Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger Brett Bara

Congrats to Luz A Perdomo., winner of Tuesday’s COLOR YOUR LIFE kit! Luz, you will receive an email from us shortly. Thank you everyone for your comments, we are sending $100 to Sinergia! Keep checking back, there are more chances to win all week!

Welcome to COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger week! We have invited 5 vibrant contributors to the YOLO Colorhouse blog to write about how color inspires the creative work they do and beautifies the world we live in. Today’s guest blogger: Brett Bara from Manhattan Craft Room.

Comment on Brett’s blog for your chance to win a COLOR YOUR LIFE Kit – 1 gal of YOLO Colorhouse paint, set of YOLO Colorhouse fan decks, and a 100% organic cotton canvas YOLO tote. Your comment also counts as a $1 donation to Brett’s non-profit of choice, Sinergia, a New York City-based organization that assists adults and children with disabilities.

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Brett Bara - brettbara.com

Brett Bara is a TV host, author & designer who is crafting, DIY-ing, cooking, eating, sewing, decorating and thrifting, in Brooklyn, NY. Brett is the author of the book Sewing in a Straight Line and creator of the blog Manhattan Craft Room.

Color inspires me in every way, every day! An unexpected pop of a bright color just grabs me, no matter what I’m doing. As a crafts and sewing designer, my work is all about color. I’m a big believer that projects don’t have to be difficult or time-consuming, so my process usually starts with very basic shapes and constructions, which are brought to life with great color.

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

ASPIRE .05
PETAL .03

It’s amazing how a simple silhouette can really sing in an eye-catching shade. Basic curtains or a simple throw pillow are suddenly a major statement if you choose the right fabric. A plain knitted scarf or a simple cake become showstoppers in the right shade. Color is an amazing tool for adding impact to DIY projects, without a lot of effort.

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

IMAGINE .04
PETAL .05

Nothing inspires me more than the color of raw materials. I love going to a fabric store, yarn store or paint store and just soaking it all in… my mind instantly fills with more ideas than I’ll ever have time for, and I get a total creativity-excitement buzz.

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

PETAL .07
PETAL .04

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

PETAL .03
NOURISH .06

These days I’m into a palette of contrasts: I’m all about a background of grey, black and white highlighted with bold pops of bright pink, yellow and green. Sometimes I have to laugh at myself because these colors keep popping up over and over again in all aspects of my life.

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

STONE .07
THRIVE .02

I’m decorating my new apartment in this palette, most of the desserts I make end up fitting in this color scheme, and even my cat matches (hello, grey fur and yellow eyes)! And yes, my outfits usually fit the bill, too. I swear I don’t plan it this way, I just gravitate to the same color story over and over again. But why fight it? It’s a fun, playful palette that makes me happy every day.

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

PETAL .04
ASPIRE .04

Brett Bara - brettbara.com

PETAL .02
STONE .07

Sinergia is a New York City-based non-profit that assists adults and children with disabilities, including a great program that teaches participants arts and crafts, which are then sold at special crafts fairs. This group holds a special place in my heart because I believe so strongly that crafts and arts can empower us all and bring great meaning to our lives. I grew up with a mentally challenged uncle and for that reason I love to support groups that work to enrich the lives of the disabled community.

Let me know how color inspires your daily life in the comments below — each comment counts as a $1 donation to Sinergia (up to $100) and enters you to win a COLOR YOUR LIFE kit!

- Brett Bara

For more inspiring images from Brett Bara, visit our COLOR YOUR LIFE Pinterest board!

COLOR YOUR LIFE Kit: 1 gal of YOLO Colorhouse paint, set of YOLO Colorhouse fan decks, and a 100% organic cotton canvas YOLO tote

Posted on March 13, 2012 by kim
Posted in Art, Color, Garden, Green Living, Home Decor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 75 Comments
Monday, March 12th, 2012

COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger Megan Reardon

Congrats to Susan R., winner of Monday’s COLOR YOUR LIFE kit! Susan R., you will receive an email from us shortly. Thank you everyone for your comments, we are sending $100 to MusiCares! Keep checking back, there are more chances to win all week!

Welcome to COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger week! We have invited 5 vibrant contributors to the YOLO Colorhouse blog to write about how color inspires the creative work they do and beautifies the world we live in. Today’s guest blogger: Megan Reardon from NotMartha.org.

Comment on Megan’s blog for your chance to win a COLOR YOUR LIFE Kit – 1 gal of YOLO Colorhouse paint, set of YOLO Colorhouse fan decks, and a 100% organic cotton canvas YOLO tote. Your comment also counts as a $1 donation to Megan’s non-profit of choice, MusiCares – a non-profit that helps music people who don’t have safety nets for emergencies.

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Megan created her blog, Not Martha, in 2001 as a place to keep track of her many crafty projects. From sewing to baking to interior design, Megan documents her color-filled projects daily on her blog, which has garnered mentions from hundreds of heavily trafficked sites including Daily Candy, Apartment Therapy, and Metafilter, and has been nominated for several Bloggie awards.

I create DIY projects for my website and they are often themed for holidays so I use lots of color to reflect the celebration.

Megan Reardon - notmartha.org

PETAL .04
ASPIRE .05

Megan Reardon - notmartha.org

THRIVE .06
DREAM .04

When I have supplies spread out across my dining room to take photographs the mess is so festive I almost don’t want to put everything away. I have a lot of fun gathering supplies for a new project and have been known to travel far to see if the shades of a different brand of tissue paper would be even better.

Megan Reardon - notmartha.org

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SPROUT .01

Megan Reardon - notmartha.org

THRIVE .06
PETAL .06

Often when I’m out looking for materials the color options will inspire or finalize a project and I’ll return far more obsessed than I started out.

Color is also essential in my house, I live in Seattle and bright splashes of color help combat the gloomy winter months. I have an orange dining room wall that makes the room feel very awake, a Mediterranean blue front door and some fresh green doors in our back entry. Touches of bright yellow lighten my bedroom and are easy to swap out if I change my mind (which I do, often). With these colors surrounding me it reminds me to keep my life as well as my work playful.

CLAY .02
PETAL .05
THRIVE .03
ASPIRE .04

Let me know how color inspires your daily life in the comments below — each comment counts as a $1 donation to my non-profit of choice (up to $100), MusiCares – an organization that helps music people who don’t have safety nets for emergencies, and enters you to win a COLOR YOUR LIFE kit!

- Megan Reardon

For more inspiring images from Megan Reardon, visit our COLOR YOUR LIFE Pinterest board!

COLOR YOUR LIFE Kit: 1 gal of YOLO Colorhouse paint, set of YOLO Colorhouse fan decks, and a 100% organic cotton canvas YOLO tote

Posted on March 12, 2012 by kim
Posted in Art, Color, Garden, Green Living, Home Decor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 107 Comments
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Color Your Life – Guest Blogger Week!

Color is an integral part of what we do at YOLO Colorhouse – it brings us joy, fills us with passion, and surrounds us with beauty.  From putting together trend palettes to creating the perfect color combinations for your home, color inspires us! We know that we are not the only ones that color has this effect on, and that’s why we have something very special in the works for our Color Community!

The week of March 12-16, we have invited 5 vibrant and creative people to share their ideas on how color inspires the work they do.  On the YOLO Colorhouse blog, we are honored to be able to share their unique perspectives on color with you during COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger Week!

Here’s the lowdown on the amazing contributors to COLOR YOUR LIFE:

Monday, March 12: Blogger Megan Reardon! Megan created her blog Not Martha in 2001 as a place to keep track of her many crafty projects. From sewing to baking to interior design, Megan documents her color-filled projects daily on her blog.

Tuesday, March 13: Crafter Brett Bara! Brett is a TV host, author and designer who is crafting, DIY-ing, cooking, eating, sewing, decorating and thrifting in Brooklyn, NY. Brett is the author of the book Sewing in a Straight Line and creator of the Manhattan Craft Room.

Wednesday, March 14: Photographer Leela Cyd Ross! Leela is a photographer based in Portland, OR and Los Angeles, CA. She’s Apartment Therapy’s Photo Editor, where she blogs about photography at the Super Photo Magic School and on her website.

Thursday, March 15: Designer Catherine Bailey! Catherine is the co-owner/creative director, Heath Ceramics based in Sausalito, CA. Heath Ceramics is one of the few remaining mid-century American potteries still in existence today. In 2003, Catherine, with her husband Robin Petravic, purchased Heath Ceramics with a mission to revitalize the company through a strong focus on design and handcrafted techniques for their tile and tableware lines, while staying true to the history and values of Heath Ceramics.  Get a sneak peek of their upcoming summer seasonal collection on her guest blog, right here, next week!

Friday, March 16: Author and Blogger, Cheryl Sternman Rule! Cheryl has been writing professionally for newspapers, magazines, and websites since 2004. She is the voice behind the food blog 5 Second Rule, which has been online since 2008 and enjoys an enthusiastic following. Her first cookbook, RIPE: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables, a collaboration with food photographer Paulette Phlipot, will be available very soon – March 27, 2012 – but is available for pre-order online NOW right here!

Pretty awesome, right?

And that’s not all…as part of the COLOR YOUR LIFE week, your comments on these posts will automatically count as a $1 donation to the blogger’s non-profit of choice!

PLUS…you will also have the opportunity to win YOLO Colorhouse paint and products! Your comment on the YOLO Colorhouse blog each day automatically enters you to win a Color Your Life kit. Kit includes: 1 gal of YOLO Colorhouse paint, set of YOLO Colorhouse fandecks, and a 100% organic cotton tote.

As fellow “color nerds”, we hope you are as excited about COLOR YOUR LIFE – Guest Blogger week as we are…we can’t wait!  See you next week!

In color,

The YOLO Colorhouse bunch

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Janie Lowe
Posted in Art, Color, Garden, Green Living, Home Decor, People in their Spaces, Portland, OR, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

The Color of Cabo

by Puji Sherer of YOLO Colorhouse

In Cabo San Lucas, outside the hustle of tourists, smell of carnitas, and long lines of tequila bars, there is a place where the color and craft of Mexico come alive. Across busy highways and down deserted, sandy streets, you will find La Fabrica de Vidrio Soplado – the Glass Factory.

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IMAGINE .02

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DREAM .04

Walking through the colorful gates of the factory, stained glass murals tell the story of the Mexican tradition of glass blowing. The first hand-blown glass in North America was made in Mexico, the medium brought to the region by the Spaniards in the 1500s.

PETAL .05
PETAL .01

PETAL .06
DREAM .06

Outside, visual delight abounds! Color bounces off dangling glass orbs that adorn the trees along the exterior of the factory. Ahhhh…la belleza está en todas partes!

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DREAM .02

ASPIRE .04
THRIVE .05

THRIVE .01
CLAY .02

Inside, rows of colorful glasses, pitchers, and vases reflect the light of the Baja sun. Recycled glass bottles of all shades – green, white, brown – are melted down and re-formed into unique pieces. Against a backdrop of glowing kilns, artisans work together to create functional objects that bring the beauty of the handmade into the everyday.

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STONE .04

THRIVE .03
DREAM .05

Experience the Color of Cabo – visit La Fabrica de Vidrio Soplado!

The Glass Factory, Vitrofusion y Arte (La Fabrica de Vidrio Soplado)
Lazaro Cardenas S/N
Edificio Posada Local 6-A
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Office: (624) 143-0120
Factory (La Fabrica): (624) 143-0255

PETAL .05
PETAL .06
DREAM .04
THRIVE .06
ASPIRE .06
DREAM .05

Posted on February 29, 2012 by kim
Posted in Art, Color, Home Decor, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Dogs and Color

We have two dogs who share our colorful office space – Sadie and Goose.  They are the mascots of color, but it turns out, they only see some of the colors in the YOLO Colorhouse palette!

We were doing some research and came across a short article in Solar Week on dog’s color vision.  “Although it was once thought that dogs could only see in black and white, this is untrue. They do, however, have a restricted ability to see the whole visible spectrum. This is thought to be due to the fact that dogs were primarily nocturnal animals before they were domesticated and so color perception was not so necessary.”

Our office walls are painted in DREAM .05 and LEAF .04 – Sadie and Goose are able to enjoy this view of color.

DREAM .05
LEAF .04

The spectrum they see are the more tranquil hues – greens, blues and browns.  Maybe this is why Sades and Goose are so easy-going!

Sades and Janie enjoy another day at the office.

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Ginnie Young
Posted in Color, Home Decor, Portland, OR | 1 Comment
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Color Inspired by Rejuvenation

Tomorrow night Janie and I will be participating in an event at Rejuvenation.  We are going to be talking about how we develop color palettes and we will also talk about our latest 2012 Spring trend palette.  Rejuvenation’s company historian, Bo Sullivan, will talk about  the making of their new Arts & Crafts lighting collection.  If you are in Portland, we would love to see you!  RSVP here.

Inspired by Rejuvenation’s period lighting lines, we put together architectural color palettes designed to flow through the home and influence, along with the fixtures, the style and feel of the space.

The YOLO Colorhouse Mission palette — LEAF .02, CLAY .04, GRAIN .06 , CLAY .06 — is inspired by Rejuvenation’s Buckman Mission style light fixture, The Cascade Chandelier and the Deck- Mount Clawfoot Tub seen above.  The amber shades, antique copper and bronze gilt finish of the lighting fixtures harmonize easily with the more muted hues in this natural color palette! Beautiful!

The YOLO Colorhouse Industrial palette is right on trend for 2012.   Simple utilitarian fixtures like Rejuvenation’s McCoy work well with basic hues like STONE .07 and IMAGINE .02.   Incorporating pops of  red and yellow like  CREATE .04 and ASPIRE .06, bring warmth and energy to a home when used in combination with a cooler, more industrial aesthetic .  We especially love the way the functional repurposed look of the Wiley interacts with colors in this palette.

The bold, clean forms of Rejuvenation’s Echo and Glide wall brackets inform this palette of classic black and white.   Color finds its way into this combo with  butter yellow ASPIRE .03 and a pop of that classic deco green THRIVE .04.  We think THRIVE .04 and Rejuvenation’s green porcelain finish are related!  What a great color to use to immediately set the period to Deco in your home. Or use it as a beautiful coloristic surprise against a more neutral backdrop.

Sleek, clean, and a hint of playfulness.  These are the characteristics of our Mid Century Modern palette. Rejuvenations  Sfera 16 mid-century pendant, Corona pendant and the Orbis pendant, pictured above, echo this elegant, yet slightly whimsical feeling of the 1950s.  While the white of IMAGINE .05 is an easy “go to” for this period, not to be forgotten are the  bright accent hues of THRIVE .02, DREAM .04, and PETAL .06.

We hope to see some of you tomorrow night!

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Ginnie Young
Posted in Color, Home Decor, Portland, OR | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Monday, February 6th, 2012

Spring 2012 Palette!

2012 is all about hope and optimism and we are not shying away from bringing more color into our lives this Spring!

Sunny, bright yellows are hot in home décor, and when paired with light blues and greens, create a fresh Spring look.  Perfect for sunrooms, kitchens and bedrooms- this palette is sure to lift spirits and instill optimism.  Appropriately pulled from our Color of Hope collection, ASPIRE .05 is the yellow anchor or accent for this group.  DREAM .05 breathes cool air into the mix, while THRIVE .02 adds a tangy twist and IMAGINE .03 brings the balance.

To get this fresh, bright look, use ASPIRE .05 on the walls, IMAGINE .03 on trim & headboard, and DREAM .04 and THRIVE .02 as accents in the bedding and accessories.

For a peaceful nursery, DREAM .04 or SPROUT .01 could be used with ASPIRE .05 yellows in the bedding and THRIVE .02 greens sprinkled around.

To create a fun and lively teen room, use THRIVE .02 as the major wall color, with DREAM .04 under the chair rail, and the crisp IMAGINE .03 on the trim.

You can get the “look” with variations of these tangy hues as in this photo – the walls are a lighter version, THRIVE .01, while the sofa is close to THRIVE .03.  The DREAM .04 chair and pillows add an aqua accent that balances all the greens in the room.

Pantone’s color of the year, Tangerine Tango, is a great accent color to use with the new spring palette!

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Janie Lowe
Posted in Color, Green Living, Home Decor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Creating a Mid-Century Color Palette: Guest Blogger Rejuvenation

On February 16, Rejuvenation, known for reproducing period-authentic lighting and hardware, and YOLO Colorhouse are holding a special event meant  to educate and inspire homeowners and DIY enthusiasts at the Portland Rejuvenation store at 100 SE Grand Ave. at 6:00 p.m.  For both companies, color is the anchor when putting together new palettes and collections.

In this blogpost, Rejuvenation Industrial Designer, Tim, writes about the how they arrived at the color palette for their Mid-Century Modern lighting collection:

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DREAM .05
LEAF .04

With everything we do, historical authenticity is the reference point.  No different for creating the color and finish palette for our Mid-Century Modern Collection. The thing about selecting period correct colors for an era that spans a decade or so, is that  you can find an example of pretty much any color imaginable.  In looking at mid-century vintage lighting catalogs, I found palettes that ranged from cheery pastels, to lively highly saturated colors, to somber deep tones.  How to choose? I studied other catalogs too – bath fixture catalogs, house paint swatch books, catalogs for kitchen and dinette furniture with Formica tops and vinyl upholstery. Lots of interesting color data points, lots of colors evocative of the era, but not really any clear or obvious and compelling palette directions.  And our lighting product manager reminded me that it wasn’t only about historical accuracy – the colors had to relate to what our customers might like to actually use and live with in their homes today. So much for my personal favorite 1950’s color combo – coral and gray.

The breakthrough came when I had a flashback from my a car-obsessed childhood: the striking colors used on the 1956 Thunderbird.  I have a distinct memory as a youngster seeing those early T-Birds with the subtle tailfins, porthole windows, fender skirts and continental kits – and the colors -  richly saturated yellow, green, turquoise, vermillion, and others. If there was ever an inspired color palette, that was it.   You can pretty much see the very colors that we ultimately selected on the Thunderbird color swatch page.

The four colors that we ended up with were quite similar to what has recently been very trendy in contemporary décor, although we arrived there through a process based on historical use of color. One plausible explanation for the widespread popularity of these colors is that the mid-century esthetic is such a strong influence on today’s contemporary style.

In our Mid-Century Collection, we have a number of fixtures (Astron, Astron tri, Corona, Corona Tri in particular) where there is the option to mix finishes . The goal with the palette was to offer compatible colors that customers could mix and match in a more or less fool-proof way.  Personally, I think mixes of a neutral and one color can quite be quite sharp.  Some of our customers have been considerably more adventuresome.

CREATE .03
DREAM .05

LEAF .04
ASPIRE .05

Posted on February 1, 2012 by kim
Posted in Color | 1 Comment
Saturday, January 21st, 2012

Color Builds Community

As a “color nerd” I was thrilled to see proof that the unexpected use of color could not only transform a town, but also build community!  The Favela Painting Project was part of the Design with the other 90%: CITIES show that I saw at the United Nations this fall.

A drawing of the imagined project.

Artists Jeroen Koolhaus and Dre Urhahn joined with locals to use color to build community in the Santa Marta slums of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Before the painting began

Locals worked with the artists to create the town size mural.

The project really speaks to the power of color!

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Ginnie Young
Posted in Color, Green Living, People in their Spaces, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Pantone’s Color of 2012-Tangerine Tango

Every year, Pantone announces a “Color of the Year”, a hue that they project will influence development of fashion, industrial design, packaging, graphic design and home decor.  This year, the color is “Tangerine Tango”, a spicy and vibrant, red-hot orange!

Here’s what Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute® says about the choice, “sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

This is a fantastic color, full of vitality and movement- it comes forward and demands your attention.  That said, one may want tread lightly when using it in architecture.

When choosing color for your home, there are several design elements to consider, such as light, space, mood and surrounding colors.  The three inherent characteristics of color that also need to be considered when making color choices are hue, value and intensity.

Hue, is the name of the color, such as red-orange.  Value is the lightness or darkness of the color.  Intensity is the saturation level of the hue.  In choosing color for architecture, value and intensity are especially important because of scale.

It would be very intense to be in a room surrounded with Tangerine Tango painted on the walls from floor to ceiling.  Studies have shown that blood pressure actually rises when surrounded by saturated reds and oranges.

However, used sparingly as accents, or color pops in accessories, a red-hot orange can be smashing.

This energetic, firey color works well when paired with it’s complimentary family of colors, blues to greens.  The balance of cool colors offer relief and a place to rest your eyes.

We at YOLO Colorhouse love reds and oranges- they are people magnets and create social gathering spaces.  When we designed our CLAY  family of colors, we paid special attention to the intensity.  We muted the vibrant hues to earthy, clay-like colors, taking cues from nature.  These more subtle tones create a comfortable backdrop for an environment, while staying interesting and bold.

CLAY .02

CLAY .03
CLAY .01
LEAF .02

CLAY .04

So please- don’t be afraid to use reds and oranges in your home, just think about the intensity of the color, and use accordingly.  The more intense or saturated the color, the less you will need of it to make an impact.  Use more earthy, less intense color in larger swaths to surround you, I promise, you will be more comfortable.

CLAY .05

Of course, we are the first to break rules around color – here are our saturated oranges and reds, called CREATE, from our Color of Hope collection, and a couple of PETALS from our Earth’s Color Collection…. you have been warned!:)

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CREATE .03
CREATE .04
CREATE .05
PETAL .01
PETAL .06

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Janie Lowe
Posted in Art, Color, Home Decor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment