Bridget Beari Color Rule #8 - Always Consider the Finish

in

Bridget Beari Color Rule #8 Always consider the finish

After you have decided on a color, it is very important to remember that the finish or sheen of the paint will change its look. In general these are your choices:

  • High Gloss or Brilliant

  • Flat

  • Eggshell

  • Semi-Gloss

  • Satin

Fine Paints of Europe makes the best brilliant finish similar to that of a gloss lacquered finish. This finish can be very reflective and manipulate the light differently than a flat finish.

Tory Burch Foyer from Pinterest

As a general rule I paint all walls eggshell (because I like a sheen on the paint), semi-gloss on the trim and cabinetry and flat on the ceilings. I have been changing it up a bit now that I'm part of the FPE family. I love a gloss ceiling or a high gloss front door!

To achieve that green wall, try Bridget Beari Color

Pickle No. 37.

Photo from Pinterest

A great coral…

Shakin Jakin No.24

Farrow & Ball makes an interesting flat paint. It is actually their specialty - a dead flat paint, almost caulky.

It is extremely interesting the way the light reacts to this paint. Even their estate emulsion can change tones between the different walls in a room.

Sidebar: Pickle is the name of my office manager's terrier dog. He was actually a client's dog and he barked too much so Jayne adopted him. Very cute but high maintenance!

Shakin Jakin is the name of the dog next door to Joe named Jake. Poor Jake doesn't get much attention from his owners and lives outside most of the time but Joe sneaks him treats when he can.

Tip:

Always stir your paint. It makes the color more uniform.

Happy Painting...

Hue Are You? with Paige Hull

in

Hue Are You?

Designer Spotlight: Paige Hull of Vintage Round Top

Designer and founder of the Vintage Round Top brand and vacation resort homes in Round Top Texas, Paige, along with her contractor husband Smoot have created a lifestyle brand which is based on creativity, hospitality and design. Her love for antiques combined with a unique sense of personal style makes Paige a perfect guest for our Hue Are You? series. I was lucky enough to stay in their 1450 cottage which it full of found and repurposed antiques she purchases abroad and locally. She has a very specific vision and opinion on color and I can't wait to share it with you ...

Susan Jamieson: What one color represents your design style?

Paige Hull: Wow, that's a hard question. I'd have to say white and it's the base color of all our walls. Our design is to treat our walls like there in a museum so we can display our vintage and found objects and collections.

photo by Haylei Smith

SJ: Do you use color as a dominant role in your designs or as an accent?

PH: We do use color as a dominant role, but our colors are neutral- mainly black, white and brown. Our bedrooms have a bit more color. Each one has a color toned theme: blues, olive green, rose.

photo by Haylei Smith

 
“LIVE WITH INTENTION.”
— PAIGE HULL
 

SJ: How do you feel about matching colors in a room?

PH: It depends on the room.

Photo by Haylei Smith

SJ: What color represents your personality?

PH: I'm a Pisces, two fish swimming in different directions. So I'd say, neutrals represent my calm side, and metallics represent the more fiery side.

SJ: What color comes to mind when you talk about:

Your favorite City ....... White, black, and brown for Amsterdam ( we're headed there this week - eek! )

The House You Grew Up In ......... Yellow - my mom changed wallpaper from time to time and it somehow always had some shade of yellow in it.

Last Fabulous Dinner You Had ........ French Blue - we dined at a new restaurant in Round Top Texas named Lulu's that our good friends just opened - it's beautiful and delicious. A must try if you are in Round Top Texas.

Your favorite Flower ....... White - wild flowers or flowering branches, it's all about the texture.

photo by Hannah Haston

Your favorite season ...... Green for Spring.

Your Favorite Art ...... Rust - our favorite art is the weathered, rusted and patinaed pieces we've hung on our walls from travels we've made with our family.

Your Favorite Room in Your Home ..... Olive Greens for the Master Bedroom in Boho. It's a super calming room.

Your Favorite Beauty product .... rose Quartz or Lapis - Herbivore Botanicals.

Your Favorite Article of Clothing ...... Black - it's 90% of my wardrobe.

SJ: Name a color you never use?

PH: Yellow, maybe I had too much of it growing up???

SJ: Name a color you use frequently?

PH: Pip for all the walls. However, it's been discontinued. It was a Martha Stewart color we found at Home Depot of all places, but I think you can still find the recipe at some locations.

SJ: If you could pick a name for a color what would it be?

PH: The Vintage Round Top - Smoot and I were just talking about the conversation we had with you while in Round Top and loved the idea of our white paint named after our property. Keeping fingers crossed!

SJ: Do you have a pet? What color reminds you of him/her? Do you have a nickname for this pet?

PH: Not yet, but we are getting one when we return from Europe in few weeks.
We are planning on getting a Bernadoodle - guess what color they are? White, black and brown.

SJ: What is the Now Neutral?

PH: Metallics that have a raw sheen.

SJ: What is your prediction for the next big color trend?

PH: It's looking like shades of Violet and Purple.

SJ: What are the best color combinations?

PH: Of course, white, black and brown, but I also love blues, greys and browns; and rose gold and rust (this just may be the color combo for our new cottage being named after our youngest daughter - The Eisley.)

SJ: Best advice when it comes to picking paint colors?

PH: Put a whole lot of options on the wall and look at them at different times of the day as the color will change. I think we had 9 or 10 different shades up before we picked Pip.

photo by Haylei Smith

Bridget Beari Color Rule #7 - Choose Colors That Flatter

in

Bridget Beari Color Rule #7:

Choose Colors that Flatter!

This is a rule I like to keep in mind when decorating personal spaces i.e. bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, dressing rooms. It is always nice for the colors on the wall to complement your complexion. Lighting is always a key factor here as well but the color can make you glow or turn you green.

For cool tones, try soft lavender or blue like Bunny Williams did for this house. The gorgeous blue onyx tops were the inspiration for this wall color.

Photo by Architectural Digest and interior design by Bunny Williams

For a Bridget Beari Color try:

Squeek No. 54

Loving this bathroom with the Carrera White marble floor and white walls but the soft peach draperies give that room its glow. Remember on Rule #6 - the power of white and how it reflects the colors around it.

Photo from Pinterest

For a reverse try Bridget Beari Color French Fry Potato No. 9 on the wall!

Sidebar: Squeek is the name of my office manager's cat. French Fry Potato is the nickname I call Lulabelle, my Sharpei. I love Nat King Cole so if you know the song Frim Fram Sauce then you know where it came from.

The lyrics are:

I don't want french fried potatoes,
Red ripe tomatoes,
I'm never satisfied.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.

She takes a long time to get down stairs so I sing songs to her like this one to motivate her or scare her (hopefully not! ) To shorten the song she just became french fry potato and sometimes she's red ripe tomato. It just depends on the day.

Tip: Wrap your brushes during breaks in plastic or aluminum foil. Squeeze all the air out and seal with a rubber band. For overnight storage put the wrapped brush in the refrigerator. I always had a fit that Joe, our BBD contractor put the brushes in the BBD refrigerator. It kinda of grossed me out but now I know he was saving us money. Thanks Joe!

Happy Painting......

Hue Are You? with GordonDunning

in

Hue Are You?

Designer Spotlight: Lathem Gordon and Cate Dunning

GordonDunning is an Atlanta, GA based boutique interior design firm founded by, Lathem Gordon & Cate Dunning, two lovers of story and history. A hallmark of their firm is to honor the story of their clients as well as the homes themselves. The team creates spaces for clients to illustrate tales of past adventures, to share current interests, and to create a backdrop for a new chapter in the family’s and home’s history. Their style is bold and classic and their personalities are full of life. I can't wait to hear their views on color.

Susan Jamieson: What one color represents your design style?

LG/CD: Blue and White!

SJ: Do you use color as a dominant role in your designs or as an accent?

LG/CD: It really depends on the client and the scope of the project. We love layering patterns and colors together to create unexpected combinations.

SJ: How do you feel about matching colors in a room?

LG/CD: There is never anything wrong with matching colors, but we always strive to throw in a little something unexpected where we can!

SJ: What color represents your personality?

LG/CD: Cate – Carolina Blue, Lathem - Turquoise

SJ: What color comes to mind when you talk about:

Your favorite City .......

How do I choose a favorite city?!?! Travel is my favorite. I'll go with Barcelona which is essentially a collection of all the bold colors!

Cate - Black and White - That's tough! DC, Charleston, London? I love old! I love my home city of Atlanta but we don't hang onto the old as well.

The House You Grew Up In .........

Lathem – Moss Green – The house I grew up in is like an interior nature preserve mixed with a lot of Latin American artwork. It is a very neutral background of taupes and greens with punches of colorful works.

Cate - Mustard yellow - The house I grew up in was full of deep saturated color. Warm and cozy but with fresh royal blue and white. I felt like I grew up in an old English/Irish library.

Last Fabulous Dinner You Had ........ This is a toughy! I’d say rainbow, because a big ol’ steak surrounded by a bevvy of veggies is my fav! Cate – Blue of blue willow china. The last great dinner I had was at my parent’s country house: Ribs and Vidalia onion pie.

Your favorite Flower .......

Lathem – White – It is hard to pick an absolute favorite flower, but the majority of my favorites are white – gardenias, magnolias, lilies, some peonies…

Cate – Ditto. I have a white garden at home. White and deep green.

Your favorite season .....

Lathem – Summer - Yellow! Summer is my favorite season by far, and the joy and warmth the sunshine brings is unmatched!

Cate – I love whatever season I’m in (except winter. Gross!) Since it’s summer, pool blue! I love being in the water!

Your Favorite Art ...... 
This is SO hard!  As an Art History lover as well as artwork for my own home, I can’t pick just one!  My favorites in my own home are pieces that have a personal connection for me - an abstract piece, a Panamanian Mola, an Audubon, an Iraqi rug, a piece by my grandmother…the list goes on and one.  Anyway, they almost all have blue or green in them with pops of orange. 
Cate – Ahhhh! Same! I’m into subdued art right now. Calm clouds and misty waters. The pretty grey/blue color.

Your Favorite Room in Your Home .....      
Lathem – Porch – Basil Green
Cate – Bedroom – blue all shades

Your Favorite Beauty product ....   
Lathem – Vivid Green, because apparently I am a Garnier Fructis commercial.
Cate – I only use Dove so…white?

Your Favorite Article of Clothing ......  

Lathem – White!  White jeans and dresses are my absolute favorites!  If I could wear exclusively white clothing, I would.
Cate – Navy – classic baby

SJ: Name a color you never use? 

LG/CD:  We probably use less yellow than anything else, but we haven’t met a color we don’t like. 

SJ: Name a color you use frequently? 

LG/CD: Green - Lathem , Blue – Cate

SJ: If you could pick a name for a color what would it be?

LG/CD: We would love to name a color for spaces that are significant to us. Our homes, travels, etc.

SJ: Do you have a pet? What color reminds you of him/her? Do you have a nickname for this pet?

LG/CD: Lathem – No Pets

Cate – George Bailey – Tri-color – Black, white, and camel – all the classics

SJ: What is the Now Neutral?

LG/CD: Lathem – Navy, Cate – Warm Gray

SJ: What is your prediction for the next big color trend?

LG/CD: Green

SJ: What are the best color combinations?

LG/CD: Classic with a punch of unexpected

SJ: Best advice when it comes to picking paint colors?

LG/CD: We always recommend putting up (at least) your top 3 options in the space you are considering painting. Put large swaths on all walls and take a tally throughout the day(s) of your favorites. The one with the most votes at the end of the week or weekend wins! The light is different at all times of day, on every wall, and in different spaces.

Instagram: @gordondunning

Website: www.gordondunning.com