Come on a journey of inspiration & adventure while renovate & restore a beautiful Victorian home 'St Elmo' in the picturesque Hunter Valley, Australia & laugh at a few of our family adventures along the way.




Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Orange for Erin

My sister Erin purchased her first home with her dream guy about 18 months ago & is slowly piecing together her own design style. She is pretty lucky in that her dream guy, like mine, prefers his man cave that has recently been constructed in the back yard & only shows  enough interest in the home decor to appear as though he is paying attention

Malibu Architectural contemporary living room

Now after much star gazing in the land of blog & thru my extensive magazine collection ( I may suffer from a small magazine addiction) she has determined that orange is the colour that she is drawn to as well as a bit of turquoise.
Noe Valley Three contemporary kitchen

She also loves timber flooring & white joinery.
So her dream guy got to work & laid some lovely floating timber floors throughout all of the living areas, they painted the walls a very neutral beige & all of the architraves & skirting's white.
It looks awesome!!
Noe Valley Three contemporary living room

I love the chandelier against the orange feature wall in this image.

Now comes the time to add all of the decorator items & accents to give her home the personality she is looking for, which brings the dilemma of do you go for a feature wall......

Portland Pearl District Condo Living Room & Kitchen contemporary living room

or do you just use art & accessories, keeping the more expensive items neutral...
This art work makes a stunning feature in this lounge area

Portland Pearl District Condo contemporary living room

As you can see the art is used to connect the orange feature wall, helping the eye to comfortably peruse the room rather than being shocked by such a bold statement.You can also catch a glimpse of some orange chairs out side on the balcony, connecting the two areas.


Image via BHG
These  colours are perfect, but if you buy an orange lounge you really have to stick with that colour for a long time, unless of course you can afford to invest in a new lounge every couple of years...



or  perhaps even using drapes to add an accent


I do love this look, a feature wall, an accent chair & a few accessories, all other main areas, neutral. This would be affordable to change when you tire of this colour scheme


Once again very neutral, with lots of different textures, a very eclectic style that I don't think would date any time soon


This space looks rather calming & restful, don't you think?

Now for me, I am a bit  colour phobic, but I would love to see the rest of this room because I think I could easily enjoy this space.

What do you think, she will be on the hunt for a new lounge sometime later in the year, after her European vacation that is... yes that is a note of jealously you detect...I have NOOOO holiday plans anytime soon :0)
Should it be brown, or is brown on its way out?
Should it be grey as its a new trend, but a classic colour all the same?
Should there be feature walls or drapes???
Ah so many choices.. Good Luck little Sis, never fear I will be sure to help you spend some money, no matter what you choose!

CHEERS
Trish xxx

20 comments:

Nattie said...

Omigosh!! I so in love with orange after reading your post now! what a great colour combo! :)

brismod said...

I'm a fan of orange accessories - cushions, lamps - so I enjoyed this post. It is such a happy colour. But I agree to keep the big stuff neutral.

lisa mae said...

oh i love orange, i used it for my wedding, orange and black......i do like in your photos a few burst's of blue with it looks fantastic, have a great week trish lisa xox

Jane @ the girl in the brick house said...

Have never been a big fan of orange but these pictures prove it can really work - love the first house. Re sofas - grey is certainly in and a light grey/linen type could be great for a sofa and goes with lots of other colours,

Unknown said...

I am crazy about orange, it reminds me of Hermes! Actually, love that Hermes throw in one of the photos! She is lucky to get to design her dream home, very cool! Love your blog, Trish, happy to be your newest follower!

Jenny said...

Not a big fan of orange either but I do like the images you have posted Trish. I am sure your sisters house will look lovely with you helping her. ;-)

Amanda said...

What a gorgeous collection of images - I particularly like the BHG one with the turquoise pouffe and the orange couch. I'd vote for a grey couch as that's what I have here and I've found it to be a really versatile colour.

Laura said...

Hi trish, you have found some great images for you sister; how lucky is she to be going to europe!! I have a friend who is in the process of a few orange walls and I am not a fan at all, but as I said, you have found some excellent pics!
hugs to you,
Laura xx

Blogs said...

this reaaaaaaaaks fabulous....i hate orange but it looks so great in those pieces. i'd love to have an open cabinet kitchen...really nice! And i too love those floors:)

Ez said...

Thank you so much for the post and the fabulous inspiration! I dont think I am quite game enough to go for feature walls...I tend to change my mind waaaaay to often (this may very well be thanks to blog world AND your magazine collection, I see something new that I like every day!).

I am leaning towards the grey lounge only that alot of my lil extras eg. lamps & artwork have chocolate brown through them...sooo??? who knows.

Thank you so so much for all of your help! and your dream man of course when it comes to the yard and the man cave ;-)

x

ps. I absolutely LOVE the coffee table that is with the orange lounge and the reading nook with the water pictures behind the chair!! LOVE!

Viera said...

Orange is colour for 2011. So lively and fresh.,What about white piping on a cream or gray( bluish) sofa.
.. and whitewash rattan coffee table. (see Tisch &Co)
X
V

Anonymous said...

I love orange and actually have a perfect artwork for your sister's place. I don't know how it will fit into the new place but I still love it so I am going by the philosophy that if you surround youself with the things you love it will all come together (she says with no conviction whatsoever!). Anyway, what I wanted to say was go neutral on all the big ticket items such as the lounge. You can have fun with orange cushions and swap easily if she tires. or as a happy compromise, have one single armchair in orange as a feature/statement piece. Have fun spending her money!
X Briohny.

Ahmed said...

You have done a marvelous job! I am really inspired with your work.

Kathysue said...

Trish these are all great inspiration images, I am sure your sister will be glad she has you on board!!! I wanted to come by and thank you soooo much for your comment about my blog. I am really happy you are enjoying reading it. Tomorrow I have a guest post over on another blog that is a really fun series, called Shop like a design blogger!! Come by and click on over to her blog. It should be fun and hopefully informative. I was thrilled to read that you are inspired and learning, that is what I hope my blog does for my readers. Thanks for taking the time to let me know that, you are a sweetie, Kathysue

CHECKS AND SPOTS said...

Just stumbled across your blog - love it! also thought you might like the jane iredale giveaway i'm running...stop by and take a peek!

http://checksandspots.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-giveaway-giveaway.html

Julie@beingRUBY said...

HI Trish
Well I the orange/turquoise combo looks terrific... Funny I don't really have much orange... but then I see images like these and love them.. It looks fantastic with the white trims too.. so clean!!

Thanks for your kind comments... Sorry I haven't been over lately... life's a bit nuts.. Good luck with the giveaway and have a great weekend... Hopefully spring will come back soon!!! xxx Julie

Burlap Luxe said...

Thank you Trish,
You sweet visit meant a lot to me, your comments that support my blog is treasured. I too am inspired by what you do and creative postings, I just can't get the design out of me!

See you soon :)
your a dear heart!
G'day
Love
xoxo
Dore

Paper Tree Studio said...

Beautiful images Trish. I am a fan of orange but would stay with it as an accent only and leave the furniture as the neutral backdrop. I like the idea of grey/neutral lounge with the orange accents. Perhaps she could splurge on an accent chair for a bit on punch - whatever she does, with you by her side she will not go wrong! Hope your having a great weekend. Michelle

Signe said...

What a lovely post! I love orange and especially the 1st, 2nd and 6th picture caught my eye.

Have a great weekend :)

Brendan said...

Great post. love the spare Northern European feel of the images, very Nordic if that is the word.

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