Lavender - My Favorite Trend of All

You may have noticed that a lot of designers are using purple lately and my favorite in particular, lavender.  This trend has been in the works for the last five years or so but we are just starting to see it in mainstream decor.  Why, you ask?  Well, it takes a while for trends to trickle down to the average consumer.

via House Beautiful

via Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles

I'm reminded of a scene from The Devil Wears Prada when Glenn Close is criticising Anne Hathaway for not seeing the difference between two blue belts that seam identical. She gives her the rundown of how the color of the blue sweater she is wearing was picked for her years ago by people in that very room.


click here to watch the scene

Same thing with interiors. Designers try to stay on the cutting edge of color and style but it takes years for that to work its way into them minds of consumers and retailers don't market something unless there is a high demand for it. Example -- grey sofas. Ten years ago no one in their right mind would purchase anything grey, especially a sofa. It was too cold in comparison to all of the warm neutral colors that were popular at the time. Now, everyone wants a grey sofa or walls or rug or whatever. Grey has become the new "it" neutral.

crate & barrel

Since lavender is also in that same color family, it is also carving out a niche for itself.  I love to use it with blues and greens because it compliments them so nicely.  Lavender also works great with brown so if you have brown upholstery and aren't a fan of the brown/grey combo use lavender instead.  It will give an instant update and make your room feel more "now".

via decorology

via pinterest

You may be asking if lavender and grey are "now" then what's "next"?  In my opinion, we will be seeing kelly green making a comeback.  Something like this maybe?

from Domino Mag - may you rest in peace

It's not for everyone but I love it and a girl can dream, right?

~ Andrea

I'm Better Than I Thought

A few weeks ago, I read Lauren's Warm Brown post over at Pure Style Home.  In it she talks about how warm, natural browns are making a come back, especially in wood pieces.  For the longest time, the trend was to have extremely dark wood or to have everything painted.  However, if you look at any design magazine you can see that stains with orange and red undertones are quickly gaining popularity.  As I was reading, all I could think was that I already knew this.  I've been using warm woods in my designs for a while.  Not only in my own house but for clients as well.  Stained wood adds personality and a lived in look to any space.  The secret is that you have to mix wood tones with painted pieces, you don't want everything to match.


my dining room



my master bedroom


It didn't dawn on me until this weekend, when I read Maria's post on What's Next in Color & Design in 2011 over at Color Me Happy, that I might actually be on the cutting edge of trends.  Maria talks about color forecasting for the coming year and reveals that greeny gray and blue gray, among others, are the next "it" colors in design.  Well, yea for me because my kitchen cabinets are already a greeny gray and I've had plans to paint my bedroom a blue gray for about a year.

Sherwin Williams - Grassland



Benjamin Moore - Alaskan Husky

I don't mean to toot my own horn but it just makes me excited to see things that I've already been doing becoming the hot new trends to follow.  I'm still relatively new to the field of design and it is reassuring to see that I'm on the right track.  If I'm ahead of the trends then I must be doing something right.