I need your feedback!
01/07/2009 05:51 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
We wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009. I want to thank you for your business and the many opportunities to answer your color questions through our blog articles and contact form. It is my turn to trust your opinion because I need your feedback! We are expanding our products and launching our first exterior line of “front door” colors.
WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW:
1. Do you currently have a painted front door? (If not, please feel free to walk in those shoes and give me your 2 cents)
2. How often do you repaint it?
3. What problems do you face when choosing colors for a front door?
4. What problems do you face when painting your front door?
If it took ONE hour to paint your front door with less than a quart of paint, and you could easily change the color of your front door with the seasons or styles…
1. If you saw a Devine Color paint display for front door paint would you repaint your door?
2. If it was easy and the colors were perfect, how often would you repaint or retouch your door every 6 months? every year?
3. Are you planning to paint your door within 3 months, 6 months, or one year?
Please leave me your comments below…I will take them very seriously!
We will email you a one time $5.00 off coupon on a gallon of paint: Valid on Internet Paint Sales ONLY.
Comment [78]
Color Trends of 2009
01/03/2009 11:59 AM by Gretchen Schauffler
I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New year! Make this THE YEAR OF LIVING IN FULL COLOR! When it comes to color “they say”(who ever they are) that this year’s 2009 color darling is…bright yellow. Coming out of an intense year like we’ve had it doesn’t surprise me that everyone is hoping for a bright and sunny 2009. We all need to tie a yellow ribbon round the old Oak tree and bring our troops home. As far as I can tell, new design ideas in 2009 expand on themes we were introduced to last year with small twists. Fun descriptives combined to deliver the likes of Breathable Zen, ECO Chic, Refined Rustic, Clean Traditional, and Embellished Modern. The 2009 design trends are laced with the ideas of Turning Trash into Treasure and Rewind and Unwind.
This year will allow you to look around at what you already have and think of new creative ways to renew, repurpose, and reinvent your environments. This is why wall color and paint will be your best friend in 2009! Devine Color is in the business of taking what ever trends may come and what ever trends are left over in your home and give you colorful backgrounds that make it all work. Wall colors are the flavor of your sauce, the icing on the cake—let’s face it, it’s not a cake without icing! Make this THE YEAR OF LIVING IN FULL COLOR! We want to hold your hand through the process.
Take a really good look at your home and ask yourself, does it feel like you want it to feel? There is a difference between colors you see and color you feel! This year I plan to write a lot about color, paint, and design. I will cover subjects like Choosing colorful patterns for your home, What colors to choose for your Master Bath, Creating different feelings through color, Wall colors that sell a home, and many more. Read, look, and get inspired with our blog. We are here to answer all your color questions and to make sure that you make 09 absolutely Devine!
My New Year’s Resolutions you ask?
1-Get better at grammar…my spanglish gets in the way
2-Get my address book updated including birthdays
3-Get those close to me to tell me one thing I didn’t know about them
Comment [15]
Hue Correspondent: Peggy Long
12/15/2008 05:31 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
I love olives and have found that during my travels, olives are rarely olive in color. My love of olives started with the olives my mother placed on the Thanksgiving table … black, pitted and no real flavor … put as a kid, they were fun to eat off the ends of my fingers. Ten olives in my mouth! In Turkey we purchased olives and had a variety of them every evening with cocktails. One that was especially good was mixed with a hot pepper spice. WONDERFUL. From Sicily, we purchased olive oil from this private estate … only was able to bring six bottles home … but it was the most incredible, perfect, incredible olive oil. The Olive Farm (used to be a Turkish import business off of Milwaukie Blvd in Portland, Oregon.) was a wonderful supplier of olive oil. We visited their olive farms in Turkey on one of my visits. They are delightful people (friends of my parents), but the sold the business and are, sadly, no longer.
But, rarely do I see olive colored olives on my travels.
Oh, I know there is Olive Green as a Crayola color—which I consider the bible of colors ever since I was introduced to my first box of 12 Crayola crayons many, many years ago. But, without a picture to show the diversity of olive colors, I’d have to rely on trying to write in color. What an elusive challenge. Trying to paint a picture with words. Luckily, I have pictures!
These beautiful ripening Sicilian olives, still on the olive tree branch, hang their blue-purple heads. But what really is blue-purple? Is it amethyst, lavender, lilac, mulberry, plum, violet. Or is it closer to the crayon color of Indigo. No, I think it’s Crayola’s Wild Blue Yonder with speckles of Midnight Blue as the actual olive is somewhat mottled, giving a faux-marble look and texture to the skin. See, even trying to describe the color of the olive can’t be limited to just a single color. And, unless you have your box of Crayola crayons memorized, these colors might not mean anything to you. Amazing, how color amplifies imagery and allows a scene to become the reality of the reader. Your imagination might be easier at matching the color than my trying to illustrate with words what I think is the correct picture perfect color.
In the second picture, a Turkish olive market, the olives are closer to an olive color, but none are the ‘olive green’ we’d naturally first imagine in our mind. The stains of color support each other and blend in their hues and variations. Crayola colors of Chestnut, ginger, amber, flaxen, tawny, sepia and goldenrod all come to mind when I look at this picture. The composition of colors takes an almost bland looking item and gives interest and depth. And if you look closely at each individual olive, you’d notice the divergence of a single color smearing into many. Nature’s painter was a master of blending similar hues and tints. The subtle shades are like drops of liquid gold, giving each shine that will support the incredible.
Olive olives, I think not, but pull out your box of crayons and see what colors you come up with.
To be a Hue Correspondent Please Send Gretchen an Email
Comment [1]
Hue Correspondent: Meredith Schatz
12/08/2008 01:05 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
Being in Maui is like taking a spin on a color wheel. Every shade, hue and tint juxtapositions itself against a tropical landscape. Nuance, texture, form and line punctuate the scene. Sunlight and shadow add intensity and depth. Being a photographer, these conditions captured my heart and mind.
Color grabbed my immediate attention. It invited me to take a closer look and that closer look took me deeper and deeper into the essence of what was there. A ‘still life’ photograph is never ‘still’ when you look into it. It takes me beyond the chatter, beyond the surfaces to a deeper meaning…to a connection with ’beingness’. It assuages my soul.
There I find true joy. At times, I’m so overwhelmed by this, that I forget the technical aspects of photography and miss the shot. Although I’m disappointed, I made a connection that ‘imprinted’ on my brain. I carry that in my mind’s eye forever. For me, Maui presented a photographer’s dream come true.
The warm, moderate climate undoubtedly contributes to the abundant range of color and diversity of its flora and fauna. Coming from the wet and gray Pacific Northwest climate, I quickly, threw off my jeans, socks and tennies and donned sandals, shorts, and shirt all in Hawaiian motifs. Vibrant and colorful, these fabrics define a style and set a tone in this island paradise. My mood brightened and I warmed to the many possibilities awaiting me.
I was surrounded by the amazing combinations and the diversity of hue. The full spectrum of the rainbow lit all around me. I was at the center of the color wheel and with each small turn, a new palette was in front of me. There was a chorus of color in every nook and cranny. Maui is truly a place where ‘color sings’ to quote Gretchen Schauffler of Devine Color.
If you have questions about the photographs or would like to purchase them, please contact me at Morning Moon Photography
To be a Hue Correspondent Please Send Gretchen an Email
Color Trend: Strong feminine color
09/08/2008 12:21 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
During difficult economic times, we turn toward the comfort and safety of our homes—and now is a time to do it it with colorful style in mind.
This is the time to break out the mauves again is anyone ready? Let’s pair mauve up in a new dynamic. From hand-dyed silk shoes to colorful appliances, new versions of old colors are surfacing.
Tossing warm vintage greens, roses, and lilacs into your decorating will sweeten the spicy earthy reds and strong coffee color strokes that have dominated in recent years.
At the other end of the spectrum, what about emerald greens, dazzling bold oranges, and striking blues? These colors will be the eye candy and grace on the arm of glamorous black, charcoal and grays in your color palette. Candy pinks and icy blues will no longer be paired up with just dark chocolate; rather, pink will act as a highlight to crimson reds, cool blue-lavenders will lavish black, and aqua light blues will sparkle among gray.
These colors are already re-shuffling in fashion and jewelry, as well as in commercial spaces such as the “boutique” hotels that are popping up in every major city. Look for the introduction of these colors in accessories, such as pillows, rugs, glass, and especially dinnerware. As always, we expect paint to be a big part of the overall glamor effect. After all, we have those eternal pinks, and those exotic oranges within our Trend-proof, Traveled, and flora-fauna Color Collections!.
Trendy Color: Citrus colors
07/14/2008 12:47 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
Citrus Colors Make Their Way out of the Kitchen.
When we saw Reese Witherspoon out on the red carpet have her “stepping-out” moment wearing what looked like a delectable slice of lemon wedge as a dress, everyone went crazy over her fresh, new look, and the color.
Why not try the same exciting color approach in your home with citrus squirts that embody ripe limes, sun-baked oranges, pomegranate purees, and lemon drops. They might be the shot-in-the-arm your space needs to be revived and refreshed. We are enamored with them because they are a pure and rich concentrated shot of colors from nature that seems alive on their own.
With their bright vitality, they are confident and convey a sense of strength so powerful you’ll believe you can smell and taste these ripe colors.
Tossing fruit colors together like a great fruit salad will add zest and personality to your home, and give rooms a vivacious feeling. I would recommend starting with a dash of bright glassware, dishes, vases, and flowers. Think crimson red wine glasses on white shelves, grapefruit colored candles on black rod-iron, lime green cloth napkins on a cherry wood table, or bright lemony pillows with chocolate stripes on chocolate sofas and buttery chairs. The right balance of citrus colors will make a big difference because these hues are unapologetic and bold.
If you are daring, cover your walls with our new devinegreen™: flora-fauna™ colors such as devinegreen Water Lily™, a soothing lavender, devinegreen Lobster™, a poached orange, devinegreen Cactus™ bog green, devinegreen poppy™, or devinegreen Flamingo™ hot pink. Remember to balance bold colors against icy whites and cool ecru’s to maintain the bright distinction that makes them exciting. Imagine them perfectly wedged in a kitchen, between white cabinets and white trim, a bathroom with subway white tile and a porcelain tub, or standing strong and solid behind milky blue and white bed linens.
And beware if you have earthy and muted color combinations in fabrics and art—These will quickly be overpowered and appear dirty next to strong and striking citrus hues. In such cases, what I call “natural accessories” that carry these colors in their original organic manner, such as flowers and fruit, are more effective in introducing the right amounts. With yellow Daffodils in a rustic Tuscan kitchen, or orange slices stacked up inside a glass vase on a contemporary black table you can add and incorporate these fresh colors harmoniously.
To have your “stepping-out” moment, all you need to do is start playing with these citrus colors, because they are ready to burst out whenever you are, from paint to pillows, to fruit.
Gretchen Schauffler
Artist and Founder of Devine Color®
Comment [2]
March Magazine Movie Moods: Live for a Day with Miss Pettygrew
03/10/2008 09:57 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
The feeling of giddiness, friskiness and excitement you feel when spring rolls around bubbles over in Miss Pettygrew Lives For A Day. It is told with such fizz and froth, that you think you keep floating out of your chair because you have been drinking too much champagne. The wind that scatters the credits across the screen, at the beginning of the movie, are not only reminiscent of Mary Poppins (feeling that magic is about to happen), but blow you into the middle of another era, one rich in ART DECO details and FORTIES FASHION flair.
The story revisits an age-old dilemma—do you choose true love with a chance to have it all, or do you take the guarantee of money or success, without it. Either way, it’s going to cost “you” something. The most costly debt comes in the form of regret. As for Delysia Lafosse, an actress/singer climbing her way to the top, she has all three opportunities at her fingertips. In comes Miss Pettygrew, who as a vicar’s daughter and lifetime governess has had no such opportunities.
She pretends to be a personal secretary sent from the very agency she was fired from. Desperate, and out of the need to survive, she lies and pretends for the first time. Now, she has a chance of a lifetime; to watch how the need to survive affects choices.
From women’s undergarment fashions, that gives us the prehistoric engineered blue print of what today we understand to be Victoria’s Secret, to the perfectly fitted suits and draped dresses that made femininity roar with pride, the backgrounds, costumes, language and downright sexy glamour actually (OK, for only a moment) make you wish you could stay in this satin, gold-foiled, hand-tailored, real fur, wool world if only for day—just like Miss Pettygrew. Yet under the veneer of glamour, a sober message reveals itself as the movie giggly bounces along—women didn’t have many choices to support themselves and achieve success on their own.
What’s a girl to do? Gambling for love, money and success is a game that only a few get to play in hopes of hitting the jackpot. Ending up on the streets, with no means of support, is the ultimate frightening possibility.
So then, after you have feasted on the fabulous stunning décor, don’t forget to check out the kitchen—it is separate and stripped, resembling Miss Pettygrew. It comes across as a visual warning—this is where you could end up, stripped of beauty and sentenced to a life of pure functionality, unless you play your cards right –what a stark contrast to the modern kitchens of today, beautiful centers of social and family entertainment. Maybe these weren’t the good old days. But you did have to rely on a little faith, a little luck, and a lot of hope, which makes this movie irresistibly sentimental.
Oh yeah, back to beauty. Take great pleasure in the fabrics used in this movie, (they are exquisite). This is what I mean when I say that finishes do make a difference on how color looks. Rich fabrics=rich color.
And what about those stunning metallic finishes on walls and hand painted wallpaper?. I know that Devine Latte, Devine Glass, Devine Ginseng, Devine Silver and Fog would have loved to have participate in the glory (and may have).
Needless to say you will recognize the myriad of contemporary classic lines that spill over onto today’s interior design’s forward trends with inspiration that comes from lightning in a bottle!
Directed by Bharat Nalluri; written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel by Winifred Watson; director of photography, John de Borman; edited by Barney Pilling; music by Paul Englishby; production designer, Sarah Greenwood; produced by Nellie Bellflower and Stephen Garrett; released by Focus Features. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. WITH: Frances McDormand (Miss Pettigrew), Amy Adams (Delysia), Lee Pace (Michael), Ciaran Hinds (Joe), Shirley Henderson (Edythe), Mark Strong (Nick) and Tom Payne (Phil).
Gretchen Schauffler
Artist and Founder of Devine Color®
Comment [1]
March Hue Correspondent/ Angie Galimanis- Venice: The Paparazzi City
03/10/2008 07:50 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
As we all know, when you go on vacation, there are certain necessities you need depending on your destination. If you are going to Hawaii, you need a fabulous bikini, if you are going to spend the weekend in New York, you need a list of the latest hot spots, and if you are going to Italy, you need two things – a suitcase full of the latest, greatest fashions and a good camera. While I was very torn about the clothes I would take, I was even more concerned with finding the perfect camera.
The weeks before leaving for Italy with my best friend to see my sister, I started combing books learning all I could about the amazing cities I was about to experience. From a visual perspective one city stood out to me as the one that would fill my digital card to capacity. That city was Venice, with the images of boldly painted shutters garnished with drapes made of fresh flowers, and the solid wood doors that have stood the test of time. You can say that this city has taken on the complexion of a 95 year old woman who still looks amazing when she puts on her favorite scarf and best jacket.
Flowers here serve as the youthful accessory that transforms an old door and makes it ageless beautiful. The element that ties it all together, the shoes that makes the outfit: the water. The water encompasses the city and acts as the canvas on which the city has been painted. During the day, the sunshine bounces off the water and creates a reflection that brightens up the entire city. At night, the reflection of dimly lit street lights creates a dreamy glow that bathes and transforms the city from vibrant and electric to a romantic playground for lovers looking to spark or rekindle their passion at one of many water side restaurants while sipping Prosecco and nibbling on fish caught fresh that day.
The liberal use of gold and marble in the churches, the rich fabrics that drape the gondolas, the brightly colored masks that decorate the street vendors carts all round out the colors that make this city incredible. Of all the cities I visited in Italy, I have to say, Venice was the Cannon’s favorite.
By Angie Galimanis
How to introduce a color into your home!
03/07/2008 03:21 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
By the time March comes around we are ready to drop our winter blankets on the floor and kick them under the bed—out come the lightweight cotton linens. We wait, with sleepy anticipation, for sunrays to fight their way through and reach past the chilly veil of winter. Spring feels like an awakening. When the cold air becomes lukewarm, a spring color brigade emerges out of nowhere. New growth gets its marching orders from the sun and is sent forth to declare that things are about to do more than just heat up—they are about to reproduce and produce in full color! The first line of attack comes in, in fits and starts, with a strong mission to prepare the way for what is about to come—the guts and glory of summer and fall color. Watch around you as the “coup d’état” begins—subtlety, as if to soften the blow for winter’s bare backgrounds so they don’t feel attacked or dismayed.
These shades of change come in determined Daffodil yellows that sprout from the ground like chards of sunlight, buds that birth with assurance that life does go on with uncompromising bright greens, blue and purple rebels that show off their independence the likes of Hyacinths and Crocuses—who by the way, have no issues with advancing color troops in a flamboyant way (not that there is anything wrong with it). Learn from spring’s colorful invasion strategies when a revolution of color needs to take place in your home.
For example, if your room feels like it is drowning in a beige ocean, try introducing a color, like orange, by hanging a burnt orange wall piece, setting out terracotta clay bowls on a table and arranging coral lilies in a glass vase. DON’T MATCH the oranges; play with several different shades, tweak and edit. Once you have prepared the way with orange, new sycophantic colors can then be ushered in with out the whole thing looking like a hostile take over. Mix in other colors, like cranberry, pomegranate, chocolates, or gold and determine the course towards the next color story you want to live in. They say change is inevitable and spring makes it the kind of change that leads by example!
February Hue Correspondent/Christina Wieselman: The Luxury of Aging
02/06/2008 12:25 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
Christina Wieselman is our HUE correspondent for DEVINECOLOR magazine’s March issue posting this Friday.
The Luxury of Aging.
It is a great luxury to age. Not many of us take it to heart, but I find as I do, age that is, it is a wise thing to embrace it in oneself, and then really, really reach out and appreciate in the world around us. I find my photographic inspiration in the architecture and natural wonders of the world at large. In their unique colors, lines, textures, shadows and light, buildings, rooms, vistas and faces reveal themselves and their history – and their story.
My husband and I took what was initially to be a quick business-only trip to central Mexico in January. In a last minute turn of events, our four days of interviews turned into four days of adventure, exploration and discovery. In many ways, our time proved to be a microcosm of a life well lead. We landed in Mexico City and headed out by car, to Morelia, about three hours North West. It is another few hours to the beaches, but a world away from the resorts found on the coast.
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The architecture in the region is rich in the influences of the Native Indians, the Spanish and even the Chinese. Spanish Colonial is neither solely Spanish, nor Indian, it is a fusion of the two and has resulted in an architecture of warm colorful hues, striking patterns, and elaborate yet immensely functional structures.
The door in the photo sums up this idea of the luxury of age. It’s unlikely that in its 250 year history it has been repainted on whim, even more doubtful that it was updated to follow any particular trend in design. In all likelihood, it was maintained through pride and respect. The softness of the wood, the pitted and peeling plaster, the pebbles below all contrast with the stoic lines of the door, the blocks framing it, the stoop, the wrought iron fence and the stately tree growing within its safe confines. There is a strength imbued by the materials and the permanence in their well constructed use. Much like a beautiful woman, the gently peeling paint and subtle cracks in the plaster show a fine history and the myriad of colorful directions which life has taken. So many fabulous examples of grace, beauty and age laid themselves before us in those four short days. We enjoyed fireworks on Fridays exploding over the spires of a regal old cathedral, colorfully dressed, indigenous Indian women and their children sitting with us on their daily boat ride back their island in the midst of one the regions grand lakes, the best fish tacos I have ever tasted from a tented market in the middle of a town without a name, and gracious hospitality from each and every person we met.
We found a thousand doors like the one in the photo. Each one revealing a history of its own. Each one a little worn. Each one colorful, inviting, gracious and with tremendous fortitude. We found a surprising and beautiful corner of the world, not unlike a thousand other corners of the world. There was no need to look beneath the peeling paint to find the masterpieces underneath – each home, each doorway, each grand old church was a masterpiece waiting to show herself in just the right light.
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