Pantone's Color of the Year 2022

Mary McDonald

Pantone's Color of the Year 2022 is Very Peri, a deep periwinkle.

The Blue & White Chinoiserie Kitchen

Mark Sikes

If you love a blue and white kitchen, some well chosen accessories are a great way to get the look with no renovation required. Here is some wonderful kitchen inspiration followed by my top picks.

This and That

My Garage/Staging Area

Yesterday I arrived at the house around 9 AM and the painters were already hard at work with classical music and opera wafting throughout the house. Not your typical painters for sure.

We decided on Benjamin Moore Aura Matte in Classic Gray for the walls. The Samplize samples were great and I highly recommend this product. Beautifully painted (with the actual paint) and packaged with quick arrival, they are easy to use - peel and stick and you can move them around from room to room.

Samplize paint samples

It's the one in the middle.

And we selected the orange for the guest bath. Benjamin Moore Tandoori - we are using it on the wainscoting, baseboards, crown molding and door. It will be a little jewel box.

Here is my Chinoiserie wallpaper with Benjamin Moore Tandoori.

Each day I take two trips to the new house with breakables and such. So much easier than packing and unpacking. I'm using my garage as a staging area while the painters are in the house.

I ordered the pink Dyson cordless stick vacuum. Why? It's pink. End of story. LOL

I usually read a hundred reviews and research for hours and not this time. It had me at pink Dyson. It has been shipped already. BTW it's the V7 Motorhead.

PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I texted with the owner weaver of the lobster rope doormat business. Turns out they are from Baltimore and Annapolis and now have homes in Canada and Florida. They are hand delivering my two mats this weekend to my house.

I think these reclaimed lobster rope doormats are stunning. Durable and so unique, they are woven from rope that once tethered lobster traps in the sea. To protect whales which often became snared in the rope, a heavier sink rope is now used. Tens of thousands of tons of sink rope slated for landfills is now being used by a few companies to create these historical and authentic mats. Lobster rope doormats are also woven out of new lobster rope which comes in a huge variety of colors, but I love the muted shades of the reclaimed. Someone commented to me yesterday that she has one and they are the only doormats that hold up beautifully year after year with our intense sun.

While researching these doormats to purchase one for my new home, I happened upon 30 Fathom Doormats and learned that, as I mentioned, they have a place in Canada and a place in Florida not far from me and the owner even weaves doormats from locally sourced Florida recycled rope. I was thrilled that I could source this locally.

I am getting two for my new home and will post pictures next week. One of the doormats I have chosen, the charcoal colored rope was from lobster fishing at Big Pine Key, and the pale blue was deep water off Ft. Lauderdale for golden crab. The owner was telling me they spend hours retrieving, detangling, and cleaning the rope. This is the Old Florida I love so much. This is charming.


Please check out the website. The owner is happy to work with you on custom colors and sizes.

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

Chinoiserie Repurposed and Finding the Perfect Orange

Some of you may remember my story from 2010, when a follower of Chinoiserie Chic gave me a head's up that an Etsy seller was selling 15 rolls of Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque wallpaper for $150.00. A very expensive and discontinued wallpaper BTW. I snatched it up - what a steal!!!!!!!!! and had it hung in my dining room.

I am thrilled to have enough left to do my guest bathroom in the new home.

I  am redoing the lighting and the vanity but that is for another post. Today, the dilemma is I want to keep the wainscoting and have my painter lacquer it in high gloss orange that will go with my wallpaper to be hung above. I need to choose a paint color as they will be starting on July 9th.

Why about Benjamin Moore Racing Orange?

BM Racing Orange 2169 - 10

Or Benjamin Moore 14 Carrots?

BM 14 Carrots CSP - 1110 

Benjamin Moore Orange Blossom?

BM Orange Blossom 2168 - 30

Benjamin Moore Orange Parrot?

BM Orange Parrot 2169 - 20

Benjamin Moore Pumpkin Cream

BM Pumpkin Cream 2168 - 20

This cabinet is lacquered in Pumpkin Cream to give you the idea of the look I am going for.

BD Home and Design

Benjamin Moore Topaz

BM Topaz 070

Here is Topaz in a room. Beautiful!

Ellen Hamilton

The Benjamin Moore App came up with Tandoori.

BM Tandoori CSP - 1105

So, your mission is to help me find an orange BM paint that will work with my wallpaper. I want it to be fun and not too brown and russety and could use your thoughts. It needs to go with the tile and wallpaper and tie everything together. I will order a few Samplize as soon as we find some options. You can weigh in with these I have found or suggest others. BTW, orange is absolutely stunning with blue and white Chinese porcelain.

This could be great with very little $. I plan to have my great stone folks use a granite or quartz remnant for the vanity and top it with a vessel sink and switch out the lighting fixture to something more chic. And I am thrilled to use a paper I loved in my Alexandria home.. I am also having the laundry room wallpapered. I will post on the laundry room too. Stay tuned.......

And the big favorite yesterday was the Royal Palm. Thanks for participating.

P.S. Two additions thanks to two follower's comments - I neglected to say that the vanity will be lacquered in the orange as well. And here's another great orange -

Benjamin Moore Dragon's Blood

BM Dragon's Blood CW - 320

Elephants

Beaulieu in Newport, Rode Island - Town and Country

How incurably stunning is this patio with the turquoise blue cushions and patio furniture?  I especially like the vintage wicker elephant table painted turquoise blue. Here are other painted examples. I have one that is natural, but I might be tempted to paint him.

Amanda Lindroth

Amanda Lindroth

Yellow

Hot Pink

Pink

Black

Pink and Green

And look at this massive white one in the apartment of Rebecca de Ravenel.

Rebecca de Ravenel - Domino

The Question of Peach

Mario Bautta

In spite of my love for color, there are several colors I am not drawn to, and peach is among them. I adore pink, including coral pink, but not peach. There is a reason for this. Peach is an ugly color. And it's not just me. According to House Beautiful, peach is one of the colors to be avoided in your home.

"Even though it was popular in the '60s, today this color quickly dates a house. And when it comes to color psychology, (interior designer Heather) Humphrey says it's uplifting in small ways (like home accessories), but is mood-crushing when it covers too big of a surface."

Of course with Mario Buatta's impeccable eye, he could find the perfect shade of peach like the staircase above. He could find the perfect shade of anything. And so could Jackie. Unfortunately, I am finding that peach homes are so much more common here than pink. Yikes.

Jackie Kennedy

I found a very pretty home in Venice online, but the exterior is peach and every single room in the house is peach. Even the tile in all the bathrooms. Even the tile roof. That's a whole lot of peach going. on. I love a pink stucco home, and a coral pink stucco home, but not a peach stucco home. I know I can paint any house I buy, which I will likely end up doing. But in deeded communities, you end up dealing with the whole dreaded Architectural Review Committee when you want to make any change whatsoever. Changing from peach to pink, OH MY! let's debate this in our committee for 6 months.

Robin Weiss - Traditional Home - Benjamin Moore Ballet Slippers - gorgeous!

Sherwin Williams New Coral - gorgeous!

A Venice home in peach - ghastly

And this house above in peach has been on the market for 405 days in a hot market. So interesting to me how nuanced color is - a slight tweak from coral to peach and it goes from beautiful to ugly.

Just Say No

Celebrating and House Hunting

Robin Weiss - Traditional Home

My home in Alexandria, Virginia is under contract with all contingencies removed and is going to closing on June 12th and I am all ready to go forward with my next home purchase here. I had Champagne last night to celebrate!

House hunting update. I spoke with my painters who did an amazing job on my current home about the future move. He and his wife are German natives and have their own painting company here in Sarasota. They do beautiful work including faux painting - as a surprise he faux painted the column in the kitchen to match the Calacatta counters and it is fabulous. We have all become friends and I wanted to make sure they are available as I know I will want the new house painted by them before I move in. Luckily they are here and not in Germany and they are excited about my move. I feel that if you have all freshly painted walls and ceilings and woodwork everything feels fresh.

I found my stash of wallpaper - I hope to use my Brunschwig & Fils "Ironing Bored" in the laundry room - I love this paper!!!!

Brunschwig & Fils Ironing Bored

And this leftover wallpaper from my dining room I would love to use in a bathroom - Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque -

Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque

This home on top is my idea of heaven - a pink house. The style in this area is more Tuscan with lots of brown and muddy colors inside and out and that is not my style at all.  I think if things ever get back to normal I would like to focus on helping people "De-Tuscanize" their homes here in a more bright and fun Coastal vibe.

But there are some Palm Beach/Bermuda style homes in Venice which I would prefer. Bermuda is a favorite place of mine and this pink Palm Beach home of interior designer Robin Weiss has such Bermuda style. The pink is Benjamin Moore Ballet Slippers.

Benjamin Moore Ballet Slippers #1331

I also love her landscaping - palms and what look like English boxwood although I know it does not like South Florida. I suspect it is Japanese Boxwood. I like the combination of the tropical palms with a more structured and formal English garden look. Blue and white Chinese porcelain outside would be insanely gorgeous against the pink.

The market is crazy hot in Venice so I am getting ready to pounce as soon as something amazing appears. So much for chilling. My realtor moves into her new Sarasota home she has been renovating tomorrow, so as soon as she is settled a bit we will start looking in person. This is not "in season" here but nobody told the real estate market apparently.

HomeGoods has reopened here. I am debating a trip there today although with mask and gloves it sounds a bit uninviting. I was desperate for sushi and ran into my Publix to carry out last night and it was wonderful. Sushi and Champagne in the lanai on a gorgeous evening. Life seemed almost normal.

2020 Trends - Painting the Front Door - Inside

Amanda Lindroth - Coastal Living

A trend I've been noticing is painting the inside of your front door in a contrasting color. Painting the inside of the front door black has been around for a while - I started doing that about a decade ago. But I love the idea of a real statement color. This is Dark Salmon by Benjamin Moore.

Benjamin Moore Dark Salmon 2009 - 30

I have never been a fan of accent walls, but I really like this and it is a lot of bang for the buck. Blue is another great option that would look wonderful with Chinoiserie.

Cottages and Gardens

Miles Redd - Veranda

Coral, blue, emerald green, or red would all be great choices with Chinoiserie, especially in a nice glossy finish. What do you think?