BRINGING IT HOME

April 2015

Volume 5, Issue 2

Brought to you by HOME VOGUE INTERIORS, your window covering specialists

TRAY Bien!
Using Trays to Create Beautiful Vignettes
By Myrna Everett
Home Vogue Interiors
I love trays, they are the most useful decorating tool I
have ever found. So many of the accessories in our
homes can start to accumulate on horizontal surfaces
and end up looking junky. For some reason, placing
little collections of objects we love on a tray gives
them unity and importance.
Tabletops and night stands tend to get messy as we
pile things on, but using trays can help coral the
clutter and make it all look well designed. Other
surfaces, such as dining tables can look a little barren
unless you add a little something. Try this formula
for a perfect vignette every time.
1. Grab a Tray
I keep using the word tray, but really, any base will
work, a traditional tray, a basket with low sides, a
baking dish with a vintage flair, a platter or even a
stack of books that create a focal point.
2. Add Height
Once you have established the perimeters with your
tray, add something with height. Orchids are
exquisite, but any plant will do, or get creative with
your accessories and find a tall piece with interesting
lines that can become
ZsaZsaBellagio.blogspot.com
the focal point.
3. Add Texture or
Shine
This element is critical,
youll want to use
something like a twine
or moss ball, a mirrored
box, something glass or
a vintage magnifying
glass. Anything that
appears touchable

4. Give it a Glow
Seriously, keep
things simple and
add a candle. We all
love them and they
are easy to come by;
they add that special
something to
every focal point.
Whatever you use to
create your tray
bien, make the
objects things you
love and rearrange
them periodically to
keep it fresh.

Letter from the Editor

I seem to be obsessed by color lately. I cant stop
thinking about ways to add MORE without redoing
things like fresh paint or new furnishings, since I
have done those things so recently. For some
people, its more a matter of being afraid to add
color for fear that they will get tired of it or it will
make their home feel dark.
I think I have the solution for all of us. As you
know, I love Houzz.com and am always scouting
for fresh new ideas and came across a wonderful
article about color by Yanic Simard from The
Toronto Interior Design Group. His ideas about
how to create a sense of color struck me as the
perfect balance for everyone from those who are
color shy and those of us who cannot get enough!
Yanic was kind enough to
allow me to reprint his
Houzz.com article (page 2).
I hope you enjoy it as much
as I did.
Myrna Everett/Designer
619-957-3884

Home
ogue

Phone 619-260-8400

www.homevogueinteriors.com
E-mail: info@homevogue.com

How to Add Color if Youre Color Shy

Heres how to break into the world of color without breaking a sweat
By Yanic Simard
Principal Designer at the Toronto Interior Design Group
When talking about adding color to a home, many people tense up. Thats because what immediately comes to mind when
you say color is bright, bold, eye-popping hues. If thats not your thing, then of course youre going to get heart
palpitations imagining your home swathed in searing orange and electric green.
But adding color is about so much more than shock. By working with a palette youre comfortable with, no matter how
neutral, muted or beige it is, you can add a variety of colors and still feel at ease. Here are some of my favorite ways to toss
some new hues into your home without feeling thrown for a loop.
Mixed neutrals. One of the first ways to add a sense of color to a
space is simply by mixing a variety of neutrals. In fact, for many
this is the first and last step in creating a rich look without any wild
hues. Look for places to include gray, beige, white, black and wood
tones, letting the contrasts of the subtle undertones bring each
color to life.
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects

Angela Ruple Interior Design

Metallics. Metallics,
especially gold and other
warm options (like brass
and bronze), are important
in expanding any color
scheme without its feeling
overloaded.
The
undertones and lustrous
finishes will add depth to your palette without reading as color.
Navy. Blue, as far as true hues go, is possibly the most neutral, as it is the color we
see in the sky every day and thus almost expect to see in our indoor spaces. Noble
navy is especially neutral
and will never go out of
fashion, making it a perfect
starting place to expand a
color palette
.
Tip: A n
inky navy
p a i n t
treatment
on a door
or built-in
Meredith Heron Design
unit adds
color that
feels seamlessly integrated into the architecture.
The timelessness of navy also makes it an excellent choice for
colored upholstery, as it will coordinate with new schemes down
the road, making accessories pop without demanding attention.

Christopher Stark Photography

Home
ogue

Phone 619-260-8400

www.homevogueinteriors.com
E-mail: info@homevogue.com

Pale green. Muted greens are another trendy (yet classic) near-neutral. Green is such a strong
color in nature that were accustomed to seeing it paired with virtually every other hue, making it
an excellent way to add life without creating strong contrast. Look to Benjamin Moores Color of
the Year, Guilford Green, as a great example.

A. Rejeanne Interiors

Mint. For an even fresher and more modern near-neutral, try a pale mint shade (between blue and
green) that reads almost as gray. It makes wood tones sing and helps white trim look especially
crisp.
Choose a family. If you want to add a few more hues
but dont want the palette to feel overwhelming, keep
in mind that colors in a single saturation family will
appear more harmonious. In other words, choosing
all pastels or all jewel tones colors that all have the
same degree of richness will keep the palette
looking logical and not overstimulating.

Failla Design

Flowers. In spaces without many soft furnishings,

flowers are an excellent way to add an
ever-changing burst of color. Notice how
the only truly colorful items here are the
bright blossoms and a lone tea towel, and
yet the space still feels like it carries a pink
and purple color scheme

Croma Design Inc.

Tip: Keeping your kitchen in blooms

doesnt have to be expensive. A cluster of
carnations in a simple glass vase can keep
your counter rosy for a few dollars a week.
Glass. Tinted glass is the best of both
worlds: It has the potential to bring in
vivid, striking color but
Jessica Helgerson Interior Design automatically blends into any
space. Because it is transparent,
its color naturally blends into
the background, so you can use
a few pieces sprinkled
throughout a space for a hint of ethereal beauty or cluster many
together, so they blend into a veritable rainbow.

Michelle Miller Interiors

Pillows. Pillows (and the occasional throw blanket) are one of my

favorite noncommittal ways to add a
variety of colors to a space, for a few
reasons: Theyre easy to mix and match,
Arent & Pyke
they add small hits of color, and theyre
easy to rearrange or replace at any time.
Tired or overwhelmed by your look? Simply move a
pillow to another room or change out the cover until
your whims are satisfied.
Pattern. Speaking of fabrics, bringing in some
playful patterns is another way to add a sense of
drama even where very little color is actually
present. Look to bold geometrics (like a chunky
chevron or stripe), animal prints and bold wood
grains to add visual variety without clashing.

Home
ogue

Phone 619-260-8400

www.homevogueinteriors.com
E-mail: info@homevogue.com

Continued from page 3

Combining patterned pieces with those in a combination of
neutral tones (and some metals) can create a colorful feeling
space with very little color at all.
Notice how in this space, besides the leafy greens, the only
other bright hues are found in small doses in the pillow
fabrics, and yet the overall effect is that of a rich and varied
palette totally livable but thoroughly colorful.
Its Rebate Time!
on purchases made between

Feb 1 - April 25, 2015

$100 - 4 Duette Architella shades
$25 for each additional unit
$100 - 2 Silhouette shades
$50 for each additional unit

If you dont know about houzz.com, you should! Its a

wonderful resource for all things beautiful for your home.
You will find inspiration through beautiful photography of
interior and exterior projects of every description. You
can also find local pros to help you complete those
projects.
You can see some of our projects on our profile page at
www.houzz.com/pro/homevogue. Read all of our five
star reviews to see what people are saying about us.

Yanic Simard is a Houzz contributor and Principal

designer at the award-winning Toronto Interior

Design Group and its talented team of designers.
Website: www.tidg.ca / Phone (416) 927 8744
Spring is a great time to freshen up and give your living room a new life. I
love a cozy fire and look forward to the winter months when its cool enough
to use the fireplace but this week-end I decided I
needed to freshen up for spring. With that in
mind I went to Pinterest.com for inspiration to
give my fireplace a lift. I found this beautiful
springtime fireplace pinned by digsdigs.com
(left) I love the simplicity of the three twine
balls inside the fireplace as well as the freshness
of the two, slender, spring bouquets on the
mantel.
Think of anything that will bring
spring indoors such as baskets, branches, moss
balls, apothecary jars filled with spring things
and arrange them in, on and around your
fireplace for a fresh new look for spring.
Digsdigs.com