I was at Sam Flax Art & Design last week buying a Taschen book (of which they have a wonderful selection) for a designer friend’s birthday—the stunningly photographed Great Escapes Europe, part of the publisher’s Hotel Book series—when I stumbled upon a table of Pantone Universe Color Mugs and a sign bearing the directive: What’s Your Color? I left without making the impulse purchase, but decided that should I buy a mug, it would most definitely be in Pantone’s much-publicized 2010 Color of the Year: PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise—a shade that’s now showing up on every design avenue, from fashion to interiors.
As it turns out, the mugs are produced in only a limited batch of colors that do not include the hot blue-green hue we’re all currently clamoring for, but you can still make the splurge ($14.75) for the very similar PANTONE 3272C Turquoise in a pinch. Sam Flax also sells them in 13 other striking shades for your every color mood.
Still, I believe the best colors are those that have the power to transcend trends as much as they remain rooted in the classics. So today, I thought I’d share my favorite turquoise-accented rooms that have been previously published in the pages of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. They demonstrate turquoise’ timeless staying power while revealing the keen eyes for design our local talents continue to have, despite the season:
A quiet coastal porch designed by Carter Kay recalls the colors of the seashore just beyond.
Katie and Ian Walker's dining room features a trio of some of the most gorgeous turquoise chandeliers I've ever seen—and turquoise accents to boot.
Judith Schindler and Sudi Cecil added turquoise accents to a neutral scheme and with them, a whole new vibrancy to the room.
I love the subtlety of the trellis-pattern wallpaper Mallory Mathison chose for her space in the 2009 Decorators' Show House—and how well its graphic turquoise combines with rich gold.
Local artist Andrew Crawford and his wife added the ideal pop of this shade to the living room in their Westside cottage. Don't you love how well it mixes with bronze and caramel brown?
Designer Billy Roberts enveloped a room in turquoise at a client's second home in Sea Island. Even in large quantities, this color promotes a relaxed mood.
Be sure to read The Gables Antiques team’s own take on turquoise on their new blog—another current obsession!
blog.thegablesantiques.com
January 26th, 2010
Editor’s note: With the Decorators’ Show House & Gardens less than a month away, we asked one of the participating designers, Matthew Quinn, to keep a journal of the process, every step of the way. Today is his fifth installment about how one of his spaces is taking shape. Look for a new installment every week until April 17 when the Show House opens.
Sometimes, design can be like a bullet train. The process can start out slow and cautious, but once a solid foundation of design decisions has been built, there are soon fewer options for each stop on the ride. Before you know it, the train is moving faster and faster and the decisions become easier. For instance, after getting most of the layout and finishes selected, I could not think of another faucet that would be more perfect for this kitchen than the
Kohler Karbon. The way this faucet can be articulated is so cool; it can be configured to be very tall in order to fill huge pots and spray out the corners of the huge granite sink, or it can be folded down very small so as to not block the terrace view. I kind of like pretending it is a microphone, too.
Kohler’s Karbon faucet as shown with the contemporary kitchen’s large granite sink
Again keeping the view in mind, I knew I wanted three pendants over the peninsula that would be basically translucent during the day and add just the right amount of light and interest at night. Since this design “train” seems to be about horizontal stripes, I chose the Ingo pendant from
WAC Lighting because of its long, slender white glass body and horizontally striped etchings. There is not an incredible amount of space between the drinking bar (I call it this because anything other than sipping wine or martinis here would be done in the adjacent casual dining space) and the peninsula and the tall terrace doors, so I really needed a counterstool that had very little visual weight. The almost transparent
Kartell Charles Ghost counter stools from
Design Within Reach were again an easy decision. The decorative hardware was really all that was left to choose and that is always one of my favorite decisions. There are hundreds of options that could have worked in this modern kitchen, but I knew that only one would be perfect. I decided to custom design the hardware using two of the elements in the space: the stainless steel of the ovens and countertops and the bronze glass of the backlit hood. This piece, called "Marquet," is part of my own hardware collection [Ed note:
The Matthew Quinn Collection], and what makes it so versatile is that any material—from stone to horn to wood—can be inserted into this handle’s slot, making it the perfect hardware for anyone’s design “train.”
The Matthew Quinn Collection custom-designed cabinetry hardware, incorporating the stainless steel of the appliances and the bronze glass of the backlit hood
I’ll take you behind the scenes of even more of the contemporary show house design next week. Have a great week!
March 25th, 2009
Editor’s note: With the Decorators’ Show House & Gardens less than two months away, we asked one of the participating designers, Matthew Quinn, to keep a journal of the process, every step of the way. Today is his third installment about how one of his spaces is taking shape. Look for a new installment every week until April 17 when the Show House opens.
It is absolutely incredible how quickly these show houses are being built! To think that they were just shells two months ago is unbelievable. Jim McQuarrie is the Bovis project super "hero" intendant, and under his direction, decisions that would typically be made in weekly meetings are now made in daily meetings and cell phone conversations. He’s good at keeping us on task.
We designers had to decide every finish well before the space materialized. I knew the probability of getting all five of us to agree on a cabinet finish for the St. Regis show house was highly unlikely, but five brains are always better than one. I scheduled a meeting with Mary Kathryn, Laurie, Patti and Robin to select the tile and cabinet finishes for unit 1130.
The finishes Design Galleria selected for the kitchen’s surfaces
No matter what the project, we always start with the floors! Since we had already selected ebony-stained wood floors for the transitional show house and dark walnut floors for the traditional show house, we gravitated toward an all-tile floor for the modern show house. The living room and dining room spaces are enormous, so we knew we needed the largest size tile we could find in three weeks—a task that we knew only Ronda at Walker Zanger could accomplish. She found a creamy limestone called “Parchment" that was ¾” thick and 36” by 36” in dimension. It’s soft, neutral and versatile, allowing us to cut these large pieces into any shape and size.
We decided to cut the tiles in half and lay them in a running bond so that the attention would be immediately diverted to the terrace and skyline views. And because the kitchen layout is so architectural, with mostly tall structures and perpendicular surfaces, we decided to accentuate these by contrasting the cabinet finish with the floor as well as by mixing a solid color lacquer with a stained veneer.
We also chose a gray-stained walnut from Downsview and paired it with a warm anthracite-colored high gloss lacquer. The lacquer is expressed in the side panels and with horizontal stripes on the tall wall that replicate the mullions in the tall terrace doors. When we placed these finishes next to the Wolf stainless steel finishes, we all loved the way they added a little bling to the look, rather than melting into the surroundings. Speaking of bling, next week I will share the details on the cool custom hood, backsplash, countertops and sink.
March 11th, 2009
Editor’s note: With the Decorators’ Show House & Gardens less than two months away, we asked one of the participating designers, Matthew Quinn, to keep a journal of the process, every step of the way. Today is his first installment about how one of his spaces is taking shape. Look for a new installment every week until April 17 when the Show House opens.
Matthew Quinn and the Design Galleria team
Designing three complete kitchens, three bars and seven bathrooms in two weeks is insane, but so much fun, too! And if that weren’t enough, each one had to be unique and different to complete the style of the traditional, transitional and modern residences—and have that show house “it” factor. This blog series will chronicle the journey of the design of the modern kitchen in residence 1130 of the new St. Regis Residences.
The contemporary kitchen’s layout
The space is amazing, with three sets of 10-foot-tall glass doors opening onto a huge terrace with amazing views. The space also presented many challenges, including a huge staircase, an HVAC chase running through the middle of the kitchen and ceilings as low as 8 feet in some places. I met with the architect, Becky Ferrara (love her), and the subs, and we determined exactly how much space I had to work with to carve out an interesting plan and ceiling. The plumbing could not be relocated because it would require ripping out the finished ceiling in the hotel room below. I had to incorporate all of these obstacles into the design and either hide them or celebrate them. I chose to hide them as modern design is about the complexity of keeping something simple. I wrapped the column and hid the staircase in a tall paneled wall of shallow storage facing the breakfast room with a refrigerator and breakfast garage facing the kitchen. I designed a peninsula for the main sink using the existing plumbing locations, creating an exciting and mesmerizing hood and oven wall. Below is a closer look at the unfinished space.
Before shots of the interior
I look forward to sharing the design process over the next few weeks as we approach opening day! Look for the updated pictures on the next blog sharing all of the fabulous surfaces, fixtures and finishes that were selected. Next week’s topic will be appliances. See you then!
Matthew Quinn is principal designer at Design Galleria Kitchen & Bath Studio, and also heads up his eponymous line of hardware and kitchen accessories, The Matthew Quinn Collection.
February 25th, 2009
