Friday, April 2, 2010

The Color Story: My 2010 San Francisco Decorator Showcase Room

Start with Linen

I love the natural color, the way it hangs and the fact that it wrinkles. It has soul. I decided I would start with natural linen for the canopy and see where that led me. Henry Calvin Fabric has lovely linen and I found a natural linen for the outside of the canopy and a polished ivory linen for the lining and inside of the canopy. The day bed, placed between the dormer windows, is upholstered in a natural herringbone linen. The great thing about linens and neutrals is that they all work together. A weathered “dirt-colored” (dirt - one of my favorite colors) linen will be used for an accent pillow.
Add Velvet
Combining humble linen and luxurious velvet is delicious. I like the juxtaposition of the humble linen next to the luxurious velvet. I located a velvet for pillows that is the same color as the darker color in the herringbone linen, but it is a different texture and reflects light differently. It is a no-color color.
Add an Accent Color
This was a process. I found three color stories that spoke to me;

  • slate blues
  • blue greens
  • sienna + dirt color.

I contemplated for two weeks but finally decided on sienna orange as the accent partly because I found a Fortuny fabric that I loved and a sienna Sandra Jordan alpaca throw that would color-wise.

How I like to use color
I like to use color sparingly and strategically. Here I have chosen a palette of neutrals with black and natural wood accents. I then identify the color accent(s) sienna, and use it in three or four places in the room, pillows, a throw, flowers, and accessories. The accent colors don’t have to match exactly; in fact it makes it more interesting if they don’t match exactly. I may gather orange flower that are brighter that the other accent oranges just for pop. I may identify another color to use in conjunction with the orange but I don’t have that decided yet.

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