From the Floors Up

2019’s Hottest Color Schemes for Summer

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Summer is almost here and with it comes an excitingly new color palette. Each quarter has colors which complement the season and can help you embrace the months. Fall is full of burgundies, reds, yellows, and oranges whereas winter decor is embraced with soft whites and spruces of red and green around Christmas. You also may be familiar that pastel colors enhance spring. So, what colors work best for summer?  If we use colors to help strengthen our decor and keep our home lively throughout the year, which colors represent this bright, cheery season. If you are unsure or need a little design guidance, keep on reading!

Bright Primaries

Primary colors like red, yellow, and blue demand attention. Primaries are great at making hard contrasts against one another. Add these energetic colors to your interior or exterior this summer for added flair and spunk. Items like bright red sun umbrellas, blue lounge chairs, and yellow flowering pots can help brighten your space while giving respect to the season. Since summer is upbeat and thrives well with these lively colors, you will be able to enjoy the warmth and your decor with these primary hues.

Soft Pastels

Fortunately, pastels can be carried over from spring and enhance our room’s aesthetics. Pastels are loved for their muted, soft hues that bring a little bit of color to any space. They mesh well with neutrals and other colors to create a timeless design. If you are unsure where to put your pastels, we recommend trying purchasing wall art that can be swapped during the different seasons. Different pastel watercolor prints will make a suitable wall decal during the warmer months while creating a stunning focal point.

Fun Patterns

Adding patterns is another fun way to create a theme during the summertime. There is something to be said about the interaction of repetition in a design. Adding striped or polka dot throw pillows during the warm months can be a seasonal twist on your decor. Repetition with patterns can create harmony in your home while adding interest and style. Try finding matching pillows, curtains, and lampshades to make your home feel like summer fun and balanced.

Coastal Hues

Nothing says summer like the beach. Coastal hues are always great to add to your home during the summer months. Plus, coastal homes have been using this theme for decades. It encapsulates the soothing, warm feels of summer daily. Morph the feeling of your home into a more casual retreat by adding coastal tones: lavender, coral pink, baby blue, and canary yellow. You can even try sprucing up your pool area with some coastal decor and colors for added charm.

Try sprucing up your summer with some of these tropical fun color options. Summer is all about fun energy, and as the days are growing longer, make sure you do not neglect your home’s exterior when designing. Enjoy this summer and stay safe. For more tips and tricks, make sure to subscribe to From the Floors up.

Understanding Masculine and Feminine Design

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Designing your space can have many outlets and options to help to tailor your home to your style.  Generally, homes are designed neutral or genderless to help with resell value; however, your home is a personal escape and designing it to your needs comes first.  If you are looking to make a man cave or a female hangout area, there are several ways to go about it.  To help, we broke down some great options to incorporate in your own home to help design these spaces.  

Masculine Design

While both masculine and feminine designs generally accept many of these options, certain elements and colors are traditionally used in masculine design.  Leather sofas and chairs are great additions to help create your man cave.  Colors like blues, browns, and blacks can be affiliated with masculine characteristics. Darker palettes are also typically used. You can give homage to rough or distressed look with natural elements like stones, woods, even metals.  Masculine design can also be associated with geometrical patterns.  Whether used on curtains, paintings, or decor, geometrical patterns are great for forming the space.

Feminine Design

Colors and shades can typically alter a room’s feel.  Lighter shades and pastel tones can be associated with feminine characteristics.  Pinks, whites, and creamy greys can influence a space to feel more feminine. Where hard lines and geometrical patterns flourish in masculine design, soft curvy furniture can be appreciated in a feminine style designed space.  Consider floral and damasks patterns in your feminine themed spaces.  Feminine design can also appreciate good artwork with meaning and portraying an image rather than just shapes. 

Harmony

While both feminine and masculine design can appreciate each other’s styles and no element is distinguished particularly for one over the other, some of these elements can help enhance a style.  Try using these in your own home or mixing and matching to create balance. Both features can help the balance of the other to create a stunning space. Limiting your space to gender-specific décor can hurt your atmosphere.

Allow both designs can be used to help one another. While both masculine and feminine can enjoy both design styles, it can be most beneficial to mix and match. Masculine and Feminine design styles are slowly fading away as we move along in Modern Era. Incorporating both to your space can be truly beneficial.

How to Reburish Your Cabinets

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Refinishing cabinets can save homeowners a lot of money during a redesign. By doing the cabinets yourself, you can create the custom look you desired without dropping loads of cash. Plus, the process of refurbishing is quick and easy.

Label The Doors

To avoid future confusion, label which door belongs with which cabinet by assigning numbers. Rip off a piece of tape and write the number with a permanent marker. Door one belongs with cabinet one and vice-versa.

Fill Holes with Wood Putty

This step is optional depending on whether or not you are planning on using the original hardware. If you decide to buy new hardware, fill the original holes with wood putty.

Sand The Wood

Begin by lightly sanding the wood surface to remove any remaining sheen.

Prime Coat The Cabinets

Invest in a quality primer for this project. If you are using a darker paint on your cabinets, buy a tinted primer. If you are painting a lighter color on the cabinets, you will apply fewer coats of paint and primer.

Rent an HVLP Paint Sprayer (Optional)

HVLP paint sprayers can be rented at your local home improvement stores and help with the overall quality and professional look of your cabinets. This sprayer helps avoid streak marks caused by an unsteady hand.

Use a Jig

Mark with a jig where you want your new hardware to be on the cabinet.

Reinstall Doors

You will need to match the doors with the numbers from before, and we are in business.

Apply Touch-ups

Basic touch-ups can be done after installation.

Place Hardware

By now, you should have decided whether or not you want to use your previous hardware or new hardware. New hardware allows you to add your personal touch to the piece. Consider playing around with different sizes and shapes to add character.

Protect with Felt Door Dampers

These help to protect the doors from everyday use. We encourage you to place them on to protect your recently refurbished cabinets.

Revamping your cabinets will add character to the room. Whether you are restoring the kitchen or the bathroom, it is an inexpensive but charismatic look for all budgets.

How to Incorporate Mint Green in Your Design

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While pastel colors may have been most popular in the ’50s, these light airy shades are making their way back into home decor and are fully on trend. If you are considering using pastel colors in your interior, one color that may have popped into your mind was most likely: mint green. Mint green is a beautiful pastel shade that is a mix of blue and green. It is often referred to as a serene color that is just as refreshing as a breath mint.

Perhaps, you are interested in incorporating mint green into your design but do not know where to start. Mint green has a realm of possibilities and today, we are going to focus on a few of our favorite design elements that feature this beautiful pastel. Let’s take a look!

New Take on a Classic

Accent walls are a popular trend in home decor. If you are not ready to dedicate an entire wall to this soft color, you can try the shade out on just a section of the wall. Using mint green in such an unexpected manner will immediately capture attention. Plus, you will not have to change up your current furniture or decor if the color is subtly incorporated on an accent wall. By using it on a section, whether it be stripes or half of the wall, you can get a taste for this pastel without fully committing.

Multiple Pastels

If you love the look of pastels, perhaps you may want to incorporate several shades throughout the space. Luckily, pastels are soft and airy, so they rarely interfere with one another or compete for attention. Additionally, you can capitalize on the fact that you are incorporating several pastel colors in one space and utilize a Scandinavian design which often favors neutrals and pastel colors.

Creative Kitchen Appliances

For a retro-inspired look, incorporate mint green kitchen appliances. Try a bold mint-colored refrigerator and dress your countertops with matching appliances like a mint-colored toaster and microwave. The pops of color will help add a chic style to the space without overwhelming the design.

Chic Cabinetry

Instead of installing new kitchen cabinets, consider giving them a fresh coat of paint and a brand new look. In an all-white kitchen, mint, green cabinets will stand out by adding style and flair. Or perhaps, you want to incorporate other pastels colors with the mint into a neutral-tone kitchen. The design options are endless.

Fully-Focused on Furniture

When purchasing furniture, many people tend to select a neutral furnishing because it can blend well with different design schemes. Mint Green furniture such as a love seat or ottoman will harmonize with a variety of colors and shades. If you are not interested in purchasing a new couch, try a tufted mint colored ottoman instead. By adding simple decor pieces with the color mint, you can change up your design without changing too much.

My Oh My, Metallics

When combined with gold or metallic accents, mint green looks super stylish and chic. Select glossy metallics or gold accents in a few strategic areas of the room to really bring emphasis to the color.

What is your favorite area of the house to incorporate colors like mint? We would love to hear your thoughts below in the comment section.

Unusual Color Pairings That Work Well Together | Part Three

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Pairing colors is a useful tool in creating your design theme. Typically a room will be assigned three colors: a primary, a secondary, and an accent color. These colors most common ratio is 60:30:10 respectively. As you discovered earlier in the series, not only can colors influence your space, but the amount in which each one is used can have a different impact. Here are several unusual color combinations that actually look great. Let’s take a look!

Onyx and Rainbow Accent

When you think rainbow coloring in a design, you may immediately think eclectic. In this combination, onyx is the primary color used in almost an eighty percent ratio; white is given only about ten percent of the space while the rest of the colors are distributed evenly throughout throw pillows. This can be a tricky theme to master but actually is used in a more modern styled home. It is essential to find colors in the same hues and shades to find harmony. You can choose high gloss, pastel, or even matte to create your rainbow colors. Make sure you distribute even amounts throughout the room to not favor one over the other.

Jade and Burgundy

Green and red is usually the recipe for festive Christmas decor; however, by slightly altering the shade of green to jade and red to burgundy, these colors are able to feel less festive and more mature. The jade feels like a deep, elegant shade of green influencing property and abundance while burgundy feels determined and invigorating. This color combination feels vigorous and established.

Yellow and Turquoise

This color grouping mimics a sunny day with blue skies. The yellow can liven up the space, allowing it to feel more airy and fresh. The turquoise makes the room feel like a relaxed atmosphere. The combination goes excellent with addition plant life and opened windows. It is incredible how replicating the outdoors inside your home can help with many of the outside benefits.

With our unusual color pairings series coming to a close, remember that you can always try making your own color combinations. Decide the ratios in which you plan on applying them. Study different styles which you like and try it out in your space. You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Are there any color combinations you would like to know more about in this series? Let us know in the comment section.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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