do you see my secret in the photo above?
My secret is to build height. My secret is to use packaged Italian thin breadsticks. See how pretty the extra height is? People love a small bite like this with their glass of wine because they are easy to hold, they have a nice crunch, and they are easy and dainty to eat.
I have also read that a chopped “KIND” bar or two make a lovely ingredient on a cheese tray. It gives a touch of nutty crunch and sweetness. I’ll have to try that next time.
Cheers!
My top five decorating no-no’s
Well, we all have our likes and dislikes.
And, if you have been following this blog at all during the last six months since I started it, you’ve seen a lot of rooms that I like, since I try to keep the negative verbiage to a minimum.
But today, please indulge me, just this once, to name a few things I don’t like.
These are some things that bug me in otherwise beautiful homes.
#1. Too many personal photographs.
Especially on bookcase shelves.
A plethora of family photographs= visual clutter.
Pick a few gorgeous ones of meaningful life events (weddings or christenings, for instance).
Invest in pretty frames that complement each other. Don’t mix a hodge podge of frame styles or color finishes.
For all your other cherished photos: Why not invest in a nice leather archival photo album, fill it with your favorites, and place it on the family room coffee table where you or your friends can actually take the time to enjoy looking through the pages?
If you have too many displayed photographs, I can practically guarantee that you don’t really “see” them anymore.
#2 Paperback books on display
This downgrades an open bookshelf immediately.
If you don’t have a decent collection of hardbacks for your shelves, use the space for some other type of collection or grouping until you do. A good designer or a friend with a practiced eye can help you style your bookshelves for maximum visual appeal.
And, as a p.s. while we are talking about books: don’t fall for the contrivance that is shown in some magazines of covering your books, paper or hardbound, in white butcher paper. That is the silliest thing I have seen lately. Books are to be seen, and read, not covered up as strictly decoration.
When you buy a paperback: Read it, then Pass It to a friend, or Donate It. Never open-shelve a paperback book.
3. Skimpy drapery.
Look through any high-end decorating magazine. Quality draperies “kiss” the floor, but yes, you can puddle your draperies if you live in New Orleans or the in English countryside. Otherwise, it is a bit dated looking. The kind of pleats you see will be soft, unpressed pleats, and several widths of fabric to look luxurious. I am not saying this isn’t an investment. It is, but well-done draperies finish a room. For a budget decorating project, use two panels of ready-made curtains per side of the window. Hang the rod high, and let the rod extend out beyond the outer sides of the sill.
Triple-width French doors with drapery. Image ©Color Calling
4. Pink or orange wood cabinetry anywhere.
This is a very dated look. And, yes, I know men hate to paint wood.
Paint it.
White.
Here is orange:
And here is pink:
pickled cabinet-yes, this is pink.
#5 Using colors out of the blue that ignore a room’s fixed finishes.
Here, below, the yellow wallpaper is just wrong in every way for the space. It is too bright for the muted blue counter and tiles, and it is not repeated anywhere else in the room, and so it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Middle image, the correct color (In Your Eyes, Benjamin Moore) takes into account the fixed muted blues everywhere else in the room. Bathrooms and kitchens are the two worst offenders, because of tile and countertops being expensive to replace.
Yellow wallpaper with blue fixed finish
Newly painted bath, Image ©Color Calling
Do you have something decoration-wise that bugs you? Do tell!
Proof your dark hallway shouldn’t be light beige
Source: google.dk via Stine on Pinterest
If you are like me, you were always told that you have to paint a dark room a light color.
Well, we were told wrong!
A light color in a dark room will turn “Landlord Beige.”
Go darker and richer in a dark room, and a stunning result will be yours.
Just a little tidbit I learned when I went through True Colour Expert Training.
Repeat after me: “A light color will never come to life in a dark room.” (Thank you, Maria Killam!) (click on Maria’s name to link to her site).
Source: heirloomphilosophy.blogspot.com via Brianna on Pinterest
Source: atticmag.com via Allison on Pinterest
Once in a blue Moon
Moon rising over Nantucket Sound 9-01-12 Image ©Color Calling
The colors of nature are sometimes just too gorgeous to be believed.
What’s the best color for a workout room?
Contemporary Home Gym design by Vancouver Design-build Capstone Dwellings, Design-Build
I am often asked, What is the best color for my ______ room? What do I say?
So what is the best color for a workout room?
Here is a hint: NOT BORING BEIGE!
Think about it: you are stimulating your heart, and your other muscles when
you work out. Why not give yourself something pleasing to stimulate the eye as
well. I like to recommend that we start with your favorite color, and go from
there.
Anything that pleases your eye will help encourage you to go in and really use your work-out room.
Many work-out rooms (home gyms) are in low-natural-light areas, such as a
basement, anyway.
Beige is probably the worst possible color for a low-light area.
Contrary to anything you may have been told about keeping low-light areas light
in color, “A light color will never come to life in a dark room.” (wise words from Maria Killam).
Beige just looks dingy when there is little or no natural light.
So, which room would you rather exercise in, one that looks like these two, below:
Contemporary Home Gym design by Seattle Interior DesignerShannon Diana Lynn, Klang NorthWest
Or this one, (to me, about as interesting as watching paint dry!):
HERE are some dedicated home exercise rooms in a variety of colors to give you some inspiration.
Cool gray walls and persimmon flooring.
Muted green walls with bright blue accents.
Gray walls AND ceilings with silver accents.
Happy yellow walls with an accent rug in charcoal gray.
Green.
Contemporary Home Gym design by Seattle Interior DesignerShannon Diana Lynn, Klang NorthWest
Acid green.
A more Spa-like green.
Blue with pale-pink oak flooring.
Wider shot of same room above.
Butterscotch with black accents.
A cleaner yellow combined with greens and taupes, bamboo flooring.
Red.
Source: google.com via Katie on Pinterest
Aonther bold, fun choice, terracotta red (tip: don’t ever paint out a ceiling like this).
Mustard with walnut flooring.
And another look at my favorite, Yankee blue with zippy striped carpet.
So, don’t settle for boring beige. The workout room should be anything but boring-looking. Paint it a color (or a color family) that you absolutely love!
Color Calling 
