Which famous decorator said, “Every room needs a touch of red.”? I believe it was Albert Hadley. Well, I don’t think a touch of red works in every room, but in rooms where red works, it gives a visual excitement not associated with any other color. Do you have a place for a touch of red in your home?
Image ©Color Calling
Graduation time! Show your friends that you care about their children with the perfect “congratulations” present when they graduate from high school. Here are some tried and true ideas in a variety of price ranges. Check my Pinterest page for more information http://www.pinterest.com/colorcalling
Soft monogrammed towels are always appreciated. Don’t monogram the washcloths, though. Choose a color they love, not their school color. (It is not cool to go overboard on school colors/school mascots, in case you didn’t know.)
Did you consider giving just the pillowcases? Have a pair done up with an extra-fancy monogram in their dorm room colors:
Have a fuzzy throw monogrammed at an angle in the corner
A hinged clothing bar for the car is useful and budget-friendly:
What about a rolling laundry hamper, with a huge laser-cut monogram on the side?
These ideas are all tried and true, and will be appreciated by your favorite graduate!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I just love peonies! Never have they been more affordable than since our new Whole Foods market opened here in Birmingham. Peonies are available there for only a short season in May and then they are gone. Is there anything prettier?
image ©Color Calling
Benjamin Moore Vanilla Ice Cream Image ©Color Calling
This can be a wonderful look: paint your ceilings the same color as your trim. Here is the formula. Use semi-gloss oil-based paint on the trim. Oil-based semi-gloss is also what I like to specify for painted kitchen cabinetry. Then, use flat latex in the same color for the ceiling. Here, I specified Benjamin Moore Vanilla Ice Cream. This creamy white is a perfect match for the subtle stripe in the wallpaper. And, how did I find this perfect match? With my large samples, of course!
One more tip: make sure that your painter paints the air conditioning vents and speaker covers. Yes, you can safely paint your vents and ceiling speakers (by hand with a brush, please and thank you). Don’t be afraid to venture out from the dreaded “Ceiling White.” A good color consultant can help you find your perfect color match!
Just returned yesterday from a tour of a spectacular private garden on Lake Martin, Alabama. Images are large, please allow a few moments for them to load. Enjoy!
bright yellow lilies frame a water view Image ©Color Calling
Garden Room at the Entrance with large urn focal point Image © Color Calling
Hydrangea above and below Images ©Color Calling
Purple Clematis Image ©Color Calling
Gardenia
Cherub playing his flute, as a charming fountain Image ©Color Calling
Another garden room with a very different fountain Image ©Color Calling
Waterfall in the Garden Image ©Color Calling
This cave is accessible to the left of the waterfall. Image ©Color Calling
This view is behind the waterfall, from inside the cave! Image ©Color Calling
The large garden, spread over several acres, includes at least two dozen garden rooms, as well as numerous places to sit and enjoy the spectacular vistas over the lake. Here is my favorite part. Can you believe that this garden has a wine cellar?
Beautiful high lake view near wine cellar entrance Image ©Color Calling
The wine cellar is entered from the outside, just to the right of the above photograph. A large arched oak door marks the entrance (I could not get a photograph of the door due to our tour-goers’ entering and exiting). The cellar’s interior drew special awe from our visiting group of gardeners:
Expansive Wine Cellar Image ©Color Calling
White wines are usually stored near the bottom where it is coolest Image ©Color Calling
Entering the tasting room Image ©Color Calling
Statuary in the tasting room, depicting both saint and sinner Images ©Color Calling
Murals were painted by art students from nearby Auburn University Image ©Color Calling
Returning to the garden, more garden rooms and interesting focal points.
Statuary bust resting in a fern glade Image ©Color Calling
restful arbor Image ©Color Calling
Cool and Verdant Fern Glade Image ©Color Calling
Ceramics are thoughtfully placed throughout the garden Image ©Color Calling
Handrails over steps lead swimmers down into the water Image ©Color Calling
Focal urn at water’s edge Image ©Color Calling
I hope you have enjoyed the tour of this wonderful garden!
Love the term “Garden Folly.” Outbuilding or shed just doesn’t have the same caché.
Source: flickr.com via Ellen on Pinterest At Castle Howard
To be fair to the name, in architecture, a true Folly is primarily (some might even say, strictly) for decoration. A true Folly doesn’t serve any other purpose. Obviously, a garden shed or outbuilding would be at least somewhat utilitarian. That doesn’t mean that your shed can’t have charm, beauty or an element of mystery.
Here are a few other images for inspiration:
Charlotte Moss in New York, one of my (and all of blogdom’s) all-time favorites:
Here is a thought for anyone having reupholstery work on dining/breakfast room chairs. Use an accent fabric on the back of the chair.
Source: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
You want to make sure that your upholsterer provides quality workmanship. This one, below, did not. Notice the seaming in the back isn’t uniform, and that the fabric change ends/begins oddly. (Sorry, but I am going to call them as I see them. This one doesn’t look professional).
Source: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
You can accent just the back part of the chair back, or wrap the accent all the way around. A good design professional can help you decide. Properly done, what a great look that will enliven your breakfast room or dining room!
Are you ready for a recipe? I would like to share one. Here is one of my favorites. So simple, and so appreciated. This one is pretty, and so delicious. It is made to give away.
You must have big crockpot/slow cooker. If you don’t, feel free to check it out, and then please come back here in a couple of days. I’ll have another decorating post for you. But, if you have a big crockpot, get ready for a treat, see finished product, below:
You’ll need 8 cups of peanuts. If you live in the Deep South, go to your local peanut warehouse and buy a 25 pound bag of raw peanuts (unbelievably inexpensive). This will get you through Christmas. Otherwise, buy two or three big cans of Virginia-type salted peanuts at your local Target or Wal-Mart. You’re going to need about 7-8 cups of nuts. Don’t obsess if you can’t find the Virginia-type large nut. Any type of peanut will work in this recipe, even dry-roasted in a jar. As long as the hard shell is off, you are fine. You can use peanuts with the red skin on if you like, and I do this all the time with my raw peanuts.
Here are the ingredients. You will also need parchment paper.
Color Calling’s Slow-Cooker Chocolate Peanut Clusters
7-8 cups peanuts
24 ounces white chocolate “almond bark for baking or dipping” (does not actually contain almonds, find it in the baking aisle)
2 large bars of Baker’s German chocolate
12 ounces chocolate chips, semi-sweet
Layer in this order in the crockpot:
peanuts on the bottom
white almond bark
baker’s German
chocolate chips
Try to layer the chocolate so that it does not touch the sides of the cooker. Don’t forget to put the top on.
Cook on low for two hours in the crockpot. After two hours, turn off the crockpot without lifting lid. Let mixture rest for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, stir mixture thoroughly with a sturdy wooden spoon. With a melon scoop or tablespoon, drop mixture onto parchment paper. Make sure each droplet is a little larger than the size of a silver dollar, with plenty of peanuts, say about 12 per cluster. Once you have dribbled the wet chocolate on the parchment, you can spoon the peanuts on one-by-one. Keep the peanuts in one layer for best results.
See photo for guidance. Yes, yours will look this good, too.
Let peanut clusters cool thoroughly. Can place the parchment on trays in the freezer to speed up process. Lift each individual cluster off parchment when completely cool. Give away immediately in cute boxes to anyone who needs to feel loved and cared for. Repeat, give away immediately.
Keep recipe close by. Anyone you give this to will never let you forget how much they love this.
Image ©Color Calling
When I first started my color consulting and residential styling business, my very first client (who kindly allowed me to photograph her living room for the blog) was a dear friend who has a very pretty house. She wanted me to help her change her living room draperies. Because of my color training, I could see the problem. Though a little old, the draperies themselves weren’t bad (though I do like my draperies to “kiss” the floor when doing a new installation.) The problem was, other than to the walls themselves, that the color of the draperies wasn’t really relating to anything else in the room.
So, we went shopping around in her own house, because she has really beautiful things. I suggested that a large gorgeous painting hanging in another room would be perfect in the living room. We removed a lovely mirror from over the mantel and moved it over a console on the same wall. If you have been reading this blog, you know how I feel about mirrors over a mantel. But, I digress. The main color (golden yellow) in the painting allowed us to repeat the drapery color again.
Image ©Color Calling
Then, all that was necessary was a little rearranging, and one simple but expert reupholstery job which repeated the color yet again. (I usually like to repeat a color three or more times.) The chair, before, is on the left, and remember, white is NOT a neutral. The chair, after, is on the right. The jewel tone silk with plenty of gold in the velvet stripe (middle photo) is just the pop of color that was needed to bring the room to life. The second of the pair of chairs is just out of camera range, but can be seen in the final shot.
Now, the draperies don’t stand out, because the color of the drapery is repeated several times. They are in harmony with the rest of the room. Have you priced custom floor length draperies lately? This one decision saved a very expensive change from being made.
Images above ©Color Calling
I have seen it happen over and over and over: the thing that you think is wrong with your room may not be the thing we end up changing!
Always call a trusted design professional when you think you want to make a change. She may just help you avoid what might be a very expensive mistake.
Bath hooks for hanging towels. I am seeing this trend everywhere.
Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: remodelista.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: Uploaded by user via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: remodelista.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: oldhouseonline.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: houseandhome.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: houseandhome.com via Ellen on Pinterest
And, in case you are wondering, it’s okay to follow a few trends to update your home. Where I advise you to look out, is when the trend is either very expensive, or clearly headed bye-bye after it has played out. Towel hooks. A very on-trend look that you’ll be seeing more and more.
Color Calling 
