Showing posts with label Guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guide. Show all posts

2013 Color Guide Palettes : Made Easy Ideas from HGTV


Color Palettes Made Easy

Need a pleasing color palette for your home decor? Just look around you! From works of art to stylish scarves, gorgeous color combinations are everywhere. Choose a colorful piece by an artist or designer, and the work is done for you.

By Jennifer & Kitty O'Neil


Let a Plate Be Your Palette

Dinnerware is a one-stop shop for pretty palettes. Plates come in all styles and colors, from casual to formal, so you can pick out a color story for every room in the house. And you needn't buy a service for eight. Often you can get a single salad plate or teacup to use as your mood board.


Accessorize With Color

If you want to freshen up your kitchen, but you can't afford to change the counters and cabinets, you need to accessorize. Take your sample plate with you to pick out dishtowels, canisters and bowls. It may not seem like a big makeover to get bright new spatulas, but when you put them all together, colorful details make a splash!


Take a Tip From Textiles

Inspiration objects can show you how to marry colors in ways you might not have considered. Sure, tangy lime, orange and marigold go well with white (what doesn't?). But who would have thought that adding ecru, black and charcoal would make such a cool combo?


Make a Modern Mix

When it comes to color in the dining room, go beyond tablecloths and placemats. Vivid accessories like charger plates, napkin rings and finger bowls spice up the table with color. Feel free to mix the colors from your palette in unusual ways. A paprika charger plate next to a celadon runner is more exciting than going all one color.

Learn From the Masters

The colors of the great outdoors go together naturally and can be a fertile source for palettes. But with a world of so many greens and blues out there, how can you possibly decide which hues to use? Instead of trying to match swatches to blades of grass, let a painted landscape be your guide. Leave it to the painter to select their vision of nature's aquamarines, indigos and golds.


Elevate Your Mood

A painting can inspire your accents as well as your colors. This glassy vase not only brings in the landscape's blues and greens, but also echoes the reflective pond surface. The leafy lotus candles float on the counter like the painting's flowering irises. The wooden soap dish and chestnut bird finish off the look with a nod to the whimsical flooded birdhouse.

Tap Into a Trend

You can find trendy color palettes on all kinds of things if you keep an eye out for them. This kooky, collapsible shopping basket features raspberry with yummy chocolate and touches of tangerine and turquoise. Delicious! Don't worry about trying to decorate with the inspiration object, though. Just steal its colors then use the item elsewhere.


Launch Your Look

To coordinate your colors in a flash, add one accent that magically combines many of the colors in your scheme. A throw pillow embroidered in hues from the shopping basket gives this room a unified look. When you see the colors entwined on the pillow, it makes sense to have a raspberry basket next to a turquoise table.



Focus on Fashion

A boutique find like a hand-painted silk scarf not only helps you select colors, it tells you how much of each color to use. This beautiful scarf has scarlet as the primary color with forest and olive as secondary colors. Black comes in strong as an accent and pops of cobalt and periwinkle express artistic flair.


Issue Yourself Artistic License

To make a bold statement with color, you're going to need a lot of confidence or a great designer piece to define your color scheme. Trust the artist to show you amazing combinations you may have never imagined before. Then you can drape a pale purple blanket across a red duvet with black shams and have no fear.

Kitchen Appliances Buying Guide : How to Choose the Right Kitchen Appliances

Your kitchen appliances in your home make up the one of the largest investments for your pocket, as well as your time, which equates to functionality for your lifestyle in the kitchen. Buying kitchen appliances can be a daunting task when you look at all of the options, from energy saving, to high end designer models, to low cost models, how do you choose? Here are tips to guide your through the buying process and to help you feel informed and confident with your kitchen appliance buying decisions.





Refrigerators: With any appliance, before you get enamored with all the whistles and bells of how beautiful it looks and all of the gadgets assess your lifestyle. With refrigerators consider how many times you and your family cook and eat from home. For larger families, larger capacity units will be necessary, as well as the ability for longer preservation of food. Higher end models that offer dual refrigeration, on-door controls, and energy efficiency may be more important for your families needs. While singles or those who don’t cook a lot may prefer a snazzy stainless steel or built-in model that looks fantastic, but doesn’t need all of the accompaniments. Also consider if your home would need separate wine refrigeration storage, or possibly refrigerated drawers for easy






  • Ovens/Stoves: When considering an oven and stove, think about how you typically cook and if you’re a novice or an experienced cook. The oven or stove you choose can have a great impact on how you cook and whether the energy you use to heat them is worthwhile. Convection over conventional ovens tends to use more energy but for expert cooks they enjoy the even distribution over heat and can usually cook their food faster and with more control. For those interested in buying a stove or cooktop, there are several options: induction, gas or electric all have their pros and cons. Most beginning cooks appreciate electric for its slow heat up, while experienced cooks prefer induction and ultimately gas stoves for its fast heat up and ability to cook under precise conditions.




  • Ventilation system: One area of your kitchen that is forgotten when considering appliances is the ventilation system. Range hoods overhead, or down draft systems that are integral into the countertop or cooktop are great for unobstructed overhead views. Depending on the size of your stove/cooktop and if you have an integral grill, griddle, burners, and other heating elements may increase the need for higher ventilation systems overhead. Research your favored appliance manufacturer too see what type of ventilation system is recommended for your kitchen.




  • Dishwasher: Similarly to your refrigerator, your family’s lifestyle will largely dictate what type of dishwasher will be ideal for your home. Lower end models tend to have simplified controls, while more elaborate ones will have energy efficiency qualities, hidden controls, and noise reduction qualities – especially helpful in small homes or open floor plans. Dishwasher drawers are also available for smaller amounts of dishware and can save water usage when you don’t have large loads to clean.



Choosing kitchen appliances for your home should be a rewarding experience but also fulfill your lifestyle and aesthetics of your kitchen. Use this helpful buying guide before you venture out to choose appliances. Also measure out the clear opening width and height of your space for the new appliances. There is nothing worse than investing on new appliances, for them not to fit in your kitchen!