Color Palettes

Style Guide: Blue Kitchen Design Ideas

How much blue do you want? That is the question you need to ask if you want to create a blue kitchen design. The options range from an all blue kitchen, to a white kitchen that is lightly decorated with blue kitchen decor pieces.

Painting the Walls Blue

This is for a people who want a bold look in their kitchen. There is also the option of tiling the walls blue, instead of using paint, just like the kitchen in picture (1). The tiles can be made up of different shades of blue to create a more interesting look.

You can break up all of this blue by having white cabinets, white curtains or wooden blinds, or use a white kitchen tablecloth.

Paint the Walls a Neutral Color

If you want a more toned down blue kitchen, then paint the walls a neutral color (white, cream, grey). This lets you style the space in blue, without overdoing it.

See if you can keep the blue color theme going throughout the kitchen:

Blue cabinets with white walls is a great look, just like the kitchen in picture (2)
Blue glass bottles can be used as elegant storage (3)
You can get tiffany blue kitchen appliances. You can get the baby blue mixer stand seen in picture (4) here.
Blue curtains will help break up a plain white wall.

Or how about just covering your kitchen table with a decorative blue table cloth

Both – Blue Walls and Blue Decor

To make the kitchen look a little more interesting, why not pick different shades of blue. Use a light blue for the walls and a darker blue for the cabinets just like the kitchen in picture (5).

Different Shades of Blue

Using a light blue palette will make the kitchen feel bright and spacious (6). While a dark blue, navy blue, will create a more luxury feeling space. Check out the dark blue kitchen in picture (7) with the marble backsplash and countertop.

Here are some more kitchen posts to get ideas from:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

March 24, 2016 in Color Palettes, Kitchen

Style Guide: Blue Home Office Ideas and Designs

The pictures in the mood board above will give you an idea of the different looks and styles that can be achieved with a blue home office. I have also written out a quick list of design ideas and styling tips that will help you transform your workspace.

The shade of blue you choose to decorate your space has a big impact on the feel and style of your home office. The pictures in the mood board have been arranged from light to dark. If you want a bright, spacious feeling home office – then the lighter shades of blue are the way to go. If you want a more secluded and cozy vibe – then go with a dark navy blue home office.
Break up solid blue walls with a different colored curtain, like a white one
Or hang up a corkboard to pin things to just like in the home office in picture (5)
Instead of a corkboard, why not create an entire mood board wall
Why not create a gallery wall, like the blue office in picture (6). Surround yourself with inspirational pieces.

The simple route: The easiest way to style your home office blue, is to create a neutral base. For example use a neutral color such as a white (or light grey, cream, black) paint for the walls. Then you can decorate the space with pops of blue, which will really stand out. See how the blue desk in the blue and white home office in picture (1) stands out.
The desk is one way of decorating a neutral colored room blue. How about a blue office chair, or simple blue home office decor pieces like a lamp, trashcan, or other furniture pieces
Why not give your cabinet doors a blue make over (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover)

Here are some more home office mood board posts to get ideas from:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6

March 24, 2016 in Color Palettes, Home Office

Color Guide: Red Bedroom Design Ideas

The 3 Ways of Color Styling A Bedroom

There are 3 ways you can go about styling a bedroom in red. The right one will be based on how much red do you want decorating your space.

Paint all of the bedroom walls in red
Paint one red bedroom wall, which will become a focal point. And have all of the other walls a neutral color such as grey, white, or black.
Paint all of the wall in a neutral color such as white. This will create a blank canvas of a bedroom for you to decorate with red decor pieces – see the ‘Focal Pieces’ section below for ideas on how to do this.

The Right Shade

Once you have figured out how many of the bedroom walls that you want to paint in red, the next step is deciding on the right shade of red paint for your bedroom

Different shades of red will create different moods and styles in your bedroom. There is the brighter reds that are more vibrant and uplifting. Then you have the darker hues of red which will create a more romantic, intimate and luxurious feel in the bedroom.

Add Some Texture

Here are some creative ways to add a litte more style to your everyday bedroom walls:

Create a texture by using a sponge or brush when you paint your walls. This can create a linen texture, or mimic wallpaper. To see how it is done, check out my post here: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.
Add some crown molding to finish off the edges of the walls.
Trim pieces or wainscoting can be added to the bedroom walls to add frames and shapes – much like period homes.

Adding Another Color to a Red Bedroom

Since red is such a powerful color, it is be hard to mix in another color into the palette. Most well designed bedrooms will stick to matching red to neutral colors. You have red and black, grey and red, red and white, and red and brown.

Blue is one color that does blend well with red. Dark blue will create a bold combination since the two colors will be competing for attention. While using a light, almost pastel, blue with red will create a more muted combination.

Remove Other Colors

If you want to create a solid style and design for your red bedroom, then you’ll want to remove colored objects in the room. Say you have a yellow lamp, or a green trash can – all of these colored items will take away from the red palette that you want to create. You are better off using neutral colored items in the room, that way the red pieces will stand out.

The Focal Pieces of a Bedroom

Focal pieces are the things in a room that take up the most space, physically and visually.

The bed, including the bedsheets and pillows
Curtains
Walls
Closets
Furniture
Closet doors (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover)

It is these items that you’ll want to focus on when designing your bedroom. For example if you were to go with the all white bedroom walls option above, then just by having red bedsheets you’ve instantly create a red palette for your room.

Here are some more posts that can help you with designing your bedroom:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

March 24, 2016 in Bedroom, Color Palettes

All White Bedroom Ideas: A Design and Color Choice Guide

A white bedroom lets you create a blank canvas of a space. Making it easier to style and design. To create that designer looking bedroom, you’ll need to be pretty strict on keeping a tight color palette when re-designing your space.

If you want a simple way of creating a cozy white bedroom, then skip ahead to the Scandinavian section below.

Removing The Color From Your Bedroom

If you want a white bedroom, then you’ll need to take a look around and see what colorful pieces are in the room. If you have a bright colored green trash can, or blue curtains, you will need to ask yourself if you want to be adding that color to your bedroom’s color palette.

The more you can take away, the better looking the space will look – just take a look at the modern white bedroom in picture (1).

That doesn’t mean you can’t have color in a white bedroom. It just means you need to plan it out a bit, and be selective in the colors and pieces you include.

Going All Neutral

For a minimalist looking bedroom keep to the neutral tones. This applies to curtains, bed sheets, decor items, and furniture sets and pieces. Keep to the neutrals:

Grey
Black
White
Brown
Or how about gold (2)

How To Add Color

If you do want to add some color, then you’ll want to be selective in the colors you add to the bedroom. If you keep items that are random colored, then you lose that ‘white’ palette you’re going after. 1 or 2 colors work well, and these pieces will really stand out in a white styled bedroom.

Imagine having an all white bedroom, and your bedsheets are a deep rose shade. That one color becomes the main focal point in the room and will style it really well.

My favourite way of adding color is by taking inspiration from Scandinavian design.

The Scandinavian Way

If you look at Scandinavian styled homes, you can see that most of the time they use a white base for their rooms. They are able to add warmth and color to these rooms by using:

Wooden furniture and decor – just like in the master bedrooms in pictures (3) and (4)
Greenery and plants (5)

Scandinavian design is really good at using subtle textures and patterns to liven up such neutral palettes.

Adding Textures

A well designed room is all about the little details. And you can add these beautiful little details by using textiles that have textures or very subtle patterns.

Take bed linens for example. Your bed is the main focal point in the bedroom. So the bed linens you have really set the style and look of your room. So invest in some really good looking ones.

Instead of just a flat grey or black cover for your blanket, look for one that has a subtle texture or a very subtle pattern – just like in picture (6). The same can be said about curtains, and rugs. The key word here is subtle.