You just did a double-take, amiright? Well, I promise that this isn’t a 30-day late April Fool’s joke. Pantone, the global authority on and standard of color, has teamed up with Valspar to launch a new line of paint! The Pantone Universe Paint Collection will be available exclusively at Lowe’s beginning this month.
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
The collection features 100 on-trend hues ranging from classic neutrals to eye-popping brights. It also includes the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year, Emerald, as well as the 2012 selection, Tangerine Tango!
This past weekend I visited NYC to participate in the 2-day Color with Confidence event along with several other bloggers and editors. Our first day was filled with inspirational talks from Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute Leatrice Eiseman, interior designer Elaine Griffin, and fashion designer Nanette Lepore. These ladies were nothing short of lovely and brilliant.
After listening to Leatrice, Elaine, and Nanette (and noshing on some tasty treats and colorful cocktails) we were taught the proper way to paint from Valspar’s Jill. I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable painter and was clueless on half of the tips she spilled!
• Use a wooden brush, it catches drips better.
• Use the handle of said brush to seal the edges of your painter’s tape.
• Remove your tape before the paint is actually dry to avoid peeling.
• Use high-quality brushes and roller to avoid shedding.
• A good paint roller is both washable and reusable.
• Load your roller with way more paint than you think necessary, four bathe + rolls in the tray is optimal.
• Paint in 4 x 4′ sections.
• Use a W technique (seen above). Make the letter W, then fill it in. Reload roller each time.
• Once the wall is filled go over it with vertical stripes of paint to even things out.
• Use a church key not a screwdriver to open paint cans.
• Put cellophane over the can opening before putting the lid back on to keep paint fresh for a year.
• Keep the paintbrush’s original packaging to retain shape.
• Always use a canvas drop cloth, it’s less slippery than plastic and absorbs drips immediately.
• Use a roller scraper to avoid wasting paint left in roller.
• Store paint in a cool place (i.e. not your garage – whoops!)
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
We played around a bit choosing a color palette and talked to Nanette Lepore about how color inspires fashion. Then we mingled and headed home to rest up for the next day, when we’d finally get to dig in and get some paint on our hands!
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
After grabbing breakfast,we all loaded into a black bus with tinted windows (so VIP) with a moving truck tailing us, and headed to Hell’s Kitchen flea market. It was a beautiful sunshiney day and we were chomping at the bit to find the perfect pieces to upcycle. The first thing that caught my eye was a beautiful metal horse bust. I was in love. But the vendor wanted $500 for it and would only negotiate down to $275. Waaay out of my budget. Later we stopped in at the Salvation Army and I found this dresser that would have been perfect in my bedroom, but it was unfortunately already sold.
Luckily I’d picked up a just-in-case piece, this gorgeous typesetter’s drawer. I’ve been wanting one since high school and had never seen a specimen in such perfect condition, and with unfinished wood. Success!
I suspect we all looked like a sideshow hauling pieces to the end of flea and loading them into our truck, but oh well. We had everything from a TV console to mirrors to end tables by the end of our excursion.
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
I didn’t realize just how dirty my piece was until I started wiping it down. So gross. (You can see the color difference between this photo pre-wash and the post-wash below.)
PHOTOS: Kelly Beall
It took me awhile to figure out just how I wanted to transform my newly acquired type drawer, but after some thought I decided to start by painting the borders a nice charcoal grey. When that didn’t seem enough I debated painting the entire interior, but it would have required smaller brushes and more time than I had. I settled on taping off a few “gallery sections” and painting them white, I’ll be able to use these areas to highlight special tchotchkes once I get it home and hang it on my office wall.
I’m really happy with how it turned out! I plan on going over the white areas with a smaller brush and one more coat before calling it complete, but I’m counting this guy as a success. The Pantone Universe paint in Valspar’s Signature covered like a dream and was so incredibly saturated with color. I only did one layer of the grey if that tells you anything. Oh, and it dries to the touch in 20 minutes! I know you’re going to love it as much as I do.
Disclaimer: Travel and hotel in NYC provided by Pantone and Valspar. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
Sometimes it sucks when the world feels small, and sometimes it’s amazing. I’d like to introduce you to the ceramic work of Nicole Aquillano, the younger sister of a girl I graduated high school with over a decade ago just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I love that I can see the influence of our town in Nicole’s work and am swept away by her attention to detail. Much of her work is based on the stability of home and the human need to maintain collections, both of which I can definitely relate to. (It’s a small world after all.)
Crane & Canopy is all that and a bag of chips, and I’m about to spill the many reasons why. Bedding is one of those final touches that make a room feel finished and pulled together, it’s also one of the more expensive elements in a bedroom. It seems like every search I’ve embarked upon has ended with me being in love with a set waaay out of my price range. (Followed by wine and chocolate.) Crane & Canopy has revolutionized all of that. First by creating their own designs, second by working directly with premium companies to cut out the middle men and lower costs.
But here’s the thing, just because the textiles are actually affordable doesn’t mean they’re lower in quality. All of Crane & Canopy‘s base fabrics use the highest quality cotton with 300 to 400 thread count weaves, optimized for softness while maintaining lifetime durability and longevity. And every piece has special touches like convenient corner ties, easy care zipper, exquisite piping, or beautiful embroidery. Not to mention the bold, graphic, and inspired prints created by their designers. (I picked up the Octavia for an upcoming project!)
The icing on the cake (or bag of chips) is that this spring Crane & Canopy has partnered with New York’s Safe Horizon to give back to domestic violence victims. For every bedding set purchased they’ll be donating a complete bedding set to to Safe Horizon’s shelter residents. I can only imagine how amazing it must feel to someone looking for even the most basic of human needs to safely and comfortably snuggle up at night.
Crane & Canopy also sells the most delicious sheets with colorful edging that I can’t wait to pick up, they look perfectly crisp for summer! Also just launched is their spring pop-up shop, filled to the brim with lovely modern things for your entire home – not just the bedroom.
Last week I let you in on my front door makeover project I worked on with Sherwin-Williams for National Painting Week, and I’m so excited to finally be able to share the results! I can’t believe I put up with it in its dingy off-whiteness for as long as I did (4 1/2 years!), but spring is the perfect time for adding some color to all aspects of life, don’t you think?
Oh, hey there dirty post-winter porch and dormant flower bed! My house was definitely in a state of PLEASE HELP ME as far as curb appeal goes. (If you look closely you can spy my dogs, Piper and Bebe, in each window agreeing vehemently.)
Even though my door and frame were light in color, I opted to add a layer of primer for full color development upon the advice of the consultants at my local Sherwin-Williams store. But before that I neatly taped off the frame from the brick exterior and around all of the fixtures. What I forgot to do was cover the doorknob in foil (a fantastic trick). Whoops.
I did a little research pre-project on the best way to tackle the process, and it turns out there is a recommended way in which to paint a door. Painting in this order helps to eliminate excess visible paint strokes and globs. (It totally worked.)
1.The recesses in each interior panel. 2.The interior panels. 3.The cross-sections between panels. 4.The outermost borders.
Two coats of Energetic Orange in Sherwin-Williams Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex paint (and some fresh spring flowers) later and I was done! I’m looking forward to being able to tell new visitors that my house is “the last one on the left, the one with the orangedoor”!
I’d love to add a brass knocker and doorbell cover like the photo that inspired my makeover, and hopefully some interesting house numbers. This project has also given me the motivation to paint the trim and other exterior doors on my home a charcoal grey. It’s going to be amazing. My neighbor complimented me on the fresh look the other day and asked if I did this sort of thing for a living! (It was a long answer.)
Definitely pop over to visit The Brick House to see more orange today, and Vintage Revivals and Style by Emily Henderson tomorrow for their red projects! And, you’re in luck. The Sherwin-Williams National Painting Week SuperSale starts tomorrow and runs through April 22nd, with offers of 40% off paints and stains and 30% off painting supplies it’s too good to pass up.
Disclaimer: This project and post are sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. All opinions and words are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
Loving these Canevas Abstract Cushions from Charlotte Lancelot. They feel like a mix of cross-stitch and pixelation, old and new techniques happily co-habitating. The pillow is made from a soft felt base with interwoven strands of wool and will give any room you place it in a healthy dose of color and texture. (via bltd)
I go crazy for a good statement door, it’s essentially the first impression your home makes on your visitors. I’ve been wanting to give mine a makeover ever since I bought my home nearly five years ago, and like a lot of projects simply haven’t had the time to devote to it. So when Sherwin-Williams asked me to participate in National Painting Week I knew just what I was going to tackle with hardly any thought – the off-white entrance to my home that was drab and unappealing and just blah.
When I started pulling together some inspiration to try and zero in on a color I realized I have a serious addiction, I had loads of front doors that I’d been bookmarking all along and had a tough decision ahead of me. Did I want classic? Maybe something more modern?
This door has been on my desktop for months now, so I took the hint and went with it. I used Sherwin-William’s Chip It color-matching site to find the shade I wanted, something a bit brighter than these called Energetic Orange.
My project will be up next Wednesday along with a few tips I learned along the way. There will also be projects from 13 other design bloggers celebrating National Painting Week beginning next Monday, and each day NationalPaintingWeek.com will be sharing inspiration, ideas, and more to get your jazzed about your own painting projects. Get ready, it’s gonna be a colorful week of before and afters!
We got a ton of rain last week, and it finally started to smell like spring. That means Memorial Day and grilling season can’t be far off! I love a good diagram and can just imagine serving some burgers to friends on these clever Grillmaster Serving Trays. (Note to self: Refill propane tank)
