Sometimes an accent table in the Master Bath is the perfect touch.
This is for looks as well as extra surface area near the tub,
or anywhere you need some extra space.
For your fanciest bath gel, cell phone, a magazine, a drink.
Your accent table should repeat one of the colors or finishes in the room.
Here are some well-scaled ideas.
Color harmony. A simple concept.
Made easier with an understanding of undertones.
Now, I don’t mean plain or too matching.
And I certainly don’t mean boring.
As a color specialist, it means selecting the right color.
For example, today, with my large samples, I selected a gorgeous white paint color
for a friend’s Carrara marble bath.
If you have been reading this blog, you know about my large samples, right?
Here are my inspiration photos.
Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: countryliving.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: pinkpreppylillylover.blogspot.com via Buffi on Pinterest
Sometimes the right color is white.
So, when you have Carrara marble, for instance,
don’t be afraid to go with white walls.
There are several whites that really sing with Carrara.
An all white bath.
A very simple concept, which will always be timeless.
Beautiful. Not boring.
I am humming to myself just thinking about this project.
If she agrees to photos, I’ll post before and afters.
Image ©Color Calling
My quarter-sawn oak mantel, above, has been dismantled. See the raw wood exposed, above?
I have been thinking about how to improve my mantel. A recent shopping trip gave me an idea.
To accommodate these:
Image ©Color Calling
19th century handcarved pine brackets.
They are resting upside down in case you are wondering.
Those thistles got me. The national symbol of Scotland.
Source: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Image ©Color Calling
From a local estate, and found at one of our lovely local antique shops.
Soon they will be vertically (and right-side up) attached to my mantel surround,
incorporated as pilasters.
Sort of an antique, longer version of this. One of my mentors recently posted this, below, on her
Pinterest page, and I knew that it was speaking to me.
See how the carved brackets rest and jut right up to the underside of the mantel?
Image ©Color Calling
Image ©Color Callng
Image ©Color Calling
Image ©Color Calling
Source: anothersomething.org via Yindigo on Pinterest
I am going to scream if I see or hear that word one more time.
I have already seen it written at least eight times today.
Twice in magazines and six times on other blogs.
There is now even a “Curated Insurance Blog.”
And, above, there must be two hundred random Pinterest images marked “Curated“
Enough, people.
Why do people like that word so much?
I think it sounds pretentious at worst, and misused at best, do you agree?
I think it primarily should be used in relation to museums or exhibitions.
Not to be used for just any ol’ thing someone happens to pick out.
What about saying,
“carefully selected.”
“Lovingly chosen”
“Picked out with a sense of style”
“Unerringly grouped”
Let’s give “curated” a rest.
Have you seen that word as much as I have?
Source: us.kohler.com via Ragan on Pinterest
Source: google.com via P on Pinterest
A few months ago, I posted about a popular current look in master baths: Free Standing Tubs
Yes, claw foot tubs have been around since the early 1880s. But, you know what I mean.
The new ones with no feet. The ones which sit plop on the floor.
With very fancy, very expensive plumbing hardware, usually located at the center back.
When I see more and more and more of this look appearing in magazines and design blogs,
I know that my residential clients are going to be talking about the same in their own baths.
Remember when we talked about how a good design professional
can keep you from making an expensive mistake?
Let’s talk about some potential pitfalls which might look wonderful, but would go into that category:
An expensive mistake.
Are any of these master bath trends on your wish list? Stay with me.
For starters: do you notice how far you are going to have to reach across these new tubs
to access some of the plumbing hardware you are seeing everywhere?
Some of the hardware is so far back that you will actually have to step into the tub to reach it!
Or, walk around to the back of the tub to access.
Do you see all the problems with bathing here? Yes, it appears very sleek and modern. But, look.
You’ll have to GET UP out of the tub to reach the spigots if you want to add more warm water.
You will probably get soap and water all over the painted SheetRock spigot wall if you do.
And that sink-sized wall spout is way too small for quick filling,
It would probably take an hour to fill that huge tub!
I am putting this notion of hard-to-reach plumbing hardware in the same category as these other
they-look-great-but-they-are-impractical master bath ideas:
1) full-length draperies (they will be just unsightly from water damage)
2) no window treatment in the bathroom (surely no explanation needed)
3) vessel sinks in a master bathroom (though I don’t mind them at times for light duty places)
with vessel sinks a) there is a huge splash-factor
b) they are not a comfortable height for hand washing, since you can’t lower your hands below counter-level
This last one is not necessarily impractical, but it is downright dangerous.
4) Chandeliers like low-hanging fruit above the tub.
While pretty, I find all these ideas just completely impractical.
What about it? Do you agree with my list to avoid in a master bath?
Before, a tin-roofed cottage painted a non-traditional minty green by the previous owner.
Which stuck out like a sore thumb in a transitional neighborhood of sidewalks lined with
classic Craftsman bungalows as well as some brick houses.
Image ©Color Calling
Image ©Color Calling
After, classic Craftsman paint colors selected for the new homeowners, newlyweds.
Minty green does not belong in a classic Craftsman palette.
Greeny-grays are perfect. Great with a tin roof as well.
Grays in the mortared stone columns are reflected in the choice of color for the house body
and the darker grays accenting the trim.
Think of the earth colors of nature and there you have a pretty complete Craftsman palette.
“Georgian Brick” (Benjamin Moore) front door, which echoes the exact color of the next door
neighbor’s brick (very close by) as well as the brick High School across the street.
The young wife liked my color palette, explained to her by her husband after my initial consultation.
She was busy performing surgery and could not attend the original color consultation.
There was just one thing.
She had her heart set on a REALLY RED front door.
But, once I explained “WHY” the more muted red I selected was picked out
(it is better for a Craftsman palette;
it reflects the adjoining neighbor’s red brick;
matches the brick of the high school very visible across the street;
honors some similarly colored decorative brickwork set in their yard, etc.).
And, with this color selection system, there is ALWAYS a WHY.
She immediately understood.
She is one smart cookie. Beautiful, too.
The system works.
And, this is it: Evaluate the FIXED finishes and go from there.
Doesn’t have to include the neighbors, but when you can reach out and almost touch their brick side wall from your front porch, better to take into consideration. Think existing stone, brick, roof, etc., that will not be changed. That is what a fixed finish is.
Felt a glow of satisfaction when a passerby walking down the sidewalk told me, “Wow, the house looks great. What a difference!” as I was taking the ‘after’ photo shot.
Image ©Color Calling
It seems like everyone under the sun has an opinion on how many pillows you should have on your bed.
Mrs. Howard likes a lot of pillows. Here is the eight-pillow combo that she suggests:
“A king bed with three euros, 2 king pillows, 1 square decorative, 2 lumbar pillows,” shown here, below,
Source: mrshowardpersonalshopper.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Another pillowed-out Mrs. Howard bed, below:
Source: Uploaded by user via Tobi on Pinterest
Vicente Wolfe is more minimalistic in his coloration, but apparently he likes a lot of pillows:
Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Lindajane on Pinterest
Color king Miles Redd likes white pillows, with some flat and some propped pillows:
Source: saragilbaneinteriors.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Style maven Martha Stewart is not afraid to let her sleeping pillows show:
Source: marthastewart.com via Raquel on Pinterest
Queen of graphic-look rooms Mary MacDonald likes to go all out with her pillows:
Source: stylecourt.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest
Colour designer Maria Killam likes a jazz of fresh orange plus green prints and white Euros:
Source: mariakillam.com via Maria on Pinterest
Kelly Wearstler goes for one long round neckroll-type back pillow with a single breakfast pillow in front:
Source: google.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Ralph Lauren is one of the few decorators doing shams with big ruffles right now:
Source: blog.timesunion.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Keith Langham designed this fancy bed, with white embroidered pillows,
all matching but in different sizes:
Source: francesschultz.com via Ellen on Pinterest
As a residential stylist and color designer, not only do I try to stay on top of what is going on in the world of interior design,
I also have the pleasure of seeking out beautiful finds in our lovely local shops.
I like to just look. Sometimes I find something, sometimes not.
Above, my latest obsession.
A PAIR of Etruscan-scene lidded vases.
Black (basalt?), cream, gold and ‘Hermès’ orange. A delicate aqua swath.
They are a whopping 28″ tall.
Museum quality, rare, circa 1860. Probably Staffordshire.
I know this because two museums have already looked.
$5400 for the pair. In a larger city, they would easily fetch twice that.
On 1st Dibs, an online antique resource, several similar single urns are/have been listed.
None as large, or as stunning in coloration.
These are all singles, no pairs.
$9000+ for this one, immediately below.
Source: 1stdibs.com via Ellen on Pinterest
Source: 1stdibs.com via Ellen on Pinterest
and this one, written up in Maine Antiques Digest, went for $6400.
Source: maineantiquedigest.com via Ellen on Pinterest
A gorgeous statement for the right room.
Source: google.com via Lauren on Pinterest
Many homeowners choose travertine for master bathrooms if they want a “fairly” neutral
natural stone with some warmth of color.
Travertine is very tricky to decorate around, however.
Unless you understand undertones.
Most travertine has a pink undertone.
For wallpaper, I really like this great-looking Thibaut paper (trade-only).
This choice looks great with Travertine and the existing satin stainless hardware,
with a somewhat modern vibe.
Image Color Calling
If painting, I would start with Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige, a warm neutral which has a
slight pink undertone.
A warm white with a whisper of pink could also work, such as Muslin, also a Benjamin Moore
color.
Too much pink will just look dated, though.
Here is one of my samples of Shaker Beige, painted on poster board and held up to the
travertine.
Avoid yellow-beige (the wrong undertone) on walls or cabinetry.
Green is not the best choice either. See how the existing yellow-green wallpaper
(above to the right side, and also
below) fights the stone, and the Shaker Beige just looks
so much more harmonious?
Travertine is the largest fixed element in this master bath. So, we look for ways to bring
more color harmony into the space. Undertones must be considered for color harmony.
(As a side note, I am starting to move away from natural stone in my consultations.
The maintenance factor is just horrendous. This travertine which is 7 years installed, has begun
to pit and even crack in places.
I am looking at Cambria Quartz, which is 90% natural, but much easier to maintain,
for my next bath project).
Color Calling 
