Color Match Phone App from Benjamin Moore

Thanks to Ben Color Capture you can save yourself a headache when choosing the perfect color match for your home design projects. Whether you need to match an existing color on your walls or you want your living room to resemble a fresh picked melon in your fridge you can use this app to match the exact color for you from the 3,000 Benjamin Moore paint colors!

All you do is snap the photo, tap the screen on the color area you want to match, and voila it pulls up a full range of matching colors. You can even give the phone a little shake and it will show you complimentary colors! Oh and it'll show you where the closest BM location is.

You can thank me later... check out all the details here and pick up the app in your app store.

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Room Envy: 2010 Home of the year

Well this edition of Room Envy is actually more like Home Envy because I just want the whole thing! Found this gem in Mountain Living and I drool over it every time I see the pictures. This is truly my ideal home and it's here in Vail, Colorado.... It combines a very sleek and modern look with rustic and raw mountain finishes, the result is truly breathtaking.

5280 Lady

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Re-Designing a Space? How to Create a Design Board

One of the most important things you can do when thinking of re-designing a space is to create a Design Board. This will allow you to get all of your ideas in one place and make sure that all of the elements will be cohesive. The process is relatively simple and Ikea has created a nice article to walk you through the process. They also point out the difference between a design board and an inspiration board.

You have two options when creating your board, you can do a tangible board with real finish samples and fabrics or a virtual board which consists solely of pictures of the finish samples. Either way you choose will give you a good starting place to practice your design ideas before jumping in and throwing paint on the walls.

Some good things to include on your board

• An overall picture of your ideal space, what is the feeling you want to achieve- sleek and clean, warm and cozy, organized and functional, etc.
• Paint colors and samples. Also consider paint finishes such as faux, whitewashing, stippling, etc.
• Architectural details like crown moulding or special trim work
• Fabric swatches in both neutrals and accent colors
• Lighting fixtures
• Furniture and furniture placement
• Accent pieces such as lamps, vases, plants, and other individual details
• Finish samples such as tile, flooring material, wallpaper, etc.

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Room Envy: Master Bedroom

Whether you go with a classic, romantic, or modern design, the master bedroom should be a retreat. This is a place that you recharge and relax so take care when designing this space for yourself. Consider things like lighting both natural and artificial, paint color, window treatments, and furniture placement and keep them all conducive to sleeping.

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Live in your hobby... the Airpark Residence

In case you own an airplane that you need to house you don't need to bother renting a hangar... just pull up your runway driveway and park it! This is one of the most innovative designs I've seen in the architectural world in a while and it's right here in our backyard in Colorado.

The Airpark Residence belongs to a spinal surgeon from Boulder, she's (yes I said SHE, go girl!) a pilot and decided that she wanted to live and breathe airplanes, her ultimate hobby. So she did what anyone would do... naturally, she built  her very own residence on Cessna Drive at the Erie municipal airport complete with her own runway and airplane hanger!

The home is quite beautiful... take a peek... talk about integrating your hobby into your life!

See more pics and read the full article over at Colorado Homes and Lifestyles!

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Room Envy: Patio edition

With summer coming to an end it's time to get ready for Fall and in Colorado that means a lot of opportunities to enjoy your patio. The moderate temperatures and cool breezes make it a perfect time to head outside without the scorching summer sun and before the chilly winter arrives.

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Room Envy: Wine Cellar edition

Bring on the VINO! Whether you're looking for function or design or both the options are endless with wine cellars... like accessing it through a trap door in the floor like this one...

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Room Envy: Cozy Great Room

I saw this picture and fell in love with the design and architecture. My favorite parts are the wood clad windows, the architectural beams, and the grand yet subtle fireplace. I love the simple color pallet, it allows for the room to stand alone without overdoing it. It feels cozy and bright and very homey!

Courtesy of Keith Waters & Associates, Inc.

~5280 Lady

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Design A Room, some great resources for decorating

I'm sure there are plenty of you that have grand ideas of home remodeling and decorating but it's often hard to picture the outcome. Well there are a lot of great things on the interwebs that can help you! Better Homes and Gardens has a great program called Arrange A Room where you can adjust every aspect of the room including furniture and even house plants to give you some help with your decorating ideas.

You pick the shape of your room, which you can adjust, and then start adding in the furniture. You can even change the colors! All you need is your email address and then you can get started.

Now if you're like me and have a heck of a time picking out the perfect paint colors there is also a wonderful program you can use through Sherwin Williams that will show you the paint choices on real walls in real rooms. You can adjust from there and change trim colors, ceiling colors, etc. It's called the Color Visualizer and I highly recommend it the next time you're looking to redecorate a room!

~5280 lady

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Decorating in tight spaces: Kitchen

So how do you amplify the amount of space in your home without jumping into costly additions? You have to master the art of decorating and renovating in tight spaces. There are a lot of techniques and tricks that you can use to make lemonade out of lemons, in this case, the tiny kitchen.

The first thing to consider in a small kitchen is the functional layout. There are dozens of kitchen designers that take factors into account to make the best use of your space. They think of things that you may not,  like positioning frequently used items and drawers higher to mimimize stooping and bending. You also need to consider the location of major appliances, are they eating into all of your counter space? Is there a better wall to place your refridgerator? Simply mounting your microwave can free up a good portion of counter space.

The next thing to do is to maximize your usable space. Cabinets that reach the ceiling offer more storage and give you a more suitable counter workspace. Specially designed storage can take wasted space and give it a purpose. Roll out features inside cabinetry will better organize your utensils, pots and pans, and double your storage.

 

Paint and color schemes will also make a notable improvement. Bright and light colors will open the area and make it appear larger. Consider adding splashes of color in a tile backsplash while keeping the rest of the space light and airy. 

Lighting is another simple way to create illusions. Whether through windows or lighting fixtures make sure the kitchen is bright! Not only will this help while you're actually using the kitchen but it will also help create the illusion of more space.

Design touches- Use reflective materials like mirrors and stainless steel to trick the eye into thinking there is more room than you have. Make sure rugs run length wise as opposed to width wise. Pick a deep kitchen sink to get more room to work without taking up any more counter space. Glass cabinet doors give the illusion of a bigger space too.

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