10 Ways to Love Neon

I recently begun to appreciate neon hues for the very first time in my life. While I dodged the nausea-inducing neon fashion in the ’80s, I caught myself admiring the new electric-blue Nikes using the hot-orange shoelaces my athletic friends were wearing. The colors electrified their feet, which appeared to leave a trail of colorful streaks as they trained for their 10Ks or whatever it’s athletic people perform on the weekends while I am still in bed.

Since I acclimated to my new mindset toward neon, I believed, would these colors provide a home’s energy a similar shock? My mind was open. Here are 10 strategies to try them.

JONATHAN CALVERT | Interiors Photographer

1. Use neon. The unexpected bright green chandelier in this elegantly subdued dining room electrifies the space in more ways than one. Note how the painted ceiling enriches its existence.

2. Pop bits of neon against tranquil neutrals. The neon stool and glass electrify this tub without overpowering it.

Watch more neon-neutral combo thoughts

LLC, Soledad Builders

3. Use neon to punctuate an entry. This front door is a standout that welcomes visitors and provides unique curb appeal.

Neon can also operate on a more conventional building. Just make sure you won’t be violating historical preservation codes or homeowner’s association colour guidelines before you hit the paint store.

Color palettes for bright front doors

OKB Architecture

4. Use neon out in the lawn. This bold outbuilding is magnificent. Its easy, modern lines retain the glowing green sunglasses from vibrating.

Corynne Pless

When this family moved into an eclectic farmhouse in Athens, Georgia, they chose to maintain the glowing green trim and accentuated it using a hot-pink café collection. It is very fitting in town that spawned the B-52s.

Watch the rest of this house

Diligence International

5. Use neon on trim. As somebody who will never spend a Saturday running a 10K, I would feel silly in Nike’s electric-blue running shoes with the neon orange laces and matching garb. However, I will pull off grey shoes with fuzzy laces with my white T-shirts. Likewise this minimalist room brings off some luminous green baseboard trim.

chadbourne + doss architects

6. Use just 1 blue accent. In the instance of this distance, the neon stool is all about good picture styling and makeup (as is the cat). The green bit draws the eye to the place between the kitchen and the rest of the open floor plan — look it how it relates to that corner onto the wall, the corner of this island and the center of this photo. Bravo.

Your Favorite Room From Cathy Zaeske

7. Use neon in the exercise room. If neon sneakers can energize your feet, it follows that neon paint can energize your attitude toward your workout.

Dana Nichols

8. Bring in neon via artwork. Neon pieces enliven this glowing white gallery-like space.

Bertram Architects

9. Use neon in the loo. Baths, laundry rooms and other smaller rooms that normally have the door closed are fantastic areas for colour experiments.

Ana Donohue Interiors

10. Try out a neon pink accent wall in a girl’s room. For some little girls, there’s absolutely no such thing as “too pink” Turn up the volume a couple of notches; after all, it is only paint, and you could always update it in case it gives you a headache.

So, what’s the verdict? Can you neon haters feel yourselves coming about, or is it a resounding no? Tell us in the Remarks section.

More: Color Guide: How to Use Neon Brights

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Rooms Rock the Dark Appearance

My husband would argue that AC/DC is the best rock band of all time. I’m unsure about that; I would likely go with Queen. In thinking about modern day stone ‘n’ rollers, I wondered what their homes would look like and ended up imagining all-black rooms with a lot of nail heads, leather and animal prints. Giant stereotype? Well, what if you’re not a rock star and you like the play and formality of the all-black area? Check out how these designers are back in black with their rockin’ designs.

LDa Architecture & Interiors

I can envision AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young cooking here. This slick, all-black kitchen functions really well because of its functional design and sharp contrast of silver lighting and counter stools. It feels like a black leather coat with silver figurines.

Watch the rest of this home

Nieto Design Group

This chamber speaks for itself. There are high-drama details anyplace to keep up with the zebra tub. Notice how all the glossy surfaces create a formal attitude. Stone ‘n’ roll.

Nieto Design Group

This guest bedroom is blanketed in a dark conceal wall covering. This texture burst is perfectly paired with contemporary black and white furniture to create a futuristic all-black refuge.

LDa Interiors & Architecture

Black can be elegant. Here it strikes an ideal balance of edgy and complex. Notice the impact of the oversize clock. The clock provides a reflective contrast to the dark palette, which comprises a champagne-hued rug and seats. When paired with a contrasting hue, black can feel bright and actually highlight details.

Atmosphere Interior Design Inc..

Pattern and symmetry make a announcement. The silver nail heads of the seat and the golden of the mirror and lamps seem perfectly blended together. Try mixing gold and silver; they harmonize just fine with black.

J. Hirsch Interior Design, LLC

This room really surprised me. The designer paired a charcoal black palette with gentle and conventional seats at a finish end. In fact, all the furniture is conventional with light endings. Notice how unexpected the signature of orange is about the seats. Brilliant and bold — it is all in the combination.

Willman Interiors / Gina Willman, ASID

I think this toilet displays the flexibility of black. This is its lighter side. A basalt bathtub sits on a bed of river stones and is paired with numerous natural elements. The timber trim, woven blinds and live plants create a quiet, tropical background for all these attributes.

Elad Gonen

What rock star could withstand an all-black networking room with crimson velvet sofas? The red sofas had a tall arrangement in holding their own in this dark and striking room. Of course, red always steps up to the job and takes centre stage.

Grab your backstage pass into those all-black rooms, and allow me to know what you think in the Remarks section.

More:
The situation for Beautiful Black Doors
Paint Picks: Be Brave With Black
Black Casework and Cabinetry

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Bathed in Color

Orange is a joyful colour that we have a tendency to associate with heat, sociability and creativity. It’s a fantastic bathroom color option if you reside in a cold weather, as it will help warm you up on the chilliest days — those who reside in hot climates might want to use the color sparingly.

If you’re considering using this feisty colour in a bathroom, there are a couple of things to remember while picking your palette. If you go bright and bold, use the orange in limited doses or using toned-down neutrals. Maintain the layout very easy (using unfussy decorative fittings), otherwise you’ll encounter sensory overload.

Warm hues tend to progress, and cool colors recede, therefore darker apples will make a bathroom feel bigger. Want to work with a saturated orange? If your bathroom lacks natural lighting, you might want to pump this up with better lighting. If you decide on a milder orange, it may operate as a neutral backdrop hue that pairs nicely with a number of other colors and can handle more things going on in the area.

Have a look at a few of my favorite orange colors for baths, combined with eight enticing baths piled in orange.

Jennifer Ott Design

It can be challenging to tell from a small chip if your chosen paint colour is going to look great on a bigger scale, so make certain to sample colors in the area before committing to them particularly if you’re going with a bright bold color.

Orange paint picks for toilets (clockwise from top left):
1. Ginger Peach 119-5, Pittsburgh Paints
2. Spiced Nectarine DES193, Dunn-Edwards
3. Medici A0706, Glidden
4. Mac n’ Cheese 098-4, Mythic Paint
5. Orange Spark KM3558-3, Kelly-Moore Paints
6. Carrot Stick 2016-30, Benjamin Moore
7. Island Orange 2010-2, Valspar
8. Obstinate Orange SW6884, Sherwin-Williams

Studio 80 Interior Design

What an bathroom! The saturated orange wall color is the best background for all those beautiful pendants and the filigreed shadows they cast. The room glows.

Min | Day Architects

Ironically this bathroom is not for everybody, but for those who love lots of bold color during a place, I think it illustrates the way to successfully pull off it by maintaining the decoration and design minimalist. You could add some art and accessories in other colors to break up the orange, but I’d still keep them very easy.

CCI Renovations

If you prefer the intense orange color in the prior bathroom but want a smaller dose of it, then check out this fashionable space with its own eye-popping orange tiled accent wall. With the majority of the bathroom clad in white and ample daylight pouring in through the skylight, the space reamins open and light.

Mark Brand Architecture

You might go with a more neutral palette overall and also add a dash of orange through furniture or accessories only. The tougher-to-change things in this bathroom would make a terrific background for accessories and furniture in any colour. A neutral backdrop palette would provide you lots of choices to play with colour down the street without having to completely renovate the distance.

Orange blended with other hot hues, like yellow and red, creates a vibrant but harmonious palette. This toilet’s abundant light, white walls and high ceilings allow for a liberal use of bright colour without making the space feel claustrophobic.

Chimera Interior Design

Consider bringing colour in through wall coverings, like this fun wallpaper. These particular shades of orange are energy boosting — a fantastic option in a bathroom where you spend the morning showering and getting ready to start the day.

Thomas Roszak Architecture

Try painting a small wall a favorite orange. This is an excellent low-commitment way to find a little punch of color in a room. This more toned-down orange is a fantastic choice for a bathroom where you would like to invest some time relaxing in the tub.

Jane Ellison

This is another lovely bath clad in a mellower orange, however, one that still has lots of vibrancy. Many wood tones look orange, so the combination of orange and wood in a room exudes a warm, rich and comfy vibe.

Tell us How have you decorated with orange in a bathroom?

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Cooking With Colour: When to Utilize Gray in the Kitchen

Gray is continuing its conduct as a popular neutral hue in houses. It is still a bit of an unconventional choice as the predominant colour in a kitchen, but that is quickly changing, according to the increasing amount of gorgeous gray kitchens appearing .

Gray can look austere and chilly in contrast to the warmer neutral counterparts, tan and beige. The trick to working with this is to put it with a warm material, such as wood, or a contrasting hot and bold hue, such as red, yellow or orange. A gray kitchen may not be the best choice if you live somewhere with year-round cool, overcast and rainy days, but it’s a superb colour to get a kitchen in a hot climate — it will give your kitchen a cool and elegant vibe.

Have a look at my top gray paint choices for kitchens below, along with 10 yummy kitchens on which feature this tasteful hue.

Jennifer Ott Design

8 enticing grays for the kitchen:

1. Carriage House 157-3, by Mythic Paint
2. Horizon Gray 2141-50, by Benjamin Moore
3. Rhino 710E-3, by Behr
4. Online SW7072, by Sherwin-Williams
5. Lava Gray 554-6, by Pittsburgh Paints
6. Seal Grey GLN46, by Glidden
7. Trout 33-13, by Pratt & Lambert
8. Martini Shaker KM3925-2, by Kelly-Moore

Odenza Homes Ltd

These moderate cool gray cabinets and coordinating backsplash function as the perfect background to the hot red range.

LUX Design

The gray and white striated marble staircase in this kitchen is totally magnificent. Considering that the designer used a restrained color palette and did not overdecorate, the rich materials are able to acquire all of the attention in this cool, modern loft kitchen.

Joseph Trojanowski Architect PC

This handsome kitchen is clad in a warmer gray hue — leaning toward taupe. It is a rich, underutilized neutral which functions nicely with any other colour. Or keep the entire palette neutral, as was done, to permit the fine stuff to stand out.

Architectural Design Consultants

Gray and bright yellow are a wonderful color combination. Sometime grey is cool and understated, yellow is sexy and eye catching.

Sally Wheat Interiors

Gray isn’t only for modern kitchens, of course. The soft gray colour on those kitchen cabinets is simply elegant, and also the colour contrasts nicely nicely with Carrara marble counter tops. The dark wood floor concurrently grounds and warms up the space.

Gaylord Design LLC

This is such a clean, soothing palette. If you are not into trendy bold colors but do not want an all-white kitchen either, consider a mild warm gray for your walls or cabinetry. Again, the wood floors add warmth and charm. The kitchen is lovely, clean looking and airy.

As a neutral hue, gray will work with any other colour you might want to bring to your kitchen, such as the bold lime green in this enjoyable contemporary space. The wonderful thing about neutral gray cabinets and a bold wall color is that the latter is comparatively simple and affordable to change, should another color hit your fancy or if you feel the need to neutralize the space for resale.

Jamestown Estate Homes

These cabinets have a very warm gray hue, closer to some putty colour, and I love how they look against the exposed brick wall. The comparison is quite subtle, allowing the brick to get the attention it deserves. The chairs add a wonderful punch of colour.

Ample DESIGN

I’m a huge fan of this full-height backsplash within this kitchen. The tiles form a unique accent wall in an otherwise minimalist space. They also serve a more practical function in that they’re durable and simple to clean. The tiles are a rather dark shade of gray, but since the remaining colors in the space are mild and there is plenty of natural light flowing in, they produce drama without being overly heavy and overpowering.

Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer

Black appliances seem sharp along with medium to dark gray cabinets. This kitchen palette of black, white and shades of gray is understated yet so sophisticated. A bit of heat is essential, but to avert a cold and sterile-looking kitchen. The rich wood floor adds the perfect dose of warmth and personality.

Tell us What do you think — yay or nay for going gray in the kitchen?

More: Obsessed With Gray from the Kitchen | More guides to gray

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Pantone Unearths Emerald as Its 2013 Shade of the Year

Emerald has landed at the peak of the color wheel, named by Pantone because its Shade of the Year for 2013. Pantone’s yearly color forecasts get a lot of buzz. Can they affect how you decorate each year?

And do you wonder what goes into the choosing? “To arrive in the choice, Pantone quite literally combs the world looking for color influences,” according to the organization. “This may include the entertainment business and films in production, travel art collections, sexy new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences can also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that affect color, as well as upcoming sports events which capture worldwide attention.” Spring sets by Tracy Reese, Nanette Lepore, Barbara Tfank, NAHM and Marimekko are listed as influences.

Poll: Vote for your preferred 2013 color forecast

In case you are also wondering what all this color-predicting clout may lead to, then be watching for your Sephora and Pantone Universe 2013 Color of the Year attractiveness collection, along with a Pantone bed and bath collection at JCPenny. Hmmmm…

Anything you consider this yearly announcement, it gives us an opportunity to inspect the ways designers are utilizing a particular colour, which I always appreciate. Emerald is a color taken straight from nature, on leaves both matte and glossy in addition to in the stone. What I find most interesting about utilizing emerald in house decor is its own split personality — it’s moods which are downright crunchy granola, then it can transform into a glamorous diva in a moment’s notice.

This implies it’s great versatility: You can take it in a more rustic direction (believe leaves and stalks ) or go full-out jewel-tone glam (believe the $30 million worth of stone that Richard Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra.) Check and see whether any of these emerald rooms match your mood.

Rikki Snyder

Glam in the living room. Interior designer Jamie Drake had his eye centered on emerald when he put together this magnificent room for the Kips Bay show house in New York.

Cristi Holcombe Interiors, LLC

Natural in the living room. If you’re intrigued by emerald but are not prepared to commit to full walls or upholstery occupations, deliver it in through nonpermanent textiles and accessories, such as pillows, rugs, plates, bottles, curtains or glassware.

Laura Britt Design

Glam in the bath. The glossier surfaces in this bathroom give emerald a contemporary Hollywood-glamour moment.

live-work-play

Natural in the bath. Emerald brings in strong color and calm to this well-balanced bathroom.

For Folks design

Glamorous accent pieces. As a jewel tone, it also brings elegance to rooms bedecked in metallics and marble.

Cristi Holcombe Interiors, LLC

Natural accent pieces. Because it’s a color found in nature, emerald works with rustic all-natural materials, like glass, wood and rope.

Andrea Schumacher Interiors

Glam in the kitchen. This kitchen emerald isle takes its colour from a lavish floral Stark wall covering.

KIYOHARA & MOFFITT

Natural in the kitchen. An antiqued paint finish on these cabinets adds a rustic, farmhouse-inspired touch.

Carlyn And Company Interiors + Design

Glam in the bedroom. Malachite can come out of nature, but it’s a high-end kind of nature. This large-scale piece on the wall is really a showstopper.

Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc..

Natural in the bedroom. A bright faux bois bedspread and other all-natural textures create a restful, contemporary bedroom.

Erica George Dines Photography

Glam seat. A large and bright porter’s seat creates a strong design statement in this bright white entryway.

Tobi Fairley Interior Design

Natural seat. Paired with warm and light neutrals, these green seats enliven the space with their color and geometric pattern.

Story & Space – Interior Design and Color Guidance

Glam at the Office. An animal print on a bergère chair along with a glistening parson’s desk stick out in front of an emerald wall.

Melaragno Design Company, LLC

Natural in the office. Emerald hues were popular during the Arts and Crafts era, which looked to nature for color palettes.

Erica George Dines Photography

Perfect pairing. I enjoy a green like emerald, kelly or apple best paired with sharp white and black. It is a fairly bold and refreshing move.

Rikki Snyder

What do you think about Pantone’s decision? And do you believe it hit the mark with this past year’s Tangerine Tango pick?

Maybe you want one of the major paint company’s selections for 2013. Glidden is going with a exotic and dark colour, Indigo Night. The choice of benjamin Moore is really a gleam. Sherwin-Williams is choosing for classic nostalgia with its Aloe pick. Yolo Colorhouse is considering reclaimed wood and other rustic materials using its subdued organic palette.

Vote: Do not forget to have your say in our 2013 color trends poll!

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