Digital Design Board: The Entertainer

"The tones of gray, pale turquoise and pink will prevail."

Christian Dior

Life Is Better at the Lake

"Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake."
Wallace Stevens 

Aah, the lake. There's nothing like breezy days spent picnicking on the shore and canoeing on the water. Breath taking views with the sound of water lapping on the shore. That's the lakeside lifestyle.

Two of my upcoming projects are lake front homes surrounding Oquirrh Lake in the new Lake Village neighborhood in Daybreak, Utah.

I'm working on concept boards for the builder, Rainey Homes. The home plans are open and airy with wrap around porches, large windows and casual indoor/outdoor living. Oh, and best of all, the homes were designed to maximize views of the lake. 

In the next few weeks I'll be posting the digital design boards I've created. The homes will have subtle color palettes with pops of color, natural linen and cotton fabrics, and beachy textures like seagrass and wicker.

As always, stay tuned...

The White House

"So white is the mother of all colors
The churning of all yellow, blue, green
Colors sacrifice their egos
To the eternal white."

John Matthew

Strangely, I've had an obsession with white for the past few years. For those of you who know my tendency to use color everywhere, it's been an interesting personal evolution in design style.

White serves as a blank slate, an empty canvas when used in design. White is timeless, and works with all styles from tropical to traditional, classical to contemporary. White provides contrast to the world around us.

So during our quest for an exterior house color, we decided on white. 

Here are a few of my inspiration images:

This week, our house is gonna get its white on. Oh yah.

As always, stay tuned...

15 Shades of Gray

"So, I don't have time for a lot of shades of gray."

Neil Cavuto

Selecting an interior paint can be overwhelming. Frankly, color selection can be somewhat of a, well... gray area.

It's no surprise then that one of the biggest struggles my clients have is selecting that oh-so-perfect color. There are literally thousands of colors to choose from, not to mention the hundreds of shades within a color.

With gray still being all the rage in interior design, I've narrowed down my top 15 picks for shades of gray with five from Benjamin Moore, five from Sherwin Williams and five from KWAL (a.k.a. Frazee, Color Wheel, General and Parker Paint).

I've selected each color within its specific brand because I DO NOT recommend color matching (that is, taking a color formula from one brand and having it matched for another brand). Each brand has a  base color that is specifically designed to coordinate with each color formula. Although color matching results are usually pretty close, on occasion it can go oh-so-wrong, and it's not worth the risk.

I personally have used or have seen these paint colors in what I refer to as "real life" and have outlined characteristics of each color based on my experience.

I recommend painting a small area of each possible color on the wall prior to making that final pick. And don't forget to take your carpet, lighting and furnishings into consideration.

If you've used any of these paint colors, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

BENJAMIN MOORE

TITANIUM OC 49

Characteristics: A light shade of gray with cool undertones.

REVERE PEWTER HC 172

Characteristics: A warm "greige" often referred to as the perfect mix of gray and beige. May have peach/pink or green undertones depending on the light. Very popular color choice for updating brown/tan/gold paint without going too gray.

WINTERWOOD 1466

Characteristics: A warm gray with a slight green undertone. Similar in value to BM Revere Pewter with less tendency to look pink.

GRAY HORSE 2140-50

Characteristics: A mid-tone gray with a bluish-green undertone. 

CHELSEA GRAY HC 168

Characteristics: A slightly darker warm gray that works well as an accent color.

SHERWIN WILLIAMS

COLLONADE GRAY SW7641

Characteristics: A popular "greige"similar to BM Revere Pewter, but slightly darker in value.

MINDFUL GRAY SW7016

Characteristics: A warm, mid-tone gray without being so "greige".

DORIAN GRAY SW7017

Characteristics: A slightly darker mid-tone gray than SW Mindful Gray.

INTELLECTUAL GRAY SW7045

Characteristics: The darkest and warmest "greige" of all my recommendations. 

GRAY MATTER SW7066

Characteristics: A cool yet slightly darker mid-tone gray. Similar to KWAL Artesan.

KWAL

PACKING NUT 2881W

Characteristics: A warm mid-tone gray. Similar to BM Revere Pewter.

HAND DUSTER 2932W

Characteristics: A cool mid-tone with a slight green undertone.

TINMAN 3232W

Characteristics: A cool mid-tone gray with a slight blue undertone. This is a good choice for a middle-of-the-road gray.

HAILSTORM 3012W

Characteristics: A mid-tone gray, slightly darker in value than KWAL Tinman with a slight bluish-green undertone. 

ARTESAN 3013M

Characteristics: A slightly darker gray than KWAL Hailstorm. This is a popular exterior paint color.

Progress

"Progress is the attraction that moves humanity."
Marcus Garvey 

After many months, the house renovations are coming close to completion! We are scheduled to move in one week from today. That's assuming that everything goes as planned. Here's what gets to happen this week:

Sand and stain floors

Sand and seal fireplace

Grout all tile

Install laundry room floor

Install interior hand rails

Install interior light fixtures

Install cabinets

Install toilets and sinks

Install carpet

Install and paint front doors

Install all interior hardware (doorknobs, etc.)

Install underside of deck roof

Paint portion of exterior brick

Finish paint touch ups

Clean out garage

Paint storage lockers in garage

Install exterior light fixtures

Service HVAC

Clean out vents

Clean house

Do you think it's possible? I do! That is unless the wind storm that is expected to blow through tonight knocks out the electricity again. Wish us luck! 

Here's a sneak peek:

 

The Red Door

"Everything utilitarian needs a little red edge."

Reno Dakota

Design by Anthony Wilder Design/Build, Inc.

 
At the top of my to-do list is the design of our front door. I'm thinking red. Since I've been drawn to the color red, I decided to do some research. Not surprisingly, red front doors have a lot of symbolism and meaning behind them. According to Wikipedia, here's what a red front door represents:

• In Feng Shui, a red door symbolizes the mouth of the home. By painting our door red (or any bright color that stands out) chi (positive energy) is drawn to the house. It is the entry point in which abundance and opportunities find us.

• The Chinese consider red to be the lucky or sacred colour. Many doors are painted with a fresh coat of red just before Chinese New Year to invite good luck and happiness.

• In Ireland, a red door is supposed to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

• In Catholicism, a red door represents that the blood of Christ has been smeared on it and that the area beyond the door is holy and sacred.

• Also, according to the Old Testament, the Jewish slaves in Egypt smeared their doors with lambs blood as a sign that the required sacrifice had already been made, and those homes would be passed over by the Angel of Vengence.

• Supposedly red doors were used as part of the Underground Railroad, and homes with red doors were "safe houses".

• Albert Einstein painted his door red because he couldn't recognize his house without it.

• And for homeowners, a red door announces that the house is paid for, free and clear.

I think I like Albert Einstein's theory the best!  Here are some other fun red front doors:

Design by Goforth Gill Architects.

Design by awarchitect.com.

Design by Webber + Studio, Architects.

Design by Merzbau Design Collective.

Old world front entry door.

The House That Built Me

"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us." 

Winston Churchill

Let There Be Light - Pretty Please?

"What is a soul? It's like electricity -

we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room."
Ray Charles  

My electrician, Stu, has been working overtime installing the new electrical. He's been working so hard partly because the entire house had to be rewired, and partly because I keep changing my mind about where I want things. I am utterly surprised at how stressful the lighting decisions have been. This has been the hardest part of the renovation so far.

Lighting is an art form unto itself. I've always kind of balked that there's even such a profession called Lighting Design. Really? How hard can it be to stick a light on the ceiling? A lot harder than I realized!

Shout out to XL Electric - they're the best!

New coffer ceiling in entry with ample recessed light.

New electrical box - yay!

Old electrical box - boo :(

Stu, probably making changes for the umpteenth time in the basement family room.

One of the many electrical to-do lists throughout the house.

Here's what I've really been stressing over - light fixtures. There are so many fun things out there right now that I can't make up my mind. Here are some lights I like. Where they may or may not go is yet to be decided. Sorry Stu, we're not done yet.

Interior Barn Doors

“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”

Confucius

While attending the Park City Luxury Home Tour this weekend, I noticed a lot of interior barn doors. I've had an obsession with barn doors for quite a while, so it was fun to see them in real life applications.

There will be three sliding barn doors on the interior of our home. Two are in the study and one is in the master bedroom. I've made this decision based on two reasons. The first is practical. In both rooms, a regular swinging door would impede an adjacent door or walk way. The second reason is that they're just plain cool.