3/7/15

BEYOND THE ORDINARY - BATHROOMS


Bathrooms are hard places to design..
and by hard, I mean lots of hard surfaces
tile
stone
glass
porcelain
wood
mirrors....
not a lot of softness in a bathroom

which is why a lot of thought should go into one

for although bathrooms are mainly utilitarian
and surfaces need to be cleanable and practical

they can also be very, very beautiful...
who says the shower needs to go in a corner?  Love this example from Metropolitan Home
of this wide open bath where nothing is ordinary
including the clam shell that hides the drain...


framing out a basin and mirror with a wall of stone or tile
makes washing your face a thing of beauty


mixing elements keeps things interesting...
like the marble and chrome vanity with exposed plumbing and the gilded candlestick lamp
unexpected..


backsplash doesn't mean 6 inches above the vanity in this beautiful bathroom
it encompasses the entire wall
and while you are contemplating faucets - 
they don't all have to sit on the vanity...
I keep thinking how much easier to clean these wall faucets would be...


Brooke Gianetti and her husband create beautiful homes...
and I particularly like their creative ideas with bathrooms
so clever to create a pony wall that is the perfect spot for a bench
and the opportunity to add a little softness and a little color...

When in doubt, trim it out....
The paneled walls, cabinet, paneled tub, subtly veined marble 
deep crown molding and soft creamy color
all combine to create this inviting space

whenever possible - add fabric
fabric does wonders to soften hard surfaces, draw the eye, add texture and color
and if you are a 'soak in the tub' sort of person - make a statement

Sometimes the logical place for a shower is the corner...
but trimming it out with panels and molding will make it more of a statement
I love the simple floor design - completely elegant


I like all the elements in this bathroom...


visible towel storage creates some of that softness we are looking for...





Try sconces, instead of vanity lights
to put the light right on your face where it belongs



the wall color makes this room


the soft gray blue complements the wood tones...



but the real beauty of a bathroom are the materials we use
the woods

the tile or stone

the details...




QUESTION FROM A READER:

Hello,

Stumbled across your blog today, absolutely right time, right topic and so much information. Actually, I think it was providential that I saw it.

My husband and I are near the conclusion of a kitchen redo. We changed a
few things but basically used the cabinet structure of our old cabinets
and changed the doors and painted them. They were the old ugly orangey oak cabinets of yesteryear, my apologies to anyone still in love with them.  
Anyway, down to business. I have always been an individual drawn to deep
tones and colors. Any actual color that I gravitated to whether a green,
always Emerald, blue, Sapphire, red, ruby...you get the idea. So I decided that I would change it up a bit with this kitchen/family room adjoined space. Our appliances are all white, which I actually like and they are recent purchases so I wasn't going to change that. The cabinets have been transformed with these two colors SW 7668 March Wind and SW 7669 Summit Gray.

SW Summit Gray


All my wood trim in the house is white. I chose the color SW Rain for the walls. When I got home yesterday, I wanted to cry because my cabinets are reading blue.  
SW Rain

Please help me because I cannot have the cabinets taken out and repainted again. I know that I am going to have to change the wall and ceiling color. 

Oh, the other finishes in the kitchen will be Cambria quartz counters -- new Rococo, resembles Carrera marble with classic white subway tiles for the backsplash as well as up to the ceiling. 
I chose an antiqued bronze hardware from rejuvenation for the pulls and knobs. Also I have two school house pendants over the island that are also antiqued bronze. Also, my floors throughout the entire downstairs is 3/4 inch hardwood oak stained really dark. 
I want to really love the space but this is really throwing me for a loop.
Please help. 
Grateful,
Jorja Price







Jorja,
One of the things that will affect wall color (or cabinet color) is reflected color from walls, etc.  SW Rain is not a shrinking violet color - it has strength and a lot of pigment.  It has at least the same amount of strength as the grays you painted your cabinets - and so they will definitely influence one another.

If you look at kitchens with medium to dark gray cabinets, you will find the walls in those kitchens are generally very light in color, a light taupe or beige or simply white. Color - especially the bright hues and jewel tones you so enjoy - can be brought in with accents and accessories.   They will be the pops of color that bring interest to the room, but not the wall color.  

So my recommendation is to go with a nice creamy white, a gray beige or light taupe for walls and ceiling, or a color that is nearly a white.

That may seem a little neutral to you, but your cabinets will read the grays you intended.  Here are a few examples of what I am suggesting...




Ashwood BM



Manchester Tan BM





1/30/15

A MILLION COLORS, A MILLION TESTER POTS...

The Gorgeous Neutrals
Palettes you can live with...
The forecast is for neutral rooms with fresh pops of color...
but I'm fine with these soothing
far less exciting sweet slumber rooms...

the color stories are soft...
neutral ..
soothing...


with some contrasting accents
just so things don't get boring...
no bright pops in these rooms

but they still feel modern
crisp
clean

sleep inducing

this is not your mother's room...
When using these soothing colors in a bedroom, 
remember to bring in some contrast - in darker fabric
in reflective shine
and you can deepen that soothing color for a little drama

okay, maybe not a bedroom - but I love this color!

********************************************************
Please can you help!! I have been through a million tester pots and nothing seems quite right to go with our carpet. The carpet is called 'Cameo'. It's a pain because it seems to change color every time you look at it! Cameo carpet seems to have pinky, beige, tan  and cream in it.



I am looking for a warm gray. We have already painted everything in Ben Moore natural linen and Ben Moore Finnie but  both look really green against the carpet so has to be repainted. Please help as I don't want to make another expensive mistake...the painter is waiting on me to decide!!!

I'm afraid I've kept you waiting - but the nature of my business is such that I can't always get to the reader's questions as quickly as I would like.  Gotta pay the bills ... I take care of my clients first - both long distance e-clients and local clients.  Sometimes that makes you wait a while for an answer - especially when life sits up and smacks you a couple of times to add to the drama - so I hope that this information is still useful to you.

You need a gray without the green undertone.  Undertones are sneaky little beasts that are often hard to see, especially in the paint store's fluorescent lighting.  With the peachy, pinky, beige of your cameo colored rug, you need a good cool toned gray on your walls.  

You should also put your sample color on a poster board with a good 2-inch white margin around the edge to stop the influence of the current wall color from effecting your sample.  It will also allow you to move it to your carpet to see how it reacts.  

Here are a couple of colors for you to try that don't have a green undertone...  but try a sample first - colors react to too many factors to rely on a photograph..
Martha Stewart - Newsprint
Very light
(great with peaches and pinks and beige)

Benjamin Moore Belmont Gray
 
Benjamin Moore - Arctic Gray


Ashwood - Benjamin Moore

Classic Gray - Benjamin Moore

Hello,
My living room is gray owl which I love, and I am trying to decide what color to paint the adjacent dining room, which is visible from the living room. I noticed your suggestions of sea haze and another gray color on your blog, but wanted to know if you had any other suggestions that weren't gray? I do want to keep it neutral and airy though.
Thanks!
Angela

So when you say 'not gray' - do you mean real gray as in white added to black.... or one of these shades...

because nearly every color has a gray
and the grayed down tones of these colors are 100% more livable, less saturated, more soothing
more enduring over the course of the years...

hard to believe these are all grays... right?

Here are a few colors I think may look good next to Gray Owl (only a swatch on your wall in your own room and light will tell)...  I will try to avoid any color that says 'gray' too strongly, but these colors are all grayed down a bit.
Benjamin Moore GRANT BEIGE

Benjamin Moore GUILFORD GREEN

Benjamin Moore PALLADIUM BLUE
Benjamin Moore TRANQUILITY
 Good Luck!




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