Color Combinations: Aubergine & Gold

Recently I can feel a dramatic shift in my design preferences.  Where I used to bookmark white interiors like they were going out of style, well, for me, I think they might be going out of style.  Don't get me wrong, I still love a crisp, clean, white interior but I just flipped through my color combinations folder and saw a lot of this action:

As you can see, my interest in gold hasn't waned much (has it grown!!!??  good lord) but the surrounding tones have gotten significantly darker

Ok, so admittedly, that light fixture really seals the deal here.  No, not the duck one.

No fancy interiors to see here, but this was smack-dab in the middle of my color file so I figure it must be worth sharing.  Other odd images I found right along it's side include:

Love the color, love the fur, love the sparkle.  This could totally translate into a room.

And there it is again.   I would like for you to tell me how this color combination is not perfection.  Or, send me more pictures of real interiors in these tones... I want more!

PS, if I took any of today's pictures from any of your blogs and didn't note it here it's because I don't remember where I got any of these pictures.  Leave a comment if they're from your site and I'll happily give you credit.  xoxo

Something Must Be Wrong With Me

I have obviously contracted a raging case of scarlet fever, or perhaps I've come down with the Pepto Bismol Flu. Because my new appreciation for hot pink can only be explained by a fit of delirium. Now -- I'm a black, white, and brown, kind of a girl. Sure, I like loads of bling to slick it up, but at heart I love my drabby neutrals. Except I have recently developed a strange, inexplicable attraction to hot pink. It's probably because the hunny says it doesn't look good with my hair -- which makes me like it even more.

Nicolas Matheus

Whatever. You can't deny that a dash of hot pink puts the schwing into spring.

Nicolas Matheus

Girl, you know you be a sexy beast.

Abigail Ahern

Yes, I realize I mixed my gender metaphors there, but it may just be that hot pink is a transvestite hooker with a heart of gold.

Design Sponge

Hot pink's interests are: It's Raining Men, lip gloss, and having better legs than me.

Scott Weston

But you know what? I like her. A lot. Hot pink is sharp, funny, edgy, and adds a touch of in your face glamour to any room.

Scott Weston

Did I mention versatile? Pair her with other brights or darks and she will hold her own.

Abigail Ahern

Studio Ilse

Michael Haverland

Pair her with neutrals and she will coyly bat her false eyelashes at you with a flirtatious wink and a nudge.

Abigail Ahern

Laura Day via Lonny

Display her on your pedestrian TV in full frontal view, right next to your haute pink James Nares painting, and you will be a GENIUS.

House Beautiful

In closing, I leave you with this showstopper of an image, which is not to my usual taste. At all. For starters, I don't know who allowed a giant clam to crawl across the floor and die a horrible, ugly death beneath the console table. But that swath of hot pink brightness rescues the whole room from stuffy old lady land. And do you know what the paint color is called?

Razzle Dazzle.

That's what I'm talking about.

Ask Sanders: Rossana's Pear Green Nursery

It's time for another installment in our Ask Sanders series, wherein some lucky reader has their decorating dilemma solved by our resident paint guru, Sanders Gibbs. It's a dream come true, because in case you don't already know, Sanders is a badass. But don't take our word for it -- if you live in Austin, go visit Benjamin Moore Hill Country Paints, where Sanders puts his talents to the test as store manager. Not in Austin? Catch up by reading this interview with Sanders here.

Without further ado, here's reader Rossana's question:

"My husband and I are in the process of painting the nursery. We have differing ideas about what this should look like, but we have at least found a nice compromise with the Ben Moore pear green. The gender is a surprise! The room is about a 10 x 12 room with lots and lots of windows and the one wall that is solid will be the one that we put the crib on, and this is the wall that we will paint Pear Green. Question is: what other color would be nice with PG?"

First of all, great choice! Pear Green is a bright and versatile shade that pairs (ahem) well with many colors. Sanders gave us a broad selection of gender neutral choices to pick from, and many can be mixed and matched to different effect.

Amp up the drama by mixing pear green with bold brights.

Or tone it down with neutrals. It works well either way.

For a baby's room, you could play it sophisticated by painting the crib wall pear green, the other walls off white (Sanders gave us Mountain Peak White), and then adding in other colors through accessories and bedding. Or you could funk it up by painting the other three walls a jazzier color, and then using accessories in more neutral shades. Let's take a look at some rooms with pear green and see how Sanders' choices work in them.

This playroom in the home of Avocado and Papaya's Jackie Kersh features a cute, classic palette of green, red and blue.

Here's Sanders' palette, which would work well in a gender neutral nursery: Pear Green with Chili Pepper Red and Peacock Blue.

Another playroom, via Cupcake Wishes and Unicorn Dreams.

And Sanders' corresponding choices are Pear Green with Stardust and Violet Stone.

I know it's not a kid's room, but the color palette in this kitchen would be fab in a nursery.

Pear Green with Banana Yellow and Florida Keys Blue.

And then there's this hotness -- who cares if the Pear Green is on a couch and not a wall? Use your imagination goggles to see that this color combo is off the chain... Loves it.

Pear Green, Mountain Peak White and Silver Dollar. DRAMA. Add a dash of black here and there and you've got a winner for all ages.

And here are a couple more pretty palettes, just because I made them up all nice in photoshop:

The bold and the beautiful: Tequila Lime, Juneau Spring, Banana Yellow, Tangy Orange, and Pear Green.

Oh so quiet and sophisticated: Mountain Peak White (loving this white!), Silver Dollar, Taos Taupe and Light Khaki. Brilliant.

That's it for this edition of Ask Sanders. Rossana, I hope there's some helpful information here, and hey -- maybe we inspired some of y'all out there to repaint. Or perhaps even have a baby... After all, what better excuse could there be to redecorate?

I'm leaving you with this picture of Ike and Sanders. Ike LOVES loves him some Uncle Sanders, mostly because Ike is obsessed with Sanders' nametag, but also because Ike has good taste in people.

If any of you out there would like some professional advice regarding your painting dilemmas, send in a request and we'll forward it to Sanders.

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Sanders!