A Pop of Pretty

Best Paint Colours: Modern Cottage + Coastal Style

The best paint colours for creating modern cottage and modern coastal home decorating style. How to decorate with paint, how to paint a door, how to paint furniture, including room and furniture makeovers.

Best wallpaper for creating warmth. (Hands down.)

Best wallpaper for creating warmth. (Hands down.)

Bonjour friends! Well, if you’ve opened a decorating magazine in the past year, you’ve certainly noticed that graphic wallpaper is all the rage. Despite my past wallpaper aversion (created by our first fixer upper), I’ve been so wooed by these new wallpapers that I even decided to create a wallpaper accent in our master bedroom which I shared awhile back. (Picture posted below.) I absolutely love the visual interest and style statement that geometric wallpaper like this makes, but the best wallpaper for creating warmth doesn’t come in a bold pattern. READ MORE

 

best wallpaper texture

Wallpaper Accent Wall in the Bedroom: Reveal

Wallpaper Accent Wall in the Bedroom: Reveal

Did you catch my last post about Wallpaper Aversion Disorder?  Those of us who’ve had the pleasure of removing decades of wallpaper typically swear the stuff off.  After all, what goes up must (eventually) come down.  Decor trends, like everything else, are cyclical.  And once you’ve stripped wallpaper, you can never go back. It’s a fool me once, kind of a deal. Well, at least that was my theory…READ MORE

 

wallpaper accent wall bed

Front Door Color: 10 Fabulous Front Door Colors (& their paint names!)

Front Door Color: 10 Fabulous Front Door Colors (& their paint names!)

The snow is gone, the sun is out, the temperatures are rising…dare I say it’s the season for front door painting? (Can I get a booyah?)

I’m a sucker for fab front door colors.  

 

Front Door Collage

 

There’s nothing that provides easier curb appeal than a pop of fun color on a door.  Trying a  bright or fun color on your front door can be scary, but I love how this web site about exterior color explains the fact that colors have visual ‘weight’, and that a powerful color in a small dose can visually balance an expanse of neutral house siding.

 

I also thought this analogy from the same site was great:  “Remember that your house most likely will be viewed from the street which may mean 60 feet or more from the curb. It’s like the actress with her stage makeup, positively frightening, but she has to be seen by the person in the very back row of the theater.”

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Last year at about this time, I took the plunge and painted the front door on our house (which has cypress green siding) from a safe and traditional red, to a more unexpected light turquoise.

 

My Front Door Color:

Martha Stewart Artesian Well

Mixed as Behr paint + primer

 

front door colors - Martha Stewart Artesian Well.

 

If you’re in the market for new front door colors like I was, you’ve probably searched for inspiration on Google, Pinterest and more. (It feels so much safer, doesn’t it?!?) I found many pretty front doors, but found it frustrating that the exact paint color chip number couldn’t be traced for many of them.

 

So, for any of you lovely readers who might be considering changing your front door color this spring, I’ve rounded up 10 of my favorite ones…but I’ve only included doors for which I could trace the paint color with a fair amount of certainty.  You’ll notice that most of them are Benjamin Moore paint colors – I tried to stick with a brand that’s most widely available.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM

Emerald Green with Envy? {Pantone’s Color of the Year 2013}

Emerald Green with Envy? {Pantone’s Color of the Year 2013}

Last year it was Tangerine Tango. The year before, it was Honeysuckle.  Before that, it was my personal favorite, Turquoise.  So, by now, maybe you’ve heard that the Pantone Color of the Year for 2013 is Emerald Green? “PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald” is described as “a lively, radiant, and lush green”…”a color of elegance and beauty  that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony.”

The Pantone press release reads:

“As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald Green brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.” See more here.

Green with Envy
Personally, I’ve always been partial to Emerald Green because it’s my birthstone.  Also, like another of my faves, cobalt blue, it’s a color that  translates well in the world of fashion and beauty, as complements just about any skin tone or eye color.

But I have to admit that I’m a little apprehensive about how Emerald Green might translate into home decor. Personally, I could never READ MORE HERE 

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