Colour In Kitchens...Why Not!

Add a large piece or wall art into your kitchen / dining space and extract the colours from this to get your inspiration - then accessorize with the accent hues!
Taking the warm wood grain orange from this timber veneer into the rest of the kitchen makes for a stunning complimentary wall colour & accented accessories.

Shots of high chroma colour can make a White kitchen fun again... especially when you add the bunting element! You can make bunting from cutting triangles of your off cuts of your sewing fabric, cheap remnants and attach to ribbon, webbing tape or bis binding, or cheat & by it through decor places such as the UK's 'The Cotton Bunting Company' or Etsy online.

A Chalkboard wall for all your messages, shopping lists and to-do's - smartly teamed with white & cherry red for a sophisticated industrial look. Chalkboard paint can be readily bought from your local hardware store [in Australia - Bunnings or Mitre 10] or paint stores [Porter's Paints etc]

Striking - tipping normal the balance from all white kitchens to majority black charcoal with white & citrus yellow.

Injection of colour through Yellow decor accents against white

White & Neutral Natural Tones - simple fresh harmony.

Today's post is inspired by my lovely Verandah client, whom I am catching up with today to discuss her dining-lounge room window treatments & some colour options for her newly renovated kitchen splash back.... So for the past few weeks I have been digging deep into my image vault and researching open plan living spaces with plantation style shutters and blinds, and colour [usage] in kitchens & all things related. Here's a few I found that I you might like...so many hues to choose from - bold & bright to soft & feminine, don't forget that even with shades of white - natural & neutral hues can be blended to create a great palette! Enjoy x

Images from Living Etc & House Beautiful

In Love with these Rooms...

[Image 1] Living Room by Meg Braff
To give the open-flow living and dining rooms of an East Hampton, New York, house a light, relaxed air, designer Meg Braff used soft blues and whites, linens, cottons, and a seagrass rug.

[Image 2] Family Room by Meg Braff
"With four young children, durability in the family room was key for the owners," Braff says. "The dark blue on the sofas, the leather ottoman, and the sisal rug are practically bulletproof." The sofa is upholstered in Hinson's Rawlston in Dunham Blue. Walls are covered in Africa Raffia in Key West Teal by Phillip Jeffries.

[Image 3] Guest Bedroom by Meg Braff
"The printed fabric in the guest bedroom is whimsical," Braff says, "but the beige and aqua palette is very restful." Bed and curtain fabric is Lyford Background in Inca Gold on White, by China Seas. Wallpaper is Millennium Stripe in Beige and White, by First Editions. Ottomans are by Jonathan Adler.

[Image 4] Dining Room by Joe Nahem

In a new Greenwich, Connecticut, house, designer Joe Nahem gave the dining room timeless allure with a hand-painted and embroidered silk wallcovering, Fromental's Lotus & Carp in Moon Gold.

[Image 5] Living Room by Joe Nahem
Back-to-back sofas define intimate seating areas in the vast living room. They're upholstered in a Classic Cloth velvet, Marlowe in India Ink, that has "an iridescent quality," Nahem says. "The color changes depending on the light. One day it's gray, another day it's blue."

[image 6] Bedroom by Joe Nahem
The owners asked for a glamorous bedroom, and Nahem came through in a sparkling way. He designed the bed with silver-leaf details and flanked it with mirrored chests from Mecox Gardens.

House Bautiful was right, these are rooms I don't think I would ever tire of... aren't they just gorgeous!

Images from [US] House Beautiful, October 2009 issue.

Dining Chair Affair...

I have been lusting after some new dining chairs for our 'beloved' mid century oblong hand-me down dining table. The chairs that I have been looking at, that would most suit our twist on contemporary classic dining area, would be a style from the mid-century era such as Eames which would give a more modern touch - such as these Eamses DSR Plastic Side Chair with Eiffel Base Steel, [the top image] also with the timber frame -as a stool. I'll keep hunting around... I have a few others I have my eye on and will share with you shortly!

Fact: The DSR Plastic Side Chair with Eiffel Base Steel Designed in 1950 by Charles and Ray Eames, the DSR chair incorporates the use of a bent and welded wire base and injection moulded polypropylene seat.

Images from Metropolitan Home, McGrath Real Estate & Luminere

Wonder Walls - Wallscapes...

I adore this colour palette - with the whimsical yet graphic stencil-like design of the wallpaper and it's Mediterranean cerulean blue, teamed with creamy meringue trim & panel work and small shots of chartreuse accented though lighting, and a tinted variation through the upholstery, all anchored by the dark rich stained slender legs of the dining chairs and table ...

'...A dining room can become stodgy with its predictable formality—making it the perfect subject for fresh design ideas.This dining room has been finished with top-notch wall treatments—hand-painted wallpaper, earthy, neutral landscapes, and contrasting silhouettes—that take them from expected to exceptional...'

Images courtesy of Traditional Home - Room by Dennis Duffy, duffydesigngroup.com.