Category Archives: Color

Brighten Up Your Winter with the Color of the Year!

Each year Pantone, known as the global authority on all things color, releases their pick for the color of the year. The choice is meant to act as a trendsetter and inspiration for fashion, marketing, design, and other color saturated industries in the year to come.

For 2023, Pantone chose a bold, bright, energetic color for the year – Viva Magenta. They want the color to provoke feelings of strength, power, and a connectedness to nature. The tone originated from a carmine dye produced by the cochineal beetle, linking us to the exquisite elegance of nature, herself.

If you’re anything like me, you see a swatch of Viva Magenta and think, “how in the world am I going to incorporate this bright, red color into my life of neutrals and greiges?!” The genius of the color is it pairs beautifully with both warm and cool palettes, so we are left with an abundance of options to spice up our life with Viva Magenta!

Here are just a few ways to brighten up your 2023 with Pantone’s color of the year:

The Mercury Gallery

Add a splash of color to a monochromatic palette.

Burke Décor

Update your powder room with a bold wallpaper. Half baths are the perfect place to try out funky design!

Flor

Don’t be afraid to mix and match patterns and finishes!

Etsy

Find smaller pieces you can integrate into a neutral motif, such as vases, candles, or throw pillows.

Diptyque

Our Place

Love to cook? Add some color to your kitchen and enjoy the temporary beauty of Viva Magenta on your stovetop, with the safety of being able to tuck away the pan and pot when you’re finished.

Pantone

Target

In the end, you can always start small and add a cute coffee mug to your collection and call it a day! Design is meant for you to enjoy, so do what feels good and beautiful to you!

Guest Blogger: Katya Larsen, Stager, A Home Revival

Small Refreshes to Enhance a Home

As we draw closer to the holiday season, you may be turning your attention toward hosting gatherings or decorating for the holidays. Here are some small refresh ideas to change up your space and enhance your home for the season!

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Never underestimate a fresh coat of paint. Even if it’s the same color as what you had previously, it will renew a space instantly. If you’re looking for an updated paint color, think about the mood or feeling you want your space to exude and then go that direction with color. If you’re needing the space to feel lighter and brighter, then a white or light greige is the way to go. If you’re looking for a cozy, moody space, then it’s okay to go dark and rich in color.

One of our favorite light paint colors right now is Sherwin Williams Drift of Mist. It has warm undertones, yet still falls in the light grey category.

Home Bunch

One of our favorite dark paint colors right now is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore. It’s a soft black that won’t feel stark. It has a depth to it with undertones of blue grey.

Sherwin Williams Blog

Updated Light Fixtures

This is our favorite update after painting. If sellers have the time and budget within their target listing price, we recommend changing a few key light fixtures. Similarly, if you’re moving into a new home, updating some light fixtures to fit your personality and style can go a long way into making the house feel like yours. Again, this does not have to be expensive. Start looking at a Home Depot or Amazon. If you want more unique options and are willing to spend more, check out Serena & Lily or Pottery Barn. Some local stores that can assist you in choosing lighting are Southern Lights and Muska Lighting.

Pottery Barn

New Hardware

Cabinet hardware can really set a time stamp on your home style-wise, just like lighting can. Changing hardware is super easy to do and doesn’t have to be expensive. Big box hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s carry numerous styles and finishes these days. Then you can get really fancy with hardware from places like Rejuvenation or Restoration Hardware. If you’re looking for the quickest yet easiest change, look for something the same size/shape as your previous hardware so you don’t have to fill any holes or make new ones.

Norfolk Kitchen and Bath

Move Your Furniture & Decor Around

Last but not least, try rearranging your furniture within a room or moving pieces to a different area of your house. You’ll be surprised at how fresh your spaces feel – almost like you got new furniture. One of our favorite tricks is to move living room pieces to a lower level family room and then you can focus on a few new items for the main level living room which is typically more used and important than the lower level area. Throw pillows are a perfect example of this. Move primary bedroom pillows to a kid or guest room and only refresh with new in the primary bedroom for a new feel everywhere.

Rooms With Style Staging

Happy Refreshing!

Using Wallpaper as a Design Element

Photo credit: Homesandgardens.com

Wallpaper is all over the place these days and there are so many fun fresh patterns. Plus with peel-and-stick, you can easily apply it yourself and not be tied to it for years to come. Wallpaper is a very easy way to add some personality to your space.

Great spaces to try wallpaper for the first time are:

Powder Bathrooms: A small, safe place to do something different or bold! This paper is from Rifle Paper Co.

Photo credit: Stylecharade.com

Primary Bedroom or Kids Bedroom: Less visitors in these rooms, so you can design more specifically to you or your children’s taste.

Photo credit: Thespruce.com

Laundry Room: Add some spunk to an ordinarily not-so-fun room. Maybe you’ll enjoy doing laundry more!

Photo credit: Bria Hammel Interiors

Anywhere with bookshelves or open shelves: Try it just inside some open shelving for a peek of color or texture.

Photo credit: Decorpad.com

Great places to look for wallpaper are:

Good price point — Amazon + Home Depot + Etsy

Some of the prettiest, unique designs — Spoonflower + Wallshoppe + Chasing Paper

Happy papering!