Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year!
















Since our household is still fighting the flu, we are not going to be ringing in the new year in style tonight...so I'm vicariously celebrating through these photos by Erich McVey! The happy shoot was styled by A & B Creative and you know I'm all about the turquoise and pink...and peonies! You can read all the details and see tons more photos over at Style Me Pretty! Happy New Year everyone!!!


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Top Ten of 2014

I always enjoy going through my site statistics at the end of the year to discover what the most popular posts were. Some of these were my personal favorites too, from some very talented people! So without further hesitation....



#10 Colordrunk Designs

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/10/colordrunk-designs.html


#9 Court Atkins Architects

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/03/court-atkins-architects.html


#8 Sherry Hart Designs

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/01/sherry-hart-designs.html


#7 Olson Lewis Architects & Kristina Crestin Design

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/09/olson-lewis-architects-kristina-crestin.html


#6 Guehne-Made

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/07/guehne-made.html


#5 CRG Companies

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4t9gX4j5kI9MD3M34t4vjLydNaiDmxwIpMPDORs535si0ZWyaqLBePbeCnLGv9COq1aulCoR82p0qTlbBkEqQveNSRZsG-p0gBGh91xcf9xU15vNMG-OqxH1oxFoZ5Xv4_minVZStWWJ/s1600/CRG+Living+Room.jpg


#4 Casabella Home Furnishings and Interiors

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/09/casabella-home-furnishings-and-interiors_5.html


#3 HGTV Dream Home 2015

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/12/hgtv-dream-home-2015.html


#2 Highland Custom Homes

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/11/highland-custom-homes.html


and the most popular post of the year....

#1 Nest Studio

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2014/04/nest-studio.html


What a fun year it was! I'm so excited to see what 2015 has in store! For a quick look back, check out the most popular posts of 2013, 2012 and 2011!


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!

Monday, December 29, 2014

Hila Motil












I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! My two boys were both sick with the flu, but we still managed to have a special day! Keeping my fingers crossed I'm not next...!

I'm excited to share this apartment with you guys...it was designed by Hila Motil, an interior designer (and fellow turquoise lover) out of Tel-Aviv, Israel–a city famous for its beautiful Mediterranean Sea coastline which serves as inspiration to a lot of the design in the area...including the breezy blues of this home! I love how light and bright the home feels, and that she incorporated the leather Eames chair into her design as well...we had that chair growing up and I've always loved it! The detail on the coffee table is great too! For lots more designs by Hila, go here!

This time of year I like to pull together a Top Ten list of the most popular posts for the year...so come back tomorrow to see what made the cut!


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your day is filled with peace, love and plenty of joy! When I started House of Turquoise seven years ago, I never imagined there were so many people out there who love and appreciate turquoise hues like I do! I'm so grateful to you all for reading my blog and for your continued support and friendship!



(Our Christmas card this year from Minted...love those cuties!)


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Colour Trends: Looking back and looking forward

There's nothing like the end of a year to make you hop around in your thinking.  While I'm busy considering the colour trends for 2015, I'm  also looking back to see connections and possible threads that can make these new colours have a little more staying power.

I'm interested in creating fresh looks through creative use of what is in a home, energized  with a few new purchases.  To pull this off you need a long term view of what is happening in the world of colour.  

Last year dark blues were prominent in  many of the images you saw in magazines and online, first appearing in Pantone's fall 2013 predictions.  That is still a strong look and one that  will  hang around for awhile.

If you look at Pantone's spring  2015 predictions you will see several tints/shades of blue.

Pantone colours spring 2015
source

My favourite is 4 Classic Blue because it is crisp and deep without being too cold.  Check out  this combination of dark blue with natural colours.

Designing Home; colour trends 2015, modern country

There is also a fresh take on the "old" country look emerging with clean lines, less clutter, natural materials and prominent textures mixed with lighter woods.   Think pared down Pottery Barn.  I've packed a number of possibilities into this style board, but you wouldn't want to use them all in one space.

colour trends 2015, olive green, Scandinavian , Designing Home style board

My personal preference  is more a mix of West Elm meets the Scandinavian countries. Notice the olive green which will be big in 2015.


Designing Home, Margaret Ryall, style board, colour predictions 2015, olive green
This colour would work just as well as the dark blue in the Modern Country look.   And it is so sharp with black and cream.


Pantone's 2014 colour of the year Radiant Orchid came in like a lion, and obviously went out like a lamb because apart from what I saw online, it did not impact my life or design practice in any way.

 I actually liked this colour where many designers didn't.  I've always loved those redish purple hues especially in textiles, but not so much in furniture.  If you bought into this trend, it is easily updated and made even more interesting when combined with yellowish greens.   Just check out the pillow lower left  for an indication of this blend as well as the rug and artworks.

And now for 2015 Pantone is staying in the same arena with its choice of marsala, but definitely browning it down quite a bit to create a heavy bodied colour.  Again not a favourite of many designers.

Pantone 2015, marsala, Designing Home, Margaret Ryall, style board
 I've seen combinations of it with a variety of blues even cool ones and they all look fantastic. It also looks great with the oddest combinations as you can see below. I'm particularly loving it with blues and light creams.

Pantone 2015, marsala, Designing Home, Margaret Ryall, style board

Who knew it would work so well with orange and coral? 

Since I only spec Benjamin Moore paint colours in my business, I am always interested in their colour trends. 



Benjamin Moore's  2014 Breath of Fresh Air at least supported the spa/beach vibe that is still a go- to look with many homeowners.  It is a versatile colour that looks great with pearly grays, driftwood colours and soft or chrisp whites.  It also combines well with marsala and the current  Benjamin Moore colour for 2015, Guilford green.



 How can you possibly go wrong when you have two obvious "earth" colours like blue and green.  Nature never makes mistakes!


When you consider the metallics in your home, the move to warm metals is even more pronounced this year.


Brittany Makes Blog 

source 

 In  European markets  copper and pink gold are hot commodities. They are not as versatile for all over use especially the pink gold which always comes across as very delicate/feminine.  

source 

 In North American decor golds and  brass are prevalent. I'm fond of a more burnished look with these metals.  I can't seem to bring myself around to the shine of yellow brass - too much history. The yellow metallics look great with greens, dark blues and brownish reds like marsala.  And mixing metals is still very trendy.  Go for it.

Lots of connections.  Do you ever consider colour trends when you decorate?


Christmas Eve!




I have to keep this one short and sweet–Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days to celebrate! But I just want to wish you all safe travels near or far and a very Merry Christmas! 

(If anyone could pull off a Christmas tree this darling, you know it's gotta be Lesli DeVito from My Old Country House! I so loved her blog post about her cherished decorations...see it here!)


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

A House Full of Sunshine






















Having lived in Minnesota all my life, it's hard to imagine being somewhere warm for the holidays! Well Karen of the blog A House Full of Sunshine lives in Australia where Christmas falls during the summer. Sounds good to me! To top it off, she just moved into a beach house! She went with a white, blue and silver color palette for her decorations to help create a relaxed summertime-Christmas feel...casual and beachy, just like her home! Love the Christmas prints from the Etsy shop Salt & Wood, the Joy sign that she made using rope lights, and the driftwood Advent wall hanging (read how she made it here!) See more pics and read all about her home right over here!


P.S. Karen partnered up with Salt & Wood for a discount! Enter code SUNSHINE30 at checkout to get 30% off your total order! (Code expires Dec 31st) So many beautiful printables!


Love turquoise? Visit my shopping blog Everything Turquoise...updated several times throughout the day! Check out Decor by Color for even more color-themed shopping!