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q&a: black, white and red

Last night, we got an email from a reader asking for a ideas for her three-bedroom condo space which she intends to style in a black, white, and red color scheme.

Personally, I think that the black, white, and red combination is pretty tricky to execute. If you don’t get the balance right, especially for black and red, your space could either end up looking like a cheesy bachelor’s pad or an interior ready for Halloween.

Good thing is that I’ve recently been browsing through pictures featuring the color scheme. I’m helping my brother and his fiancée with their wedding on December which will use the same color motif. It’s not a popular color scheme for weddings because of the combination of black and red. However, when done right, the palette could possibly lend a modern and elegant setting for the event.

Styling for an event and decorating a home are quite similar because both deal with space. After looking through pictures, here are my suggestions:

1)      Get the proportion right. Individually, black and red are already bold hues. Imagine the impact when you pair them together. To soften their intensity, use a generous helping of white, a small amount of black, and a little touch of red. You can do it the other way around and use more red than black.

2)      Ease the transition. Aside from the right “color proportion”, you can also consider adding a few touches of in-between colors like gray (black+white) and maroon (red+black) to further soften the color palette. For a softer version of the color scheme, you can replace black with charcoal gray, and red with maroon or wine.

3)      Plus one. Pair the black, white and red scheme with another color or a natural finish. A pale turquoise can make the palette look “friendlier” while wood can add warmth to a possibly cold composition.

Hope this helps.

* images via thelennoxx,  sarahkchen, halcyonhousedesign

style shopping: heima’s second home

As promised, here’s a sneak peek at Heima’s new home in LRI, Makati before they formally open their doors tomorrow!

Heima, which is at home in Icelandic, is a design and lifestyle store by young interior designer Rossy Yabut and her partner Bong Rojales. Just like their first store in Cubao X, their second home in LRI will also carry the same fun, youthful vibe through their signature colorful pieces, quirky art pieces, and dainty accents.

True to the meaning of Heima, the store is laid out and designed to simulate the areas within the home, where you have a foyer, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen (the store’s counter space), and a home office or study. Apart from the store, the space is also home to Rossy’s design office, Heim Interior Design Inc.

Apart from their 2010 collection, we are also excited about Heima’s collaborative pieces with Inksurge, Everywhere We Shoot, Team Manila and Folk Superlative, which will be showcased during tomorrow’s launch.

CLICK HERE for more details on “There’s No Place Like Heima” launch party. See the rest of our photos in the picture gallery below. {Thanks Rossy and Dy! }

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diy tips: updating dated color schemes

DISCLAIMER: What may be baduy to me may not be baduy to you. Please accept my sincerest apologies in advance.

*baduy – Filipino slang for unfashionable, dated or corny

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My memories of the 80’s and the 90’s are ridden with haunting baduy colors and horrific color combinations. Old rose, mint green, maroon and navy blue. Que horror! It all seemed like a good idea at that time.

Operative words: THAT TIME.

For most cases, the color itself is not the problem. The shade, tonality, and color combination are causing the problem of making them look dated. Here are some ideas on how to make the colors of yesteryear fit the palette of THIS TIME:

PEACH brings back dreadful flashbacks of my flower girl gowns (and permed, Aqua Net-saturated hair). Pick a deeper, less cream-y hue for a more modern vintage feel, like the background of this bookshelf (above) from Gathering Spriggs. Also, instead of pairing it with green, try putting it together with an unusual shade of blue.

MINT GREEN is like the staple wall color of hospitals, schools and everything institutional. It makes you think if there was a surplus of mint green Boysen paint in the past. This cherry blossom stencil (above) from Henny Donovan Motif is anything but institutional. It creates a handmade wallpaper effect with a fashionable fabric feel. The trick here is to dull the green and just give it enough “mint” to make it fresh.

OLD ROSE is just that: OLD. It looks like it smells old! How many debuts and weddings were done in old rose? I doubt they look youthful today. Rather than “old”, how about we try making it “vintage”, like this antique store (above) with a lighter shade of old rose details from kosmic_kat’s Flickr photostream.

MAROON + NAVY BLUE remind me of the heydays of Giordano here in Manila. Everyone had at least one (original) Giordano classics round neck tee. Remember the colored jeans (that surprisingly made a comeback)? Modernize the color duo by slightly altering their shades. I like ST design’s handmade pajama stripes pillow (above) with a grayish dark blue and Swarovski crystals. It’s so “homey glam”!

BROWN + BLACK is personally still a fashion no-no of mine, even with the attack of the Louis Vuitton purses worn with everything in your wardrobe. (Again, my sincerest apologies.) In interiors, though, brown + black is one of the classiest combinations, especially when the “brown” is executed in natural, organic upholstery and the “black” in dark wengue wood finish, like this sitting area by coco + kelley (above).

BLUE + PINK should be left in fairyland and should only be seen together in onesies. What makes this pair a bit off is their similar tonality and color value. The trick here is to make one color bold enough to stand out, like the choice of raspberry and light turquoise in this “retro Los Angeles glam” living room (above) by Joe Nye.

Can you think of other baduy color schemes? pp

diy tips: 10 ways to use the color of 2010

images from Pantone

Goodbye Mimosa yellow, hello Turquoise!

Pantone, the global authority in color (ok, this is debatable), announced last December that Turquoise is the big hue for 2010. From what I’ve read so far, people have mixed reviews over the new color-of-the-year. Some, especially those who love Turquoise, are raving about it. Others, who are probably unsure about the trendy-ness of the color, are not so enthusiastic about the announcement.

“Now, what is a little odd is that Turquoise was a big color for fashion LAST year and many lines have discontinued items in that color for this 2010 year (like Apple, Gucci, Beirn and HeysUSA). Perhaps Pantone was picking up on last year’s trends? “ [via ifitshipitshere]

While last year’s Mimosa carried vibes of optimism and positivity, this year’s Turquoise is all about the message of hope and better beginnings.

“There was no runner-up to turquoise in my mind because people crave escapism and freshness after a tough year. The shade is on the cusp of blue and green, which makes it both inviting and serene — characteristics associated with blues — and invigorating and luminous, which come from green. The public is shifting gears as the economy shows some improvement: They are ready to fantasize a bit about the beach resort,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, explains. [via PSFK]

Whether you think it’s hot or not, expect to see a lot of this color in fashion runways, furniture stores, and designer shops. I guess, the more important question is this: how do you use this color in design and decoration? The great thing about Turquoise is that it can be paired with a whole lot of colors because of its blue+green mix.

To help you out, here are my T E N   T U R Q U O I S E   P A L E T T E S   F O R   2 0 1 0.

1) Evoke the freshness of spring with BLUE + GREEN.

image from decorpad.com

2) Go vintage with RED + ORANGE.

images from freshnestdesign.com

3) Get glammed up with BLACK.

image via houseofturquoise.com

4) Create visions of restful getaways with bold turquoise against ORGANIC NEUTRALS.

image via houseofturquoise.com

5) Embrace summer fun at the beach with WHITES + DISTRESSED COLORS.

image via houseofturquoise.com

6) Childlike innocence is unmistakable with PINK+YELLOW.

image via houseofturquoise.com

7) Establish sophistication with CHOCOLATE BROWN.

image via design-ties.blogspot.com

8 ) Clean modernism is evident with SILVER + GRAYS.

image via decorpad.com

9) Revisit the interiors of Western period styles with CREAMS + RED + BROWNS.

image from atlanatahomesmag.com

10) Render your space in vibrant tropical colors with ORANGES + MAGENTA.

image from willowpoppy via flickr

Can’t get enough of this vibrant color? Visit houseofturquoise.com and everythingturquoise.com for more inspiration. 

fashion meets design: marlon rivera

If you’re a fan of Project Runway Philippines, you know that this season showed a couple of challenges inspired by architecture/interior/furniture design. Ed Calma’s architecture inspired Hanz and Manny’s winning avant-garde dress in the week 7 challenge. In another episode, furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue’s chair inspired Russell’s dragnet look.

Dragnet lounge chair by Kenneth Cobonpue (left) / Russell Villafuerte’s winning look (right)

We’ve always been fascinated by the influence of architecture and interior design on fashion and vice versa. So when we went to Marlon Rivera’s fashion show at Philippine Fashion Week, we were delighted to see interesting silhouettes and textures.

But we were particularly charmed by the colors he used for his pieces.

His color palette (specifically his smokey blues, mauves, and earthy neutrals) reminded us of Pantone’s 2010 home and interiors color trend forecast, which we saw at Apartment Therapy.

Pantone 2010 home and interiors color forecast – Greenmarket palette (top), Gatherings palette (middle), Galaxy palette (bottom)

We don’t know if Marlon Rivera was inspired by Pantone’s color forecast but he certainly is on trend. We’re looking forward to these colors on furniture, accessories and in homes in 2010. We’re also looking forward to Mr. Rivera’s next collection.

*photos from Marlon Rivera’s fashion show by Katrina Luciano /  photo of Dragnet lounge chair from http://www.kennethcobonpue.com /  photo of Russell’s winning look from Project Runway Philippines’ website