A book that keeps flying out the door for us is ‘Colors For Your Home’ by House Beautiful. Based on the popular monthly column in the magazine, this little book easily fits into a purse or valise. Perfect for bringing along to the paint store when you are choosing new paint colors, with 300 designer favorites. What I like best is it lists the paint company, the color, and the color number. From Benjamin Moore to Farrow & Ball, it highlights all the best paint companies and many of the spectacular colors they offer. All presented in lovely room after lovely room, so you get a snippet of how it looks in a real setting.
House Beautiful: Colors For Your Home
Red, White & Blue: The WestWard House Loves You!
Our lovely and talented friend Jane Dagmi wrote and shot a really fun piece for the Benjamin Moore paint blog, www.colorchats.com about our beloved beach house, WestWard on Vashon Island. The timing for the post matching up perfectly with the 4th of July holiday. Just a bit of the back story. We bought the house and property from a former Seattle Mayor. The house was red, and next to the house sits a quite large flag pole. The design Gods had already made up their minds for us that this house would be done with a nod to Americana. We have had such a great time over the years finding–white vintage pottery, quilts and blankets, and ticking stripe materials to name a few. Jane and her daughters have been our guests on several visits when they make the trek from Florida. She produced and wrote the article on WestWard for Country Living magazine oh so many years ago, so she is quite familiar with the setting. Thanks Jane for another visually rich (in both word & photo) story!
A happy 4th to all! I hope your day is filled with all good things.
The Decor of “Mad Men”
I was asked by design & style writer Jane Dagmi to describe my ‘make-over’ of a kitchen in the “Mad Men” television series for the Benjamin Moore paint blog, Color Chats. Jane knew I was a fan of an all-green kitchen, since she wrote about ours for Country Living magazine a few years back.
She writes, “I asked 3 super stylish guys–all masters of visual merchandising–to discuss 3 super-styled Mad Men sets.
Ted Kennedy Watson, eminent Seattle retailer and tastemaker, is a lover of the all-green kitchen concept. “The Mad Men kitchen does make my heart sing a tad…but just a tad,” he says, adding, I like ours better!” Ted is quick to offer 6 ways to spruce it up.”
1. PAINT: Go high gloss with a product like Advance – paint the chairs and table each with a vibrant shade of green.
2. WINDOW TREATMENTS: Ditch the curtains; keep the shades.
3. APPLIANCES: Install a glass-fronted Sub-Zero fridge to open up the space.
4. LIGHTING: Replace pendant with a green beaded chandelier; take sconce shade off and go with an exposed Edison bulb.
5. HARDWARE: Replace cabinet pulls with green glass vintage-inspired knobs.
6. SMALL ELECTRICS: Replace all counter top appliances with green-colored versions like a Dualit toaster and KitchenAid mixer.
Check out the rest of the blog post at www.colorchats.com ‘Guys On Style: The Decor of Mad Men’ and see how the other 2 guys, Simon Doonan and Eddie Ross, made over different rooms from the series.
If you are a fan of the show, check out the very witty www.tomandlorenzo.com blog for many insights. The above photo trio was taken from their site. Thanks Jane, for a fun assignment!
