Pepper Design Blog

Pantone Color of the Year + Valentine’s Day

Pantone has named Honeysuckle as their 2011 Color of the Year – and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner I’ve been inspired by the ‘not quite hot pink but warmer than coral’ color for the home, wardrobe and even a Valentine’s Day party.

Honeysuckle (I thought of yellow when I initially heard the color) makes a great impact in small doses. I love the idea of a pink rug in a grey or navy room – or perhaps as a small side table, patterned pillow or a knitted throw for the couch.

For the wardrobe, how about a thin honeysuckle belt over a darker/neutral cardigan? Or even in a pair of daring heels!

Clockwise: rug by Madeline Weinrib, sketches, Tini Table, room at DecorPad, pillow shared on Ecosalon,

For honeysuckle Valentine’s Day inspiration, head over to Sweetopia for delicious recipes and cupcake decorating ideas.

Yum.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner!

Accessory Finds for Under $50

I’ve been on the search for some fun accessories to update a few of our rooms and came across plenty of great ideas in the under $50 range that I thought I’d share.

From a bohemian tapestry for the bed or wall to a vintage ceramic platter for jewelry to a wooden ladder to layer throws on, I love mixing different design styles (like shabby chic with contemporary) to create a unique blend.

Clockwise: Union Jack Banner Wall Art - Urban Outfitters $48, Lenox Candlesticks – Amazon $35, Devina Tapestry - Urban Outfitters $38, Bamboo Ladder Honey – Urban Home $40, Saguaro Tray – Anthropologie $30, Metal Storage Basket – Urban Home $30, Lotus Dinner Ware – Anthropologie $4-10,  Spheres Lamp – Pier 1 $30, Iron Sun Burst Mirror – Amazon $40,  Perennial Pillow Cover – West Elm $30

I like the idea of incorporating different metals into a space. Most rooms have plenty of wood and fabric accents but mixing in an additional material like a metal mirror, basket or shiny table lamp adds a new dimension. And for under $50!

Now back to online ‘window’ shopping.

Office Makeover: Inspirational Rooms

Progress on the new home office/guestroom has stalled a bit with all of the excitement over here. In fact, now that Olivia has arrived I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll find the time to finish up this new space that we conveniently opened up just three weeks before her arrival.

Until then, I’m having plenty of fun dreaming up the design of the future multi-functional room.

The above room from BHG’s January issue fits in some of my favorite organizational ideas and I love how the wood and various metals work together. The below DecorPad rooms show off clean, well-designed office spaces that balance style and functionality.

I’d love to find a white desk similar to this version shown on the front page of the January issue of BHG, and how great are those beautiful linen, rattan and leather organizing binders and boxes?

More great examples of that perfect style-meets-function from Houzz and Ish & Chi.

And a few more from DecorPad.

I love the look of floor to ceiling bookcases as in the first room below – painting or wallpapering the back of them to mix it up would be a fun idea too. These examples of beautiful diy spaces are from Centsational Girl, Turquoise Design and House Beautiful.

Finally, I’ve been putting some thought into the bedroom end of the room as well. These examples of rooms in soft greys and blues would be soothing for the guestroom and complimentary to the adjoining office, which might use the same tones but in more saturated varieties and with more patterns. Rooms from Rue Magazine and BHG.

Hopefully we’ll get back to the building, plastering and hammering soon, but in the mean time I’ve begun the hunt for the perfect desk, bookshelves, bed… *sigh* and so on, and tracking down, salvaging or refurbishing each of these pieces on a serious budget will leave me plenty to do in the mean time.

Back to Craigslist I go! (what else is there to do at 2, 4 & 6am, anyhow?)