What Color To Paint Your House

just gorgeous terra-cotta orange
the top is sponged more evidently

There is still time to paint your house.  If you just can’t muster up the money or energy to paint your house, you could paint a room or how about a jewelry box!   I know, I'm intentionally encouraging you. Paint something- make a change you will feel better, summer is almost over, at least in Italy.  The antonyms for encourage are to discourage, dispirit, depress and dishearten.  Now will you paint a jewelry box? 

cool blue gray with darker blue gray
shutters and office white trim

closer view same house

Here are some great color combinations.  I like how the Italians pick soft neutral accent colors for the trim or they choose rich dark colors.

I like pink when it is dirtied up and made more manly
soft pink with chocolate brown shutters

I've shown you this photo before dark taupe and
 classic pink and vanilla trim Man! I love this combination

brighter pink with blue gray shutters, very seaside

here taupe and sea-foam green with creamy white trim
taupe absorbs color.  I love to use it in interiors with hot color close by

It is fun to imagine these colors over a little wooden clapboard house, or a painted brick or even shingle, Spanish style stucco, just splendid.

this orange-red with cream trim, dark gray-blue shutters
this looks amazing because the color is saturated and rich

pale mint green with dark green (almost black) shutters, sophisticated

white on white classic and feels like home

and here is the classic italian ochre, bright white trim,
the shutters are the dark green (almost black) color
I described above

another shot

apricot with natural brick, the balconies are gray concrete stucco

to end with a KICK
even richer more saturated orange-red,
here with green-blue shutters,
cool note: there is sheet music painted on the tower.

If you have no muster (it's hot out there) for the above then just dream and plan.

Have a good Weekend.

Natalie

French Country Cottage
The Shabby Creek Cottage

Silver Leaf Vs. Copper Leaf

silver leaf with copper leaf panels

Last Fall I was up in the hills of Umbria working on a house and I did this wonderful Silver Leaf Door HERE is the link to that post.  It came out great, yet the clients felt it could be better.  These clients are so cool and smart and like to talk about light and color and design (they work in film) so I was actually happy to work on it again, plus they would pay me, plus there would be many months before I attached the project again, fresh start... ahhh.

here is what it looked like before

silver leaf door

These clients it turns out had a love of copper leaf, not a favorite of mine, because I feel like it is just too pink and glary, picture copper tubing or the bottoms of kitchen pans to get the image of the color I mean.  But guess what, it turned out that the dark red brick floor reflected so much onto the pink-orange of the copper leaf that it toned down the pink and it became this color.  What the *** color is it?  Shall we call it burnt orange?  Not really!  Doesn’t it look great with the stairs and tile work?  I know it isn’t really a fair competition because these present photos are better then the Silver Leaf photos and there are more of them.

I got to say it looks glamorous

You know what I learned again that environment matters.  You can pick a design because you love it.  I think the Silver Leaf Door worked really well with the color of the grout in the flooring, it has a more uniform effect.  The Copper Leaf Door pops, it looks more designed and articulated.  On the latter I also darkened the color of the hardware and did the frame that surrounds the door in silver leaf also, this makes more contrast.

and yes there is a loft space and huge skylight above,
could you just cry with envy

hardware is looking pretty good huh?

I do believe that if the design makes you happy then it is a success.  Yet we must think about the environment around the project and even the other rooms in the house.  I believe there should be congruency.  What do you think?  Do you have a preference?

Happy Weekend

Natalie

I'm linking with:

Between Naps on the Porch

French Country Cottage

Romantic Home
DIY Vintage Chic
Oh My - Creative

A Puddle and Some Quotes

 I just want to say and I’ve said it before on a design level I love gray and color together.  These photos represent this fantastic combination.  For years I have been encouraging this combination in the spaces I have lived in from San Francisco to NYC, Napa Valley and Umbria Gray and Color work all over the world.  

Here in Umbria it rained way too much this winter and spring and now it is hot hot hot, we did have a rain storm a bit ago and here is it’s reflection.  As you read these quotes try to reflect on own your life and self and how you want to live.

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.

Henry Brooks Adams, 1838-1918

A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation, which we bear in ourselves.

Simon Weil, 1909-1943

There are many things we would throw away if we were not afraid that others would pick them up.

Oscar Wild, 1854-1900

A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world’s torrent.

Charles James Fox 1749-1806

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt

I’ve used this quote from Eleanor before and I hope to again.  I would have loved to have a cup of tea with Eleanor, that woman was so advanced.  I’m sorry there are not more quotes from woman.  This is how the world runs, it is hard to find an example of our voice and to be heard, little by little we will do it no?

The sharp eyed reader will have noticed that I put those flowers in the puddle to make it pretty, to add depth and light and color.  Now go out and color your puddles.

With affection,

Natalie

Colorful Cities

Juzcar, Spain gorgeous blue!

If you follow this blog at all you know that I love color.  I have this wonderful friend, whom I will call Jo, he has an original and creative mind and he knows I go crazy for color.  Jo sent me this article on Juzar in Andalusia Spain.  They painted the whole town a light shade of blue, for the Smurf movie and the town’s people loved it so much that they voted and decided to keep it blue.  The mayor Fernandez  said,  it has given a "Boost to the local economy, it’s increased our happiness, our dreams and our levels of employment. " 

Juzcar, Spain from a distance plus 4,000 litres of paint

here's the before shot

Man, I just love that!

The uniformity of the color makes the design splendid.

"La Bocca" Buenos Aires, Argentina
immigrated by Italians and modeled after Genoa

When I was in Art School at Pratt in NYC, it was deep in the ghetto of Brooklyn at that point and I wanted to get involved in painting something that would help the community.  My roommate who was a tough, reality type girl from the South Bronx said, “If you do that the people will just go and pee on it”.  I was pretty deluded about her comment at the time, but now looking back I think well they might pee on it happily and then eventually they might stop peeing on it.  Back then I wanted to do something small.  These cities show, do the whole town in color and it will have an impact.

When I first went to Lucca, Italy, I remember being so impressed that the whole town could agree to paint their shutters green.

Lucca, Italy ahh such tranquility

Lucca, Italy

Bo-Kaap Cape Town South Africa
this shows all colors can work together
British and Dutch influenced architecture

Williamstad, Netherlands

Williamstad, Netherlands

Guanjuato, Mexico

Lima, Peru
Spanish Baroque, French Neoclassism, Art Nouveau Buildings

 Here’s a great quote.

“Reform the environment, stop trying to reform the people.  They will reform themselves if the environment is right.”  Buckminster Fuller

Izamal, Mexico in the Yucatan "The Yellow City"

I have a Norwegian stepfather and from the moment he came into our lives he started painting the rooms in our house, soft shades of blue and pale green, lavender.  Of course, I had already painted my room by myself by the time I was 10!  Our house was very open and you could see all the varying colors through archways and doorways, it brought such peace and joy to our family.

Longyearbyen, Norway

color works in the cold and the hot climates

Bryggen, Norway
I love all the shades of red

Now, I believe that color can be felt and have an influence on the tiny personal scale of life and on the larger environment of a town that leads to confidence, a strong sense of identity, pride and happiness.

Jodhper, India in the barren Thar desert
known as the "Blue City"

Wroclaw, Poland
Gothic Architecture and a Roman Catholic affiliation

Riomaggiore, Italy
The Italians put color everywhere they can

Isn’t that just simple and lovely!

Chefchaoen, Morocco
a refuge for Jews during the Spanish Reconquista
and my favoirte cornflower blue

With affection.

Natalie

P.S. Note to grammar freakers, I don't seem to have an accent mark on my keyboard, thus accents are left out.

What A Good Color Can Do

Hi Everyone I've been bad about writing my life is too crazy right now.  I have been doing some fun painting work so I will be posting some great examples soon.  Today I just want to do a quick post to show an example of what a great color can do to change a crappy piece of furniture into something lovely and useful.  I could kick myself for not getting a better before shot to show how un-special this cabinet is, you get the idea I think.

I love the color cornflower blue, it is a color people forget about.  But I don't, I have my girls room in this color and I love it for furniture.  Is it blue or is it violet - let's argue about it!

Here's the after shot.  It just pops, the color is so great and it makes the piece look clean-lined and simple.

yes it needs a new knob

is it blue or is it violet

Now I want to just for fun add a list of Nat's suggestions for a summer party - in feeling is what I'm going after.  Here's my list.

Make a cocktail
A cappuccino
Dance to something funky (even alone)
Get near water
Cook something spicy
Go on a roof top
Do something creative

Trust me, all of the above will make you happy.  Now if you have an courage you can add to my list in the comments below.  I know this is a design diary so most people don't comment and that's o.k.

Cheers,
Natalie
I'm linking with
Miss Mustard Seed
Between Naps on the Porch