Spring 2010 - Purple Rain + Fresh Botanicals

The color purple is associated with royalty and nobility and might I add romance and femininity.  This spring's collection featuring purple ripped the catwalk in a big way.

garments l-r: Matthew Williamson, Andrew Gn, Oscar de la Renta

Purple has an ethereal quality that simply relaxes the atmosphere and puts you into a sensual mood.  How sexy would you feel wearing this dress?

garment: Matthew Williamson, room: Drake Design Associates

Rethink purple both in fashion and decor by pairing it with colors like Pantone's Aurora (mustard) and Dried Herb (olive green) as shown below.  The results are pleasantly surprisingly chic and sophisticated.

garment: Milly, room: Frank Roop

Or try purple with a twist of lime...How carefree and flirty is this tie-dye bikini. And this dressing table framed by billowy, grape hued curtains.

garment: Blumarine, room: Amanda Nisbet Design

Single ladies, take the opportunity to decorate with purple before you walk down the aisle.  A bedroom like this is only a dream for me (vetoed the hubby), the closet on the other hand may be closer to reality.

 rooms: Drake Design Associates 

Glam up your ladylike lounge and sitting room with shades of eggplant, lavender, and lilac...and with decor elements such as lucite, fur, and metallics.

 rooms: Amoroso Design , Drake Design Associates

 
You always know that spring has sprung when you see fresh flowers in the home and floral prints in spring collections.

garment: Tory Burch, room: Drake Design Associates

Botanical prints resurface in the form of wall decor and pillows as seen below.  Horchow has a beautiful series of glass decoupage trays by John Derian that would complement any space including the adjacent bedroom. The occupant could switch the wall decor with these (from Horchow) for a more "coastal" look.

 decor: Horchow, interior: Amanda Nisbet Design 

The pillow below, designed by Thomas Paul, would be great accent pillows for the above bedroom or just simply tossed on a sofa.

 Lastly, think on the perimeter of the box and consider wallcoverings in purple.  A little goes a long way!  These floral prints by Graham and Brown add a pop of color, interest, and dimension to a space.

images: Graham and Brown

Is purple in your decorating plan for next season? Are you looking forward to lush florals and fresh greens to grace your tabletops this Spring?

The Beginner's Guide to Mixing Patterns

For a beginner, accent pillows are a great place to start when experimenting with colors, textures, and patterns. Blend contemporary with traditional by using patterns with sophisticated color palettes. Try using patterns that vary in scale to add interest to the mix.

For example, in the above image PATTERN #1 is the sofa fabric with it's large scale leaf motif and in a vibrant red! Talk about being the strongest statement fabric in the room...PATTERN #2, #3, #4, and #5 as seen in the accent pillows are mainly florals and stripes and their scale is about half the size of PATTERN #1. Note also that the accent pillow fabrics contain the same color palette as PATTERN #1 with the addition of the steel gray.Another reason this fabric combination works together is because it's made from the same set of dyes in the same hue. These fabrics are sold in a collection and are referred to as companion fabrics. They are purposely designed to blend harmoniously in a room.

Why not play with patterns using wallpaper and fabrics? Here again in the image above the colors are of the same intensity and blend together seamlessly even though each pattern is completely different from the other. Like the sofa in the previous example, the wallcoverings boast large-scale patterns and are complimented by medium- and small-scale patterns seen in the chairs and in the accent pillow.

There is always an opportunity to play it safe while decorating like a pro. Take a look at the image below. This bold wallpaper pattern contains an array of colors and is a good source of inspiration for the room. Here, there is only one pattern and the sofa and accent pillows are all solid colors found in the wallpaper. Add even more interest to solids by using texture. Solid colored pillows made from mohair, wool, silk, jacquard, or velvet for example are still considered solids (not patterned), yet they add both visual and tactile appeal.

With just these few tips, you can be well on your way to fearlessly mixing patterns, color, AND textures.
Here are some "take home" points:

• The key to successfully mixing patterns is to choose a large scale pattern with many colors, a medium scale pattern with some colors, and a small scale pattern with just a few colors.
• Use colors with the same intensity. Do not mix pastel with primary colors or subdued with vibrant tones.
• Use pattern evenly throughout the room.
• Look for companion fabrics to make mixing patterns virtually foolproof

{courtesy: All fabrics featured are by Romo Fabrics}

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