Color Coming of Age

When I first saw pictures of the Coastal Living 2009 Idea House My first thought was that I loved the furniture selection and layout but I was not sure if I liked the color scheme. I thought it was a bit jarring.


However, I am currently obsessed with this house and how spot on it is with current trends and colors. It has really grown on me. Considering that the planing and design for this 09" project probably took place in 08" the designers certainly had foresight.


I love the striped walls in this photo and the mix of furnishings. This room is vibrant and fun but has a soothing quality that must have been tough to achieve using these vivid colors.


The use of bold large scale patterns is terrific and I love the over sized accessories.


It is a fun and whimsical house that looks like it would be a blast to spend the summer in. It does exactly what a show house is supposed to do; show off new and growing trends and products.

I am really surprised how my taste has changed over the past few years. I think blogging really exposes you to so many new styles and options. I would love to re do my house in crisp colorful hues but I am too invested in what I have which is traditional and woody. I'll have to wait until I move - which may be never! Till then I will live vicariously through other designers creations!

Troubling Trend? Taxidermy

I think most of you know that I adore peacocks. I even included them in my pillow collection as I adore the coloring and the regal beauty of the birds. I was troubled to see that many vendors at the winter shows where highlighting taxidermy as their dominant accessories.
Dead, stuffed animals were everywhere: under glass domes, on decorative pedestals, framed as art, and posed on all fours.


Peacocks were the leader in this disturbing trend. But birds of all sizes and varieties were available in abundance. The collection of dead, stuffed aviary specimens at Guadarte was beautiful but creepy.



This trend was not limited to fowl, large mammals were also in vogue with lions, tigers, giraffes, and even elephants available for sale.



It was sad to see these proud, beautiful creatures reduced to elements in a visual display selling fabrics.



The most disturbing was a display by a famous window designer for Hermes that portrayed a luxury campsite filled with Hermes products that was stuffed full of exotic animals including an elephant. I just don't get it!



All of this is in answer to the resurgence of the Cabinet of Curiosities a trend that began in the Victorian area. Personally I think it should have stayed there.



While many of the items in this new decorative category are not as disturbing as stuffed tigers or cheetahs they were all once living creatures who were killed for our need to decorate our living spaces. This is a trend that I just cannot get behind and I find it odd that it is becoming so mainstream. In a world were you feel uncomfortable wearing fur or exotic leather I wonder why there is not an outcry against the killing of these animals for decoration.

What do you think?

Trend Report: Limed Wood

The second most dominant trend that continues to gain steam at the international markets is limed, bleached, natural, or white washed wood. It was everywhere shown in hundreds of different subtle hues of grey, tan, taupe, and white.

Patinas were boldly distressed, sleek and shiny, and everything in between. Virtually every vendor highlighted some shade of grey or mushroom wood with oak and teak being the raw material of choice.

I know, white washed oak !! – it makes me shiver just thinking of my old pinkish whitewashed kitchen cabinets that I hated with such a passion back in the 80’s! But this new oak is tinted in sophisticated shades of dove grey, tin, gunmetal, lichen, frost, and many others that lend a sophisticated edge to the rough luxe movement.

Pale woods in all hues of whites and creams were also abundant, many mixed with the color of the moment – mauve.

Grayed woods mixed with bright bluish purples were also on display in many showrooms.

This photo shoes the range of tints available at this vendor of teak furnishings.

Kitchens were shown decked out in grey distressed woods that gave them almost a menswear vibe. The perfect compliment to the soapstone countertops and farm sink!

Grey and mauve were the accompanying colors to this new pale wood.

It doesn’t matter if you’re into classic lines -

or a more contemporary aesthetic, the palette is the same.

White on white was also a popular combination with lots of play on texture and sheen for variety.

Super rustic was still on view but for the most part a more sophisticated take on the rough woods was the norm.

This roomscape was the piece de resistance of the show, combining rustic finishes, gilded accents, limed case goods and that fabulous real fur throw as a centerpiece. For me this room really summed up all of the trends at the show in one well designed package. Pale vertical stripes on the walls gradiated from a deep grey to a light lavender at the ceiling. Many subtle variations of grey on the chairs all on men's wear inspired wools welted with patent leather in bright shades of purple and fuchsias. A super pale bleached out repurposed carpet (another trend here) was the base of the display. Wish you could have all been there in person because it was spectacular. My photography does not do it justice! ( I had to sneak this one and actually got thrown out of this show room for taking pictures even with a press pass)

Photos: Guadarte, Provence & Fils, JVT

Trend Report: The Color Purple

There were literally tens thousands of vendors showing products at the three major trade shows I attended in Europe; Heimtextile, IMM Cologne and Maison et Objet. I expected to see a huge diversity in color and range among the manufacturers represented but this was not the case at all. Overwhelmingly purple was the dominant color at all three shows. In fact for many vendors it was the only color excluding neutrals.

Purple was present in all of its various hues and values including deep dark purples, brownish purples, mauves, and surprisingly; fuchsias. Yes, you don’t have to check your eyesight – I did say MAUVE! That old standby of the 1980’s. The favorite color of your Grandmother and Aunt Edith. It’s here and it’s out there in all of it’s dusty glory.

The Missoni booths were entirely purple with deep bluish purple carpets and walls. There was a ton of purple carpet all over the shows as well as walls painted and wallpapered in every possible shade.

Bright Purples mixed with toned down or grayed out versions were a common theme.

Dark charcoal purples serves as a backdrop for deep burgundy.

Some vendors used wispy, browned mauves and dusty pinks as accents.

Others were very bright, mixing deep purple and vibrant fuchsia with rich burgundy reds.

This Aussie vendor mixed them all together in a fabulous suzani.

Pale hues were abundant but did still had more heft than the usual lavenders. They were a bit greyer or browner, definitely not pastel.

Bold patterns and textures were created using the various hues with lots of high contrast heavy embroidery and embellishment.

Even traditional prints and embroidered silks were predominantly purple.

Sheers were available at Heimtextile in every imaginable construction and a gain in our color of the moment.

Loved this combination!

Fantastic embroidered ikat at Dadar in various shades of purple.

Very pale and very brown versions were abundant especially in linens. Loved the subtlety of the color on the natural fiber – it was gorgeous.

Bold high contrast prints brought out the vibrancy of these colors.

In many cases paired with neutrals the colors almost became neutral themselves.

Purple has traditionally been a tough sell in the US. We had a few discussions with vendors and other designers about why this is the case. Some of us thought that I could originate with our forefathers heritage and the breaking away from the crown in the American Revolution.

Purple has long been the color of royalty and ruling classes in Europe and as such was probably shunned during the formation of our new country. Perhaps that bias is still present today in some way.

Europe has definitely embraced this color wholeheartedly as its go to option for the coming year but it remains to be seen if the US will be as willing to adopt it in their own interiors. We are seeing it featured prominently in shelter mags and by vendors but I am not sure if consumers will really take to it easily.

What do you think? Is the US ready for purple, mauve and fuchsia? Can we overcome the stigma of those 80’s mauve and grey and teal color ways? Are you personally planning on injecting some purple into your life? Comment and let me know………