I'm the girl who's gonna win the special prize at the end...

Poor little Violet Beauregarde should have bit her tongue... if only she had known what she was in for.

June 7th's color is Violet Ice (Pantone 15-2706)
Seductive
Musical
Inspiring

Surrounding yourself with Violet Ice helps you maintain balance as you share your life with others.

While not the shade of our poor friend from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Violet Ice lives up to it's name... it is a soft, dusky, grayish purple that is romantic and seductive.

Looks a little better!

This lovely light shade is almost a neutral it is so soft- it works beautifully with gray and beige or even my favorite vague neutral...greige

I adore this homemade eurosham the soft violet and the shimmer would make for a very sexy touch to a guest bedroom

Violet Ice is not the violet of your childhood bedroom, it is more sophisticated and modern and fits in beautifully to a contemporary setting

And if you happen to be a brown eyed girl like myself... don't shy away...

violet eyeshadow makes brown eyes pop!

or cover them up in style...ala Prada!

And if you need another reason to jump on the violet bandwagon...

Violet is by far Ben's best accessory! 

trying to make a gray day pretty...

So I am helping my sister with her baby, who bless his adorable little self  still isn't sleeping through the night...so she picked a plan and we are going for it...and it all starts with breaking bad habits during the day- Oh lucky me! the author refers to doing things in three days steps where the first day is the darkest- then the gray day then the bright day where the bad habits are going away and it isn't so bad. Well today is the gray day of no pacifier outside the crib and well surprisingly it isn't as bad a yesterday and it got me thinking about just how lovely gray is...and how very many shades of grey there are!

Gray is often omitted early on by people because it is considered cold and boring but I disagree- I love gray and think it is a great neutral- way  better than builder beige! Pearl gray is soft and romantic and can make a room feel quite bright. and then you get deeper into the charcoals and brownish grays (yes gray works really well with brown leather!) and you get a rich, warm masculine feel- Guys-dark gray is so much more sophisticated than black- trust me! Dark grays make a great option for major upholstery pieces(- especially if you have a black dog) it is forgiving and will go with nearly anything you want to mix with it.

Grey is also making appearances on the floor with grey-washed wood being extremely popular right now. It gives a more rustic feel and more unexpected than traditional white washing

Grey is also a great color scheme for wall paper patterns- there are so many shades of grey that you can have pattern and still be monochromatic.

and while I love grey and yellow...

I also love Purple and Grey...

But mostly I love Pink and Grey!

So don't be afraid of the many shades of gray...make your gray day pretty!

and yes Grey and Gray are the same thing- us Americans tend to spell Gray however the color is more typically spelled GREY

Fog is rolling in...

I was up early again this morning...well not as early as I hoped so instead of making the drive south in the early morning darkness I got the pleasure of driving through eerie but beautiful fog for the majority of my 4 hour drive down to High Point. Let me just go ahead and put it out there that this whirl wind trip to market was a mission...I was desperate to find some lighting fixtures for a client so I didn't get to do a real "scout the trends" of the furniture showrooms. The vast majority of my day was spend wondering up and down the halls and stairs of the accessory showrooms. 

The funny thing was as I got to market the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful day however as soon as I entered the main building the fog seemed to have rolled back in and taken over all the showrooms! Every direction I looked I found fog tones with muted greens, browns and purples. From ethereal flowing textures like the pendant shown here that was made of silk blossoms, to rugged white and grey washed woods the muted tones were everywhere. 

And combined with these gorgeous "greige" tones (yes I made that word up but I think it works!) was the most beautiful array of purples! From very light subtle purples that almost look grey to deep rich purples- they were everywhere! I loved the selection of lamps that Arteriors had in the purple tones!

When I got to the second floor of Oly's showroom I literally stopped in my tracks because they had created the foggy bedroom of my dreams...and frankly by that point I was ready to jump in that bed for a nap! The picture (very bottom) really doesn't capture the subtle purple used but trust me it is there!

        I will admit I have not always been the biggest fan of the color purple ( the actual color not the play) but today I became a believer! Purple has so much depth and variety to it! All in the same showroom I witnessed purple to add whimsy while on the opposite wall it was sexy and mysterious.  And while I doubt you will catch me buying purple paint any time soon you can be sure I am going to be be snatching up some purple accessories or linens!