Color Correction

Have you ever walked into a room and thought... Woah, Red room! That is exactly the opposite reaction that you want when someone walks into your home. You want the colors to stand out in their own respect, but blend naturally so that the eye isn't distracted with one color. Does that mean you can't have a red wall in your family room? No, it just means you need to know the rules to color if you are going to use it.

Insert the 60: 30: 10 rule.

60% Dominate Color : 30% Secondary Color : 10% Accent Color

Why this works is anybody's guess. Perhaps it is the human tendency to see an overall theme in the 60 percent hue, unifying the coloration. The 30 percent provides visual interest and the 10 percent, not unlike jewelry, provides that little spark of sparkle. Or maybe it is because somebody said it works, and everyone agreed. Either way; the rule is a great guide to stick to when decorating your own home.

Outdoor Experience

When I think of an early spring outdoor experience, I think of relaxing in a comfy chaise with a soft blanket reading a book. All while watching the sunset with a fire lit, as the warmth of the sun leaves my face! Oooh, how divine! I think these will do the trick.

Rocky Mountain Hardware

Originating from Idaho, Rocky Mountain Hardware specializes in handmade custom detail on your everyday home hardware. Design is in the details, and this company has the details down pat. With many options for your hardware, including everything from your sink faucet to your door hinges, this company leaves you no reason to accept just any hardware that you find at your local Home Depot.

*Pictures, from left to right and top to bottom: Grape tile, Thumblatch Entry Set, Pond Sink, Wall Mount Faucet

Palazzo Spada

The Palazzo Spada is a palace in Rome that houses a grand art collection, the Galleria Spada. Originall built in 1540 Bartolomeo Baronino was he architect for the project. Then in 1632 Cardinal Spada purchased the fine palace and commissioned Francesco Borromini to modify it for him. It was Borromini who created te masterpiece that is the courtyard. At Francesco Borromini's 1653 perspective gallery, a link between two coutryards at the Palazzo Spada in Rome, the floor rises and the columns become smaller as one passes through, creating the optical illusion of a much longer structure.

Casa Mila, "La Pedrera"

"La Pedrera"—'the quarry'—was the name an astounded population gave to this completely unique building. It could be compared with the steep cliff walls in which African tribes build their cave-like dwellings. The wavy facade, with its large pores, reminds one also of an undulating beach of fine sand, formed, for example, by a receding dune. The honeycombs made by industrious bees might also spring to the mind of the observer viewing the snake-like ups-and-downs that run through the whole bulding. In this last secular building which he constructed before devoting all his energies to the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi created a paradox: an artificial but natural building which was simultaneously a summary of all the forms that he has since become famous for. The roof sports an imitation of the bench from Guell Park as well as an ever more impressive series of bizarre chimney stacks."
Casa Mila is found in Barcelona, Spain

*Pictures, from top: Casa Mila at dusk, roof detail of Casa Mila

Funky Furniture: Yves Klein

Three thousand sheets of gold leaf encased in Plexiglas add luster to Klein's Table d'Or.  After the French artist died in 1962, his widow produced limited editions of the table, based on the 1961 original.  

    That could add some pizzazz to your living room..