Color Rules for Small Spaces 2013 Ideas from HGTV

When it comes to coloring your apartment, it's definitely okay to go outside the lines.

By : Anne Krueger

True or false: An all white color palette will make an apartment look larger. False! This is a common misconception of small-space design, along with the idea that less furniture makes an apartment feel larger. Instead, carefully placed furnishings and carefully chosen color can create an inviting space with style way beyond its diminutive size.

The number one color rule for a small space? There are no rules  really. If you want your apartment to look like your favorite Pucci scarf, do your thing. The goal should always be to make your rented space personal and appeal to you. Having said that, the experts who deal with color and interior design all the time do know a thing or two. Here are their tips and tricks.

Choose Sharp Colors

One of the best ways to expand a space is with very clear colors, says designer Mark McCauley, ASID, author of Interior Design for Idiots. "Choose a palette of sharper colors as opposed to duller ones. Sharp as in bright chintzes mixed with colorful plaids or really hot reds and electric blues, yellows and greens (with plenty of air between the pieces). Color combinations with negative space in between will enhance the space's clarity and openness."

Color Unexpected Accents

Bring splashes of color to a radiator, the inside of a bookshelf or a windowsill to bring excitement and depth to a room. If you're lucky enough to have a foyer or hall, paint that a dark color and ease into a lighter shades in the living room, which will make it feel more spacious by comparison.

Create a Focal Wall

While some designers frown on the idea of painting one wall a different or deeper color than the others, it can work wonders in a small space, says designer and actress Libby Langdon, a contributor to HGTV's Small Space, Big Style. "Don't be afraid of bold colors," she says. "Sometimes a darker color on one wall can make it recede, making the space look larger."

Connect Spaces With Shades of Color

Just as different wall colors can divide your apartment into different work areas, different shades of the same color can unite all the rooms, as can a pattern that's repeated. "In a small space, in particular, these little touches the pillow that matches the lampshade fabric, the style of the mirror that echoes a side table can all add up to a cohesive space," McCauley says.

Get Spicy in the Kitchen

Apartment kitchens are a great place to use color, says kitchen designer Jason Laudau of Amazing Spaces, LLC (www.amazingspacesllc.com) in New York. "Hang up the china you never use it saves space, adds color and glams up the kitchen," he says. "Or be very bold and paint the walls a trendy color. Red is hot!"

Go Bold in the Bathroom

Sure, something pastel in the peachy-pink palette will look great in the bathroom especially when you look in the mirror and see your rosy complexion. But for major affect, increase the bodacious scale. That's what designer Ron Marvin www.ronmarvin.com (www.ronmarvin.com) did in his New York City apartment bathroom that's painted a rich, chocolate brown.

Vamp It Up

Beautiful faux finishes and specialty techniques can add a lot of character to a small space, says designer Dawn Burns-Pratt, ASID. "Painting the ceiling a darker color and extending the same color down the wall about 14 inches, or using metallic stripes in that same space with a chair rail and lighter color below looks terrific and expands the appearance of the space," she says.

Add Color That Travels

The wonderful thing about color is that it's a really cheap way to decorate, and it can be added in non-paint ways, says designer Alice Fakier, this year's HGTV Design Star runner-up and host of Ask Alice on HGTV.com. "Apartment dwellers can get color on their walls by painting big canvases, hanging fabric or using wall decals," she says. And when you're ready for a larger space? You can take your color with you and go.

Stretch It With Stripes

Draw the eye up with a wall of colorful stripes, says Langdon. Or paint the ceiling a lighter color than the walls to make it seem airier.

Don't Forget Black

Whatever colors you choose for your small space, add one object that is black, says designer McCauley. "The black item  say, in a torchere lamp or a frame  will help ground the space and clarify the other colors. Try it, it works!"

Experiment With Color
Before you start slapping paint all over the blank canvas that is your apartment walls, consider these "baby-step" options.
 Experiment with 2 ounce samples. Many paint companies, including California Paints and Benjamin Moore offer them. That's enough paint to cover a 1’ by 2’ area, which should give you a good idea of what your chosen hue really looks like. Make sure to view it in natural and artificial light.

Cottages, Eye Candy and Postal Prohibitions for Pink Saturday 4/28/2012

It's Pink Saturday over at Beverly's Blog, so visit with her and leave a comment to show your appreciation.




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Okay, first of all again about the new interface. I'm doing a tutorial over on K&S and if you'd like to read it, be my guest. It literally takes many, many hours to do a tutorial and I'm trying my best to do it, but can only do it for 3 to 4 hours a day. I first have to do screenshots, which when taken are tiffs so I have to convert them to jpgs and then photoshop them a little bit. But it involves several images to make things easier for you to understand. At this point, I've got a very, very few of the basics covered and there is much to come. I think. I just don't know how much more I need to do. It would be tremendously helpful if any of you could leave a comment or email me on what has you stumped. Then I could know what to address. I plan on using a template so I can have total control over what my posts look like and not have the photos and text scattered about willy-nilly. So if you're wondering, just ask me after you visit the tutorial. It's not finished yet.

And since I have 19 posts scheduled under the old editor they are going to look a tad out of order on the posts and photos. I am NOT going back and redo those. Starting after those 19 or 20 I'll be using the template and all should be fine then. I like perfection! It will drive me nuts seeing them like they will probably appear but that's how it's going to be for the next few weeks. (And I'm learning much just revising this post. {Grin}
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Like most people I've given eBay a shot when trying to sell things I've made or old clothes or shoes that I no longer want. It wasn't a huge success for me as it has been for a lot of sellers who go on to open their own website for selling. I tried that also, but it was frustrating and time consuming so I just give things away now or sell them on Craigslist, which has worked well for me. I hated shipping things.

I made a small lap quilt once with silk velvet and a woman in Nova Scotia bought it. It really was beautiful. It got lost in the mail to her. I made another one for her and she agreed to accept it as it was truly beautiful and almost exactly like the first one. I went to a lot of trouble making those two quilts as silk velvet is the hardest fabric in the world to work with. I'll never ever do another quilt or work with silk velvet; although, it is gorgeous fabric.

But a lot of women overseas wanted to buy my items and I said no. I just wouldn't ship outside the U.S. because of the rules and regulations and possibility of getting lost or stolen in transit. It just wasn't worth it to me. I'd have had to refund their money or duplicate the item (and lose money all the way around on that option) and it wouldn't have been through any fault of mine, but postal carriers in other countries.

While I gave it scant consideration at one point early on, I checked postal regulations, or rather prohibitions, in several countries and found very interesting rules that helped me make my determination to not ship internationally. Here are just a few prohibitions in some countries. These are just a few countries but I'll be posting more later on in another post.

Albania: You cannot ship extravagant clothes contrary to Albanian's taste or used articles.

Algeria: Articles made of tortoise-shell, mother of pearl, ivory, bone meerschaum and amber—natural or reconstructed, worked jade or mineral substances similar to jade, canned vegetables, fish, plums, nuts, funeral urns, household articles made of tin, saccharine, used clothing or accessories, blankets, linen, textile furnishings, footwear, headwear, watches or clocks.

Denmark: Dried or powdered milk or food mixtures containing it.

France: Imitation pearls.

Italy: clocks or supplies for clocks, artificial flowers or fruits, footwear of any kind, leather goods, playing cards, nutmeg, vanilla, sea or rock salt or saffron, perfumes of any kind, playing cards of any kind, ribbons for typewriters, tobacco, toys not made wholly of wood, coffee or its substitutes, bells and other musical instruments and parts thereof.

So that's it for now. Just feast your eyes on the cottages and eye candy for the rest of this post.

A sweet cottage alongside the road in England.

Aren't these pillows just gorgeous? And that pink (It looks pink on the photo but certainly doesn't look pink after posting it on blogger!) french settee? Ooo-la-la~

Would you look at that rose arbor covering the entry? Sigh....

Some of you are too young to remember these beach chairs but they were comfortable, easily transportable and fun with all the different colors of canvas you could find them in.

This seems a big large to be called a cottage but it's still lovely.

Have you noticed the only color in this photo is the tool, the candy and the petite tin?

I have a few of these gorgeous fabrics and they look much prettier in person.

I have absolutely no idea if this is a residence or a public building but it is stunning! I wonder where it is.

An inexpensive and clever idea for a candlelight dinner on the patio.

I cannot tell you how much I would love to have a garden like this, but with a gardener to take care of it. Hubs wouldn't have the time or energy to keep it up.

Somewhere in England I think, looking at the kitchen and decor. Very pretty.

When you think of simpler times and wanting to live in those days, just think of how much those people would have given to be in your shoes today. Gives one pause, huh?
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Now, go do something fabulous!
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Photos courtesy of tumblr and pinterest.