Category: Inspiration Board

Portland’s Color Scheme

Our trip to Portland this summer got me so inspired about modern-but-still-classic color schemes, especially on the exterior of homes.

I think one of my favorite things about Portland is the homes. We stayed in an airbnb in a family’s basement and the interior and exterior were both so beautiful. In fact, driving down any street you will be able to feast your eyes on some beautiful homes. The architecture style is often Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, Bungalow, and my personal favorite–one of those I previously mentioned plus modern additions and revisions. A modern fusion, perhaps. There’s even a cool hashtag for those on instagram– #housemullet.

My computer is giving me some problems, so I can’t create an inspiration board or anything for you right now. So how about some eye candy?

From 2012 “Portland Modern Home Tour.”
From “Steph & Phil’s Reimagined Victorian” on Apartment Therapy
From TinyHouseTalk

I think the magical combination is natural wood + soft green (or earthy purple) plus a pretty punch of matte black. Something to contemplate as the fall approaches… pretty color scheme for a dinner party, or a small room refresh, or outfit!

Bathroom Plans!

It seems to be a well-established trend in Blogger-Land that the smallest spaces in the home are the ones tackled first. Going with the trend, the bathroom was the first space on my radar, especially since I wanted to paint something a BOLD color after living with white walls in an apartment for a year and a half. Since I want to stay largely neutral in most of the main areas, we certainly went dark, and it was so invigorating!

The space isn’t done yet but I did whip up an inspiration board as a kind of sneak peek. Making these is helpful to see if certain themes go together well, and makes it easy to swap art art pieces, for example, to find the best fit.

Arboretum Inspiration Board

artwork / elephant hanging / wall unit / turkish towel

bath accessories / paint / floor mat 

The paint color, which is already on the walls, is called Arboretum by Behr. I happened to grab a “color trend” leaflet while in the paint area and the intense dark turquoise immediately grabbed me! I thought it would be a cool way to play referee between the mishmash of white (cabinets, toilet) and cream (shower/bath, countertop).

Since the bathroom has two doors (one opens to the hall, one opens to the master bedrdoom), and the doors remained white, there is actually a lot of lightness remaining in the bathroom, even with a super saturated color. I love it.

Bringing in other neutrals such as the same wooden wall fixture we had in the other apartment was another way to connect the bathroom with other areas of the house. I hope eventually every room has at least one nice wood piece, be it a table, desk, dresser, or something else. I don’t mind mixing and matching wood tones, as long as the styles speak to each other.

Now we’re literally waiting for paint to dry, so we can put back up the hand towel hanger, shower curtain rod, etc. Hopefully next time I check in I should have some great photos to share!

Barney Stinson’s Apartment

Over a year ago, I posted about creating a cohesive color scheme for our last house. I lamented the dark gray walls, gray quilt and dark brown wardrobe as looking too masculine, and I name dropped “Barney Stinson’s Apartment” from How I Met Your Mother–in all it’s gray-on-gray-on-gray glory. Surprisingly enough, in the past year I kept seeing “Barney Stinson” apartment-related terms show up under search terms that bring people to my site…. 197 times in total, to be precise.

So, it is official–I must please the masses and come up with an inspiration board based on Barney’s bachelor pad. To be honest, this was a really fun exercise for me, because as I’m sure you know, my friends, this is not my style. Sure, I have a dark gray mid-century modern couch, but I am pretty sure the similarities end there.

I started by looking at screen grabs from the show, which included his living room, bedroom, and kitchen. The color scheme is obvious: grays, metals, and a bit of brown here and there. The set designers on this show really got into the mind of the suit-wearing confirmed bachelor and committed to the motif. There are very few decorative pieces (especially when contrasted with Lily and Marshall’s eclectic abode). Let’s be honest–if his apartment was an outfit, it would be a designer three-piece suit. Here is where I ended up:

Barney Stinson's Apartment

The Paint: Unfortunately, I do not know what color the set designers chose. I do know that Farrow and Ball’s “Down Pipe” is the deep-gray of the moment around the blogosphere, and it seems fitting for this room. Benjamin Moore’s “Dark Pewter” qualifies as runner-up. Design Star Emily Henderson has a list of her favorite gray paints (with a healthy dose of Ryan Gosling) which may also be helpful.

The Couch: While the couch on TV is dark gray (choose “smoke” as color option–pictured), I would have selected a deep brown leather (amaretto) to break up the all-gray party!

The Tables: Barney’s side tables and coffee table feature the same look–metal straight lines with a wood or glass top. Cubes or rectangular box shapes are the key here. Men–you are in luck. This design is everywhere right now. The ones I chose are from CB2–console and side table. IKEA also has some similar options.

The TV: Sure, it’s not a 300-inch screen, taking up an entire wall, but at 90 inches–yes, that’s 7.5 feet–diagonal, this Sharp Aquos LED TV is one of the biggest on the market.

The Extras: Man-cave decor like Samurai swords or tribal masks make the man seem adventurous, while the few art pieces that hang on the wall are reminiscent of quirky movie posters or book covers. The Voyage and Lord Vader Prints from Society6. Duo table lamp from Room & Board.

Extra Credit: If you are in the market for Stinson-approved bedding, you are in luck. If you want your tabletop to reflect the motif, these are the dishes for you.

This was fun–I may make a series of inspiration boards inspired my my favorite TV sets. For more of my inspiration boards, click here.