Monday Color: Lavender & Ivory

I found my inspiration for today's Monday Color post in the recent Elle Decor spread featuring Hilary Swank's Manhattan apartment designed by Mark Zeff. Her living room is awash in accents of stony lavender against an ivory back-drop of boxy Calvin Klein sofas and a massive putty colored area rug. Plus one wall is clad in planks of reclaimed barn wood! **swoon** The overall effect is serene and airy, yet earthy and grounded, marking the beginning of my love affair with this sophisticated lavender and ivory combination.

























Images above:

1. A shot of Hilary Swank's living room with art and accent pillows in an ethereal lavender.

2. A darker lavender upholstered bench pops against an ivory bed and grasscloth walls (from Decor Pad).

3. From Design Shuffle, via Dream to Life, I love the infusion of color these plummy lavender chairs bring to the bone-colored walls of this dining room.

4. An ivory bed is surrounded by grayish lavender walls and touches of peach and violet throughout the room to create this restful master bedroom retreat, designed by the team at my former company re:place.

5. Pale beige walls and all-neutral furnishings are a design staple allowing allowing the addition of virtually any accent hue. In this room, a pale lavender Ikat accent pillow is the simple show piece of color, found on Real Simple.

6. Another Decor Pad find, this masculine lavender pairs well with wood tones, a mustard headboard and off-white walls. I love the vintage science chart but am not so certain I'd want to sleep beneath a bee hive!

7. From a Happy Color Combinations post on House Beautiful, this eclectic living room adds chartreuse and gold to the lavender and ivory mix. Happy indeed!

8. Anthropologie's Le Versha Chair in Plum.

9. Selati, a zebra print chenille from Osborne & Little.

10. New Hope Plum, a profusion of purple hues in an abstract painting by Randy Hibberd, available through Z Gallerie.

11. Nourison's Parallels Rug in Lavender, available from Rugs Direct.

12. The Lulu Nursery Collection from Serena & Lily.

Monday Color: Army Green

I couldn't make up my mind, so today's Monday Color was selected by my 6 year old son from one of my decks of paint colors. He usually gravitates toward red (his favorite color) or various shades of blue, but to my surprise his little finger skimmed over those color families and landed on Fatique (the Benjamin Moore color shown above).

Perhaps he was reading my mind, as the cooling temperatures in recent days have me excited about donning my lightweight army-issued parka again. And year after year it's one of my most beloved neutrals, along with blue (denim), white and gray. But it's not a color I've used much in my own home or in design projects. So, as usual, I'm using my Monday Color post to explore outside my own experience and find inspiration in a new color. Army Green, as I'm calling it, has many different personalities: sometimes its yellow undertones swing it toward its Olive cousin, but usually its a somber green with a cool gray cast. The rooms and home products below run the full spectrum of this intense hue.























Images above:

1. This velvet tufted headboard in army green (found on decor pad) is softened by sheer white curtains and shiny mirrored side tables.

2. These army green velvet couches are soft and sensual but have the power to ground this whole living room, found on elledecor.com.

3. Nate Burkus' Chicago kitchen is deliciously warm yet masculine.

4. Crisp white trim brings a fresh look to the historical army green exterior of this Victorian home.

5. All the accent colors - from the black, yellow and white table lamps to the bright coral pillows - are unexpected compliments to the army green walls in this living room.

6. Forest Green Print from Ballard Designs.

7. Green Cross Hemp and Kapok Pillow from Enhabiten on Etsy.

8. Atelier Chesterfield Sofa in Bottle Green from Anthropologie.

9. The Moroccan-inspired pattern on Z Gallerie's Mimosa Bedding looks fresh in this army green and white combination.

10. Langford Throw in Olive from Crate & Barrel is a heather mix of army green and brighter olive.

11. A vintage typewriter is even more alluring in army green.

Monday Color: Aqua

I'm cheating today. I already wrote a post on turquoise several months ago, which is basically the fraternal twin of aqua. But aqua is a little muddier, a little deeper, with an intensity all its own, making it worthy of its own coverage. It's also a color I just used in a nursery project in Manhattan, so it's all over my radar right now.



















Images above:

1. A living room designed by actress Julianne Moore, featuring an aqua sofa, paler blue walls and layers of textural neutrals, from The Lennoxx.

2. Found on Travel for Design, the high gloss finish on these walls is perfectly contrasted to the mellow soft aqua blue (design by Steven Gambrel) .

3. The Upper East Side Manhattan nursery that I just completed for a client's second child, marrying a soothing aqua with bold orange and clean white.

4. A few pops of aqua have a big impact in a home office that I also designed.

5. Blue Lulu rug from Madeline Weinrib.

6. West Elm's new Organic Cotton Ironwork Duvet and Shams

7. Equinox Armchair from Barlow & Tyrie with Aquarmarine Sling.

8. From the colorful Juicy Jute grasscloth collection by Philllip Jeffries, this Tantalizing Teal hue in a natural woven paper is completely unexpected.

9. Labyrinth Dinnerwear from Z Gallerie.

Monday Color: Eggplant

Since the inception of my career as an interior designer a decade ago, I have always pledged to bring out my clients' personal style, rather than stamp my own aesthetic on home after home. If you've ever seen my portfolio, you'd immediately notice the uniqueness of each project. Part of the challenge in this mission is that I don't always like my clients' choices in color, style, vision.....but in order to make it all work beautifully, in every project, without compromise, I have to not just like them but embrace them wholly. That's part of the reason I started my Monday Color posts, to explore and pay tribute to the bounty of colors that can be applied in home interiors, especially the ones I don't love. The range of purple hues fell into this category, until my first purple-related post when I searched high and low for uses of the color that inspired me and left me reluctantly smitten. (It also may have something to do with the fact that my son's first favorite color was purple, almost as if to shove it in my face with a "like it or else" forcefulness.)

So here I am posting about another purple tone that marries red, brown and purple together in a regal but earthy hue of eggplant. And I may not have reached for this color when designing my own home, but now I must admit that I kinda like it. I'm realizing that with each blog post, I become a better designer, and with each client, I become a better blogger.




























1. I love the eggplant walls with gold accents in this living room found on Cococozy.com, but can't take my eyes off those amazing wide plank floors.

2. Another eggplant-filled living room, with unexpected accents of coral, found on The Design File.

3. Vibrant purple walls contrast with white traditional furnishings in this traditional dining room.

4. This purple bedroom features graphic wallpaper and cooling grays, that create a dramatic yet restful retreat.

5. A neutral living room with chocolate brown and eggplant accents, designed by Windsor Smith, found on Travel for Design.

6. The Cyan Design Purple Chandelier features a generous 36" diameter and regally-hued Murano style glass.

7. Comfort Wash Cotton Duvet Cover from the Company Store comes in a rich merlot hue, with a soft, lived-in feel.

8. Romo's geometric Estella Wallcovering in Elderberry.

9. Hand screen-printed Botanical Print Pillow from Sprouted Designs in a deep eggplant purple cotton with eco-friendly cream ink.

10. The plush faux fur texture of this throw from Z Gallerie makes it as regal as it's deep purple color demands.

11. Here's a literal use of eggplant in home decor: an actual eggplant printed onto an upcycled dictionary page by CollageOrama.

12. The Otto Rug in grape, by Madeline Weinrib.