Manolo for the Home

I’ve had a love affair with gray since my teens when I painted the walls of my bedroom varying shades of gray. As a color, gray is frequently associated with neutrality — being neither white, nor black — and cool self-control. Because of its versatility and ability to harmonize with a variety of other hues, the color gray often serves as a backdrop to other, more vivid colors. But shades of gray can be their own perfect palette instead of highlighting bright yellows or pinks. Used on their own, shades of gray can make for a dramatic and bold or calm and soothing space, depending on how they’re used.

According to Wikipedia: “Most grey pigments have a cool or warm cast to them, as the human eye can detect even a minute amount of saturation. Yellow, orange, and red create a “warm grey”. Green, blue, and violet create a “cool grey”. When there is no cast at all, it is referred to as “neutral grey”, “achromatic grey” or simply “grey”. The color grey is often associated with aging or the passage of time, likely due in part to the decreased pigment-production of hair follicles in time, corresponding to the greying of human hair. In this context, grey is often used synonymously with “elderly”, as in “the grey pound” or “grey power” (when referring to the economic or social influence of the elderly), or as used by groups such as the Gray Panthers.”

You have your choice – go gray on your walls, go gray with accessories, or go gray down to the smallest detail. It’s easy, when there are so many different grays to choose from! Here are some inspiring images to get you started, and tomorrow I’ll show you how you can go gray for less than $25!

(via)

(via)

(via)

(via)

Difficult spaces make organizing… annoying. Having no logical places to put things makes it hard to keep anything for any length of time without clutter taking over. Luckily, one can create logic in a difficult space, sometimes using craftiness alone, but more often with a little money and the help of a clever contractor. To inspire those readers who deal with difficult spaces on a day to day basis, here are four fab solutions to problems of organization.

An under the stair wine rack might be particularly enticing for the homeowner who loves a glass or two or three but has a kitchen that simply won’t accommodate a little wine cooler.

Is that a bike up there? Why, yes… It might not be entirely convenient a place to store one’s bicycle year round, but perhaps it could live up there during the winter when it wouldn’t be in use much. Think of a storage loft as a smaller garage alternative. Those without bikes could store luggage or a fire safe or linens without anywhere else to live.

This is a great idea for those who, like me, work from home but don’t have the space or inclination to put together a private home office. I’m actually typing this at the writing desk in my living room because my home office has been taken over by baby supplies, so I know this solution works. Putting the writing table behind the couch isolates it to some extent from the rest of the living room so you can maintain that work/life divide.

And then we have the stairway bookcase, which is a classic solution to the very real problem of possessing too many books. I think this one is rather novel, however, as each stair simply wraps around at a ninety-degree angle to create a shelf. Plus the stairway itself is narrow and steep, making it a great way to access upper floors without losing a lot of first floor real estate.

(Photos via micasa)

I’m loving the 1840s farmhouse the painter Sean Scherer shares with his partner, Marc Mayer. It’s rather deceptive — outside it has all sorts of rustic charm, while the inside is home to botanical, zoological, and anatomical artifacts. Mercury glass shares space with transferware and precise renderings of human guts. Where else can you find an old slaughterhouse table share space with midcentury Scandinavian ceramics and newsprint wallpaper all in one space?

Your home can be a little bit country without animal heads on the walls, lots of dark exposed wood, or being a little bit rock and roll. Just like you can be mod without plastic chairs or inflatable furniture. Not that there’s anything wrong with going a really rustic route.

Check these country interiors out for down home inspiration without the gun rack:

A recipe for rustic: take one piece distressed furniture and combine with old world landscapes, vintage art pieces, and crisp white furniture. (via)

(more…)

Sometimes people live in small spaces out of necessity, and sometimes they do it for the challenge. I’m not sure why out-of-work architect Sergio Santos chose a small space lifestyle, but I have to admit he’s doing it more effectively than most. He rents a converted electrical closet in Delray Beach, Florida for a mere $150 per month. At five-and-a-half feet from wall to wall, you can touch both walls at once.

When you live in a space that small, there’s nowhere to go but up. The bed, television, and closet are suspended above Santos’ office space, and yet he still found places for a mini kitchen and a window sanctuary. Not even wallspace is wasted, provided you don’t call art a waste. Even the shelves have a second purpose, serving as the ladder to the upper level.

Santos built a small seating area, which he calls his terrace, below the room’s only window. It’s the homiest spot in the tiny little space he calls home. The only thing that’s missing is a bathroom, which I hope for Santos’ sake exists somewhere just outside his miniature living quarters.

Babies probably don’t actually need about 85% of the things we’ve all been conditioned by baby magazines and shops to think they need. Somewhere to sleep, yes. Some toys to play with, yes. All those things that keep baby healthy, yes. Does the living room need to be taken over by infant and toddler gear? No, no, NO. You simply do not have to sacrifice chic when a bundle of joy invades your world.

When baby has its own good sized room, then by all means give in to the temptation to spread exersaucers and jumperoos hither and yon. But if you’re fitting baby into an already small space by necessity or because you’re a fan of small space living, then think carefully about what you buy for baby and where you put it. I’m sure you don’t leave your toys — whether they be golf clubs or musician’s gear or paint brushes — laying about, so why not be as neat with your son or daughter’s stuff? If nothing else, those early months will be less traumatic when you maintain some semblance of belonging to the world of grown-ups.

(Photo by Zophos)

I know that it wasn’t that long ago that I posted a selection of purple interiors — which y’all loved, yay! — but a recent search for purple slipcovers brought this versatile hue to the forefront of my mind once again and I started tooling around Amazon in search of cool stuff in said color. Here’s just some of what I found:

As always, click on any of the pics for more info. My faves are the purple slipcover (obviously), the purple coffee maker, and oddly enough, the wide mouth thermos. The lamp is a pretty close third, though!

Today’s post is a shorty because my grandparents just rolled into town. Just about the only house and home topic on my mind today is how when I glanced at the cover of my latest This Old House magazine, I thought I was looking at House Beautiful.

Did I miss an editorial change? I’m used to seeing hardcore manly power tool reviews and full on tutorials teaching things like how to install a deck or water heater. This past issue, however, was full of cozy storage solutions and cutesy upgrades that involved decorating rather than building (or, my favorite, demolition). Not that I’m complaining, mind. It was just… weird.

Purple is associated with (among other things) royalty, imperialism, nobility, Easter, Mardi Gras, the upper class, poison, friendship, hope, and sympathy — in other words, it evokes feelings that are both light and dark, positive and negative. Perhaps these dichotomies exist because purple can be both intense and gentle. Think byzantium versus wisteria.

I long to see the rest of this building. In case you can’t see it clearly, the window itself matches the shutters. Don’t be afraid to combine purples to see what you come up with. If you need to ease into it, grab some paint chips and play.

A little purple can go a long way, though as La BellaDonna frequently reminds me, more is indeed more. If you can handle a deep, saturated purple, go for it!

Then again, this soft purple makes for a great background for blues and neutrals. It looks like the ceiling, rather than being white or cream, is a very, very light purple. I’m afraid to say all my ceilings are white, but I am fascinated with the thought of colorizing them.

White kitchen? Forget it. If buying all new cabinetry doesn’t fit into your current home improvement budget, you can always paint kitchen cabinets to give your kitchen a makeover. (via)

Finally, purple is potent, which means even a few dashes of it here and there can really jazz up a room. You don’t *have* to commit to purple if you don’t want to!

I waver where pink is concerned. Whereas I know I’m definitely not into the whole bubblegum thing that I’ve posted about before, pink in smaller doses can pretty up an otherwise drab interior. On the other hand, it’s still so girly — case in point: I had a daughter, and suddenly my overwhelmingly gender neutral layette was immediately pinkified by friends and relatives.

The interior above — featuring fabric from Designers Guild — contains just enough pink to make a statement and, barring the fact that it’s just a tad too plushie for my tastes, I am definitely digging on the overall color scheme. There’s something a little retro about this living room, what with the thick furry couches and carpeting, but the jewel-like colors add excitement. Of course, you can achieve the same effect without ever introducing pink into your home’s color scheme with vivid and vivacious blues or greens or purples. Pink is just one place you might consider beginning your journey.

To help you start, here are six pink pieces that will add some va-va-voom to your office, kitchen, bedroom, or living room:

If you like what you see, click the pics for more info!