White Trim Exceptions~!!!!

Wow, wasn't I just so opinionated yesterday about white trim, so opinionated that I made my own rule!
This was not my intention~ my intention was to have you think about the decision of white trim in a very mindful way, not as a default.. I realize that I have found, in my journeys through peoples homes, many situations where white trim is perfection.. even in small urban homes.
For example: If you have 3/4 of the way up the wall of wainscoting and your home is full of dark wood and you feel oppressed and dark and depressed like we like to do here in Seattle, than by all means paint that shit white! But before you do, take a deep breath and notice there are at least 500 whites to choose from, yikes!

The shelter magazines and design shows like to boast about knowing the designers secret to the
"p e r f e c t" white from such and such brand or 'you must use' the one from the so and so fancy brand in Los Angeles. It may true that their whites are just like the insides of an organic coconut from utopia, or feel like the breath of a angel baby. But, duh, they are missing the point: each one of our homes requires a white that fits our unique house, and each paint requires a specific sheen for the specific surface that the white will be painted on, whether it is cabinets, trim, walls, ceilings, floors: or whether it is to be laquered or bone dry flat or sprayed in oil to make it look like an eggshell or antiqued to look very aged... Phew there are so many particulars.. in fact you  could do your entire interior in whites, many whites and many textures and feel extremely happy and very modern...
With all that being said, let your white shine. Just make sure it is purposeful and not lazy.

Malina's house is a breath of fresh air, main design element: White Paint.

There I go judging you again.

historic homes always are great with white trim

No White Trim!!!

Hi!, Anne here.. I have strong feelings about the painting rules that seem to be pervasive regarding trim color in homes .I have found that white trim and ceilings are a safe plan for most, but truly what it results in is many contrasting outlines. This is fine, even amazing, in very large, high ceiling traditional estates. In our typical urban dwellings with many windows and doors and low ceilings, what this does is make a lot of visual tension for the eye and soul. 

Do you want your home to be a peaceful place? Step one would be to paint the trim to match the wall it is on, just simply change the sheen. It seems nutty maybe, but what you will find is that your attention is brought more to the view out the window or the lovely items you have in your home. Isn't this better than your eyes always looking at walls ?

      I firmly believe that we are subject to a ton of visual stimuli all day, and we replicate that in our home with clutter and paint contrasts etc... take a few steps toward simplifying your paint palette and see how it changes your mood.

Roosevelt Vision Source, Exterior Paint Colors

I had the great pleasure of picking the colors for this business. It used to be a beige mass hidden behind some trees.. I chose some C2 Paint colors and am very happy with the results.. Robin Daly even put it on her blog, Thanks Robin!
If your business or home needs some updating.. give me a call.~ Anne

Poppies poppies poppies...

June Poppies amazing coral color.. 

Baby Nursery Color : "Flamingo" by C2 Paint

The Color Palette

Happy Monday all! This week I will be featuring a home that I have been working on since 2009. It was a full custom home, designed by one of my favorite architects, Paul Whitney (www.whitneyarchitecture.com). I met Paul 6 years ago, only because of the birth of my second daughter . His wife was my doula.. he then designed our remodel and we have been collaborating ever since.
This picture is of the color board and the spreadsheet I give to clients. This is the marked up version after our first edits, which is then re-typed and issued to the painter, contractor and homeowner.
I had the great honor of working on designing all of the installed surfaces, otherwise known as architectural surfaces. This is my ideal job, I love being part of the whole thing, inside and out.
-Anne

Blue.

"LOVE IN THE MIST AKA NIGELLA"

Be prepared for randomness this week, from me, (Anne). I will be taking my first trip to Europe soon...My thoughts are very scattered! But here I give you things in nature that are blue. I don't know why, perhaps it is because we here in Seattle are seeing the blue sky for the first time in a while and it is oh so luminescent. As a kid I remember being amazed that mother nature could create blue flowers. I am not sure exactly why I was so amazed by this, but probably because that damn red rose always got all the play. I gasp at the sight of a blue flower, this is why I will be showing you the ones I have come across lately. I am always searching for the perfect blue wall paint for people's homes. Blue is the most commonly asked for wall color, cross culturally,  mostly for bedrooms. It is also the most common logo color for major corporations all over the world. Is it because the sea and sky unite us all and it is a common source of calm and beauty? So far I have found two favorites that, when paired with a crisp linen white, make you take a big breath in. Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore and Overcast by C2 paint. Yes I have given away my secrets.. but I want you to have joy, calm and beauty too..

Gray Skies as Inspiration.

Exterior home painting and more.

See here, my loyal blog friends, it's time to talk about eradicating ugliness from our world. Let's have a real talk about why you should ask a professional for help if you are planning to paint your home this spring/summer. You may think "Oh Anne, stop shamelessly self promoting yourself "

Go ahead, think that if you must, but ... I was going to suggest an alternative!
(but of course call me for help if you don't have the guts for the following)

Here is my cheapo tactic for getting your home color right;
Have a beer and find a get away driver. Hop in the car and drive to the best parts of town where they spend extra bucks on having a professional pick their home colors....When you find one that most closely resembles your home and is facing the same direction as your home,  turn off your engine, and roll up in front, slink out of the car with your color wheel in hand and run up to the home and put the color wheel up to the siding and find the best match you can, and then RUN RUN RUN back to your get away car and drive away!...

And that is the exact way to not have a home that looks like the one above.. instead you will end up with a home like this one.

These are the things I worry about dear ones.
Good Luck.

Check out my website www.avcolordesign.com ~ I am happy to consult on your exterior colors via facetime/skype/email- 

Passion is the new black.

Lately I have been thinking about fear. Yup it's true, read on to watch me draw a crazy blog-world parallel between a front door color and fear. You know I love color and I still have a crazy fear of screwing up my front door. Guess how whimpy I am? My door is a cream color. I have been dreaming of having the balls to make it fabulous. I also have been dreaming of having the balls to do lots of other crazy things too. I am starting to get the idea that I have heard cliched over the years, you know the one "Life is not a spectator sport" It seems, in my world, there is not a lot of straying from the cozy safe spot in the middle. Well, passion is the new black. Go take what's yours this week.

Here is a link to a list of some great door color choices from House Beautiful, one of my favorite home design magazines(http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/front-door-color) or better yet, ask me and I will give you a front door color, no charge. If you are far away, email your front door picture. Time for a  revolution, one door at a time.

Drama

This adorable couple is well traveled. They are not scared of color and it's effects on the psyche.

They may even do things like dance when no ones watching and love like they never been hurt before. This is what color can do for you, Seattle.

Go ahead do something crazy, I dare you... oh dwellers in the land of mild weather and manners. I dare you to do something that'll make people talk about you.

Stop being so flippin nice.

Let's have some well done drama.

Quick Study

Anne's Sunday project.