Whoop Dee Do!!!!!
I only got two questions this week.
Now this may be because you guys are running out of things to ask......
oooorrrrr.......
It may be because you have gotten too scared
to ask me any more questions.......
oooorrrrr.....
It could be because my answers are so full of #$% that you don't see any reason to waste your time typing them up and sending them to me......
IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!
The results are the same.
Today will be a
REALLY SHORT POST!!!!!
Both questions have to do with color.
So let's start with the first one......
It was in reference to my friend Kris's front hall.....
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Nutbird said...
Geez, I'd be AFRAID to
ask a question. I like her hall, those are my exact colors. I really WANT those
plates. Okay, I'll bite. Mrs. Howard (Phoebe) says that a red dining room is
outdated. What do you say? I have one. I am selling my house in five years. I
don't exactly want to redo it. It is the Jane Churchill tomato red stripe that
goes with the heraldic lion and red and white large striped fabric. About 1991.
Ann
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If you're selling your house in
5 years.....
why are you worrying about this now??????
So many things could happen in the interim.....
Live the way you want to live, and throw a coat of neutral paint over it when it's time to sell.
I would never live less beautifully because I might do something 5 years down the road.
Maybe you won't even end up selling?????!!!!!
That's just my life advice, it really doesn't have anything to do with decorating.
As far as it relates to a decorating question.....
I love red in a dining room.
It makes the food look gooder.
That's why it's used so much in restaurants.
Who makes up these rules anyway?????
How can a color become outdated.
I mean it's not exactly harvest gold or avocado green.......
The main point, is not what color is used, but how it is used.
I go into more depth about this in the next question.....
It's almost as if I have a theme for this weeks questions!!!!!
As far as it relates to a decorating question.....
I love red in a dining room.
It makes the food look gooder.
That's why it's used so much in restaurants.
Who makes up these rules anyway?????
How can a color become outdated.
I mean it's not exactly harvest gold or avocado green.......
The main point, is not what color is used, but how it is used.
I go into more depth about this in the next question.....
It's almost as if I have a theme for this weeks questions!!!!!
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Here's a question from me.....
Why is my blogger program spacing my lines this way????
Two tight together, and then one apart?????
Then a bunch of lines tight together.......
Then a bunch of lines tight together.......
AND NOW IT'S NOT DOING IT ANY MORE!!!!!!
HEY!!!!!
Whose messing with my
computer???
(oy)
(back to the next question)
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Love your blog! Here is my question...I have a brand new house with "builder's beige" walls. I love the colors that where in style 15 years ago...rich reds, navy, burgundy, mustardy golds,hunter green,etc...Everyone wants their friends and family to come into their new home and say"I love what you've done,This place is gorgeous ", I am no different...I want people to think my home is beautiful,and not leave and say I am stuck in a time warp!!!!Is there a way to paint the walls in these colors without having my home looking like it was decorated in the 90's? Thanks so much!
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The 90's was over saturated
with color.
So the way to use these hues
without it looking dated is to interject more neutrals into your scheme.
You can still use the jewel
tones, just not piled on top of each other.
Choose one of the colors and
create a two tone look with white, cream, brown or grey and the strong tone you
love.
Lemon and grey is a big look
right now, so just tweak it to your sensibility by using mustard instead.
The trick is to apply a lighter brush than was used back in the 90's.
Cut into the saturation with more light aspects.
Hope that helped, and you understood what I was trying to explain.
It's hard to talk about colors without a show and tell.
I looked for images on google,
and they was alllllll ugly.
So, I can't show you what I mean, 'cuz decoratin' has taken a temporary turn into the dark side,
reminding me of some of the not so great parts of the 80's.
Whatever happened to pretty?????
It seems that the only stuff I like in magazines today is cottagey stuff.
(Now I just sound like an old sour woman.......)
(That's OK, because I am an old sour woman.....)
OK, I just looked up Phoebe Howard, and am going to post one of her pictures to make my point.....
Phoebe Howard
The picture above uses a mustardy yellow, but it is cut with a lot of white, so that brings a contemporary flavor to the space.
But still note, that the design is timeless, it's not trendy.
I'm not real pleased with today's decorating trends.
Can you tell?????
I am an old fart, I am an old fart, I am an old fart, I am an old fart, I am an old fart
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I can't believe I'm done.
This usually takes me two days to write.
I am a very happy camper.
Now I'll have lots of energy for Thursday's post.
Latah, Gatah
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20 comments:
I have two questions. Is that allowed? (<---this is not an official question.)
First, will my house REALLY explode due to the fact I hung a tapestry over the HVAC intake vent?
Second, what IS wrong with your computer? (Insidious, I know...now you have to research an extraordinarily dull topic, lest you look like a snob for not responding.
When I see your blog on my roll I actually wait until the house is quiet to read it. Belly laughs are better when they are uninterrupted.
xo
Andie
I am a sour old woman, too. I don't know crap about rules or decorating like a pro. But I wanted to say I love that bedroom.
I agree I'm not wild over the trends today either. I think the reason people scream a color is out of style is due to everyone jumping on the bandwagon and painting every surface the same color....grey..... over and over again and then everyone screams ENOUGH ALREADY, I HATE IT! It's like playing your favorite song nonstop. You grow to hate it. There are some things I see and think- Wow that's interesting- but I know I could never live with it. Like furniture that has fabric torn fabric. Sometimes I think I'm drawn to photos just because its not all white and grey.
I love your friends hall wallpaper. It has such a warm glow. I don't think that will ever go out of style.
Kathy
Not that my little 2 cents really matters, but I totally concur with your answer to question #1.
I too tell people to decorate the way they want now. IF they sell in the future, then stage it accordingly. Why live now for the 'may not happen' laters? :-) You're so smart and savvy Betsy...not to mention THE funniest blogger I read!
Oh yes! I have been thinking all the latest trend reminds me alot of the eighties. I remember I wanted to paint EVERYTHING WHITE! Of course I have your books Betsy along with a few other designers. One of your peers wrote on the topic of trends and how not to let Madison Avenue dictate what you think you like. Do you think that comes from going through a few trends yourself and after lots of trial and error you finally find what you are repeatedly drawn to?
I totally agree! "What ever happened to pretty????" Too many of the rooms I see look like projects for a high school art class, not like places where real people live. That's why I love your blog, Betsy, your homes are colorful, interesting, and just plain pretty! Thanks for sharing them with us!
Martha from Michigan
Hi! Here is a question for next Tuesday...If you have a dresser with a large mirror hanging over it in your bedroom, is is o.k. to have other mirrors in the room...like one on each side of your bed,over the bedside tables? Or is that overkill? Thank you! :-)
From one old fart to another - who bloody cares what you do with your house - bite me! LOL
I agree with the saying that everything that's old becomes new again. So I really don't like to jump on the bandwagon of current trends. I think the girl with question number two should paint with the colors she feels in her heart and not what others think. I painted my family room a very pale yellow. It sat empty for a few months while I tried to figure out the furniture and accent colors. I ended up with white slipcovers (very popular) but added gray, which I can honestly say I had never heard any buzz about. Yellow and gray? I thought people would laugh behind my back but I LOVE it!
I enjoyed this post...I am a new follower and I'm sure I will have a question or two coming up!
XO,
Jane
The thing I love about being at my respectable age is I do what I want and I don't let trends dictate how I should decorate or dress. I decorate with what makes me happy and I pick clothes that are comfortable and timeless. I wish I had that wisdom when I was young. Back then, it was all about the trends and now when I see trends making a comeback, I think, been there, done that, don't need to relive it. With age comes a certain assurance, wouldn't you say?
From one old fart to another--OLD FARTS RULE!!!! after having white houses for so long, we now have yellows and blues and greens and dark wood floors and 99deep breath here) are about to do tile that looks like wood in a major portion of the house. IT'S my house and I'll have it the way I want it!!! Love your style and all the stuff!
I like your advice about over-saturated color, and I agree with the comments that all the WHITE and GRAY everywhere gets a bit dull...and I know I could never LIVE with all that. With four kids, I'm thankful for the "dirty" glaze on my white kitchen cabinets--otherwise I'd be drooling in a corner somewhere over the GRUNGE.
That said, I have a question. Large wall, not so large tv mounted in the MIDDLE of it. TV cannot be moved(husband!). HOW do I decorate/accessorize/distract from the TV on that WALL?
:)
You always make me laugh!
So so glad you say you aren't happy with today's trends. I thought it was just me and because I am old...thought that I am just being an old sour woman stuck in a time warp! I have followed your designs forever...long before I knew your name or heard the word blog. I still have tear sheets of rooms you did from back in, probably, the 80s. I think you rock the design world & everyone should listen to you (!) so if you aren't pleased with today's design direction...I feel validated. 'Nuff said...
I agree with all these commenters. I love color and for me it never went away. More than ten years ago Mario Buatta (one of my favorites) was bemoaning "what happened to pretty?" Mostly I have always ignored trends, and I just do what I like, what makes me feel good in a room. That usually includes lots of color, because I think all that white and grey, and god forbid, burlap, is just really dreary. I have been in shops done up in this fashion, and they look so cold and tired, like some old lithograph representing a starving sad characters in a Dickens novel.
Such great advice. I'm glad to hear I am not the only one who LOVES color! I feel the same way when I browse blogs. Some of the trendy stuff just doesn't suit me, which is why I always end up here with you. I actually read your blog, too:-)
I'm so glad that this website is not devoted to trends. I love the classic look and can't believe that people would want to decorate in the color grey. I wish I had you to decorate my house.
Betsy,
Love the post! And yes color rules! I love you and all of your decorating! Would you write on furniture arrangement please? I need lots of tips from a pro! I have a living room/family room that drives me nuts. You are the expert on these things can you give general advice?
Thanks
I have a couple of questions that might be good for your Oy Vey, Q&A but I am completely confused as to the rules. How and when do I submit and would a question on closet/window placement for a tiny addition be acceptable? As you can see, I'm a very confused woman.
I am so glad that I recently discovered your blog...I look forward to getting my email updates everyday! Why ARE people so afraid of color???!! After more than 25 years of living in military housing with white walls & beige linoleum/tile floors (I got all my color from curtains, upholstery, etc but those backgrounds had to remain untouched)...I don't have white or beige anywhere in my house! I tell people that it looks like a box of crayons exploded in my house...& we LOVE it!!! Yep, most rooms are painted different colors, but I promise you, it all flows together & looks "perfect"...at least to us!! So, yes, I'd like to think that everyone who comes into my home would think that it's fabulous, but, in the end, if they don't...it's MY home & as long as WE love it & are happy with it...it's a "decorating success"!
Thank god for Betsy’s acumen- color your house to make you happy, ignore the trends unless you love them and don’t give a rat’s #ss what other's have to say. love it!!
I just had my dining rom painted in a beautiful pinky salmon, and it elicits nothing but ohh’s and ahh’s from visitors.Yet, didn’t I read on a popular decorating blog this week that red/coral dining rooms are OUT? This particular blogger posted before and after photos of the dining room she just transformed for a client- now painted into a drab pale green, with a dark( green, gray?) painted ceilings. The original dining room wall color was 100 times more vibrant and welcoming!
I do not like many of current design trends either, but these are all that are presented in the decorating magazines.There are very few design magazines that I save nowadays..not worth wasting the space!
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