Greetings!
So many of you have asked me for a more personal and content rich newsletter. I've been working hard to put this together and now it's time to share it with everyone. :) My big New Year's Resolution is to be in better touch with you so; I'll be publishing once monthly on the 15th...of course you may opt out at any time but it's my hope that you will find it helpful and maybe even entertaining! If you love it, please share it with a friend. In conjunction with the newsletter, I have a brand new website too! It's still a baby but I am adding to it every week. It is chock full of examples of all sorts of window issues and their solutions as well as industry inside information I think you'll find fascinating...here's to a great year!
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A Personal Note...
I just love getting all the gardening catalogs at this time of year. During the cold winter months, they keep me going and they're my inspiration for gathering, planning and dreaming about new decorating ideas for both inside and out.
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"Colors, like features, follow the changes
of the emotions."
Pablo Picasso
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Color Trends for 2009 We live in exciting times...filled with hope for the future in our new administration yet with some concern about the current state of affairs. For color watchers, I see several parallel trends;
1) a very real attraction towards familiar and comfortable neutrals combined with bold accents of the exotic.
2) a desire for purification and the move towards whites
3) green living and nature derived palettes
The trend for decorating with neutrals continues strongly but with a new twist. No longer are neutrals defined as beiges but this year's neutrals will be complex smoky colors. Look for purple to be a big color in 2009...dusty violets, smoky grey-lavenders, browns with purple undertones...all very quiet tones and perfect backround foils for exotic accent colors such as persimmon, malachite and topaz. The exotic color accents reflect our recognition of our global connected-ness.
White and its cultural association with purity will be featured throughout 2009. An all-white palette can be crisp and clean or subtle and sophisticated...the key is combining whites together with an eye toward texture and finish details.
While the color green and its literal and figurative association with renewable living lifestyles was the trend in 2008, this year you will find that the green has moved a bit around the color wheel to blues and blue-greens. Reminiscent of water which is essential for life, blues and blue-greens are our way of retreating back to the safety of things which are elemental to our lives. The popular blue-green/brown colorway which has been so very popular continues to have strong legs for 2009.
We are lucky to be living in such great times...this year there are several different ways to refresh your home's look according to your tastes!
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My Current Favorite Books
Three excellent books by Stephanie Hoppen
White on White: Creating Elegant Rooms With Shades of White
by Stephanie Hoppen - Cico.
Paperback 
List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $9.39
Choosing Blue: Color You Can Live With
by Stephanie Hoppen - Watson-Guptill
Paperback ~ Release Date: 2008-04-29
List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $11.72
Perfect Neutrals
by Stephanie Hoppen - Watson-Guptill
Hardcover ~ Release Date: 2006-12-01
List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $20.68 |
