Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Current Design Trends - Purple!

I was just surfing over at http://www.sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/ (really fun blog, which I love) and her latest post had this picture....




How perfect is that for my blog? Wish I had found it first, but it's so perfect that I had to borrow it and post it here as well.








Although the popular color of purple has been on the design radar screen since about March or April of this year, I would like to throw my hat in the arena as another fan who loves this trend! Purple is showing up in interior design, fashion, textiles, flowers, everywhere! So, I thought I would post a couple of pics that I am finding out there on the world wide web for your entertainment and to keep you updated on what's hot right now!






I have to admit that I've never been a big purple fan. But after seeing it's many uses here and the hues that are used, I'm quickly becoming smitten...




Two 18th-century French chairs preside over this Caribbean-blue living room, along with a Directoire canape. From Southern Living magazine. Photo: Pieter Estersohn; Designer: Eric Prokesh.

Chloe Bay leather bag. Very small, very cute, very purple. Love it!




Norman McCrary designed this beautiful glamorous living room, with it's mirrors, lilac carpeting and white furnishings. Notice how they tied in the champagne colored pillows on the sofa on the right with the trim on the chairs at the dining table.






Even Walmart is selecting purple for their awnings for their new roll-out local grocery stores called Marketside.




Geoffrey Bradfield used purple furnishings in this living room as a complementary color to the wood floors and panels in the room. Architectural Digest.


Purple Flokati Rug by Target Stores.




Here is a very modern kitchen from the HGTV website where the walls are painted purple (DKC #36). Designer D.D. Allen chose to use grey concrete floors, stainless steel appliances and a very cool hydraulic breakfast table to give the room a sleek feel.




A beautiful raised purple velvet on silvery background wallpaper.






Interior designer Susan Symonds. (Ralph Lauren Lilac GH41) — the perfect backdrop for the room's 180-degree ocean view.
A hand-silkscreened purple pillow from Los Angeles design studio Amenity Home. Made from luxurious 100% Belgian linen, this 12x20 inch pillow also comes in a square, 18x18 inch style for $54.99.






Purple and gold give this dining room a regal effect. Interior designer Yvonne Lane. Architectural Digest.







Alexandra Loew and Lauren Soloff from The Desk of Lola made this corridor a main attraction by adding plain and patterned purple.


Below the hallway's chair rail, the walls are painted ICI's # 1656 (Needlepoint) in a flat finish. Above, the designers added Osborne + Little's Dusa wallpaper from the Boheme collection in a mauve on cream (colorway #3).



This Phoenix, Arizona, front yard was transformed from a sea of gravel to a courtyard designed for outdoor living. Sunset Magazine.





What is wonderful about this dining room, designed for Vartan and Clare Gregorian, educators, humanitarians and philanthropic leaders, is the bold choice of wallpaper. A map of ancient Persia is painted on the wall. The settee fabrics are from Manuel Canovas. Larsen drapery fabrics. Interior Design by Gayle Wells Mandle and James Brayton Hall. Architectural Digest.





Foyer of Stephen Knollenberg's cottage home in Douglas, Michigan. Mr. Knollenberg is quickly becoming one of my favorite designers. He designs cleanly and aesthetically accurate to my eye! Here he gives the foyer a punch of color with these lovely purple hydrangeas.





Harrod's Creek Idea House in Austin, Texas. This teenage girl "eclectic" bedroom is dominated by shades of purple. Instead of a headboard, lightweight fabric covers the entire wall behind the bed. Southern Living magazine.






The slightly subtle purple pieces in this space blend nicely with the moroccan pieces in the room. Nicely offset by the blue wallcovering. The yellow gives the room the punch that it needs.







This room has a strong purple wall with accents of blue, green, and orange. Because the other colors in the space are not as strong (well, except for the orange chair), it allows the purple to standout.







I love this bedroom, even though this is the only view we have of it. But, what works here is the simply drawn purple flowers on the white spread and the wonderful pea green lamps. Again the white furnishings (headboard and side tables) give a nuetral palette so the strong purple can dominate the room and not compete.

Here are some pointers when using purple;


Purples are also very regal and can look very sophisticated when used properly. I prefer this color on furniture and accessories. Use on one or two pieces in a richer shade for a more mature, luxurious look. Sometimes when a room is painted a lighter purple, it can appear too juvenile looking. If you are set on using a lighter purple, be sure to have masculine elements to offset the look of a too-girly space. (from swanklighting.com)





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