Office Makeover, University of Washington Anthro dept.

Benjamin Moore Color Stories Spice Market

So, this amazing person is my long time friend, Ph.D. anthropologist, author, and champion for the people of the Marshall Islands.

Her book recently won an important award:

Holly Barker, lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, was awarded—with collaborator Barbara Rose Johnston—the New Millennium Award, for their book Consequential Damages of Nuclear War: The Rongelap Report. This award is given every other year to authors “whose work is judged to be the most significant and potentially influential contribution to medical anthropology.” The book traces the long term physical and financial costs to individuals, and the cultural and psychosocial damages to communities in the Marshall Islands, following testing of the hydrogen bomb Bravo in 1954.

Now, she might email me right now and tell me to take all of this info down because she hates any form of bragging, horn tooting or basically anything Oprah would tell her she should be doing for herself as a female brilliant academic. In fact she won’t even tell you that she just got back from Geneva, where she finally ( after over 20yrs trying) got a chance to sit in front of the UN with her Marshallese Elders and translate their story.

Naturally, when she told me that she got a new office at the UW, but it had no windows and was dismal, I had to jump in.

How can a girl like me help contribute to the greater good of the world??? Re-decorating her brilliant friends office of course!

Enjoy the before and ( almost) after picture. We just need some lamps!- ( turn off that fluorescent light, please!)

PS, this makeover cost under $100 using the UW surplus furniture items and 1 gallon of paint from Benjamin Moore. Holly had most of the interesting carpets and Marshallese hand crafts already.

thursday palette challenge question!

Sometimes you look down after working with someone  on a palette for their home and you just think “wow this pile of colors in itself is so pretty!”

Two of these these colors are for the exterior and some are interior, one is a ceiling color.

Can you guess which is which?

 

 

The many facets of beauty.

Decatur Island, San Juan Islands, WA. August 2012

A picture never captures true beauty. I was thinking about this  and I think it has to do with the seen and unseen .

This image is lacking the following key elements:  the smell of the fall coming, the sparkle of the water, the sounds of the friends chatting softly, the hand holding mine. It is also lacking the things we can’t see that made it perfect. The things you do not notice.

When you are working on making your home beautiful, remember it’s not just pieces of furniture in a square room with the best wall color. It is the sum of those things, plus smells, lighting, the people, and the various visual and tactile textures.

A good interior, as in nature,  has a few focal points and everything else is a perfect blend of quiet color, light and texture.

Harvest Bouquet Color Inspiration

Exterior Color Inspiration

I saw this little home today, Lila said we should walk home from the mechanic’s shop even though it was pretty far. She can always convince me that we need a good walk. Children are sent to us for our own good..
We walked past this little secret sweet home in a part of town not known for it’s aesthetic beauty, I love to see good design when I’m not expecting it. This little home is a good reminder that a couple of gallons of paint cost the same regardless of whether it’s a good color or not!  If you are at a loss, send me a picture of your exterior and I will send you some colors to try.

C2 Blue Grotto & C2 Daffodil  from C2 Paint could work to recreate the above palette.

 

 

Orange goodness

Original elevation from the UW libraries archive. I’ve linked to their collection, click on the image to get there!

Color Trends! Do they matter? What does it mean?

Color forecasting is someones actual job. A lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them that. There are many people in the world, right this second, whose job it is to gather all kinds of social, environmental, historical and political information and forecast what colors we will want to buy next year .  That information is then bought by major companies who want to know which color car, razor, towels, and coats they should sell next year.

So this year they chose ( actually they chose it last year for us) Pantone color” Tangerine Tango”.  Pantone is the universal color wheel that can cross industries to specify colors, (http://www.pantone.com). Orange has historically been a favorite color. It is a color that affects us physically: some say that it stimulates activity, stimulates appetite and encourages socialization. ( great for restaurants!)

I wanted to post about this today because  I feel you need to be careful about designing homes according to color trends. I always make sure I am informed on what the current trends are because, I want to really examine the reasons we may be choosing the trendy colors. Is it authentic? or is it because Pottery Barn’s catalogue had Tangerine Tango drapery on every page? Do you not even know that you are being affected by some color forecasters from last year? Do I even know if I am?.

Choosing the right interior paint  colors for your home is about creating a backdrop for your life. Be thoughtful about why you are choosing certain colors these days. Revert to old favorites, and add a twist with a trendy color in pillows, art etc.. not on the walls!. You don’t want to repaint them when the new color of the year comes out in Jan 2013!

Colorful Baggage.

Saw this collection at a garage sale recently. What a delightful color palette!

Color Inspiration Moment~Green Moss & Green Grass

Bill Cumming, Northwest Painter~ Color Inspiration Moment

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