Wedgewood

When I was asked to help with colors for the Pitot House Museum in New Orleans, I was surprised to discover that my “Wedgewood” was exactly the same as one of the historic home’s original colors, along with “Edgewood Green”, “Citrine” and “Ruby”. Of course, the original colors weren’t Full Spectrum. When I created these colors, I knew they were timeless, but I had no idea they were used back in the late 1700’s!

“Wedgewood” walls in this bedroom at the Pitot House Museum in New Orleans. I was surprised that my “Edgewood Green” that we used on all the interior millwork was a dead ringer for the original millwork color!

This photo from color consultant Lori Sawaya is decades old and shows the timelessness of “Wedgewood” walls. She used my retired color “Aqua” on the ceiling. I retired “Aqua” because it looks so much like “Gustavian Grey” which is more complex and interesting and therefore more popular.

Here we used “Wedgewood” on the cabinets with “Mushroom” walls and ceiling.

If you’ve been following my Blog Posts, you may be thinking “all these blues sure look alike”. However, you can order free hand-painted samples as well as larger samples and sample jars via my Online Store.

When it comes time to order actual gallons of paint, you always order from me, either by phone or online, and then when it’s ready (I’ll let you know and handle the order for you), you just pull up to your nearest PPG Paints store and they’ll put it in your car for you. No waiting, no hanging out at a paint store! To see which store is nearest you, visit the PPG Store Locator, input your zip code and click on the filter “PPG Paints” (not Home Depot or Independent Stores).

ellenkennon.com
ellen@ellenkennon.com
877-877-7628

Christine’s Cloud

If you haven’t been following my Blog Posts lately, I started writing a post on each one of my Full Spectrum Paint colors since clients often ask me to describe colors and how I recommend they be used. Although my old website had a Virtual Room painter, I find photographs of the colors showing different uses to be more helpful in giving an accurate visual. Of course, there’s nothing like seeing the real color hand-painted on a sample. All of my samples are either hand-painted paper samples or sample jars of the actual paint I sell. These blog posts are in the order of my new Color Chart and at the beginning of each color range, I give the color therapy information related to each color range because the first question I always ask during a Color Consultation is “How do you want to feel in the space?”

Color Chart of 70 Full Spectrum Paint colors is available for purchase from my Online Store

If you want to create a calming, soothing atmosphere “Christine’s Cloud” is a soft, enveloping blue that is a true blue without being the feared “baby blue” that so often happens to folks who aren’t used to selecting paint colors. Although the photos below show “Christine’s Cloud” as ceiling colors for interiors and exterior porches, it makes a great color for bedrooms since it evokes feelings of sea and sky.

We used “Christine’s Cloud” on this ceiling with “Classic Marc” walls in the living room of a decorating project I did a few years ago because we wanted the space to feel like you’re outdoors on a sunny day. This living room has three sets of French Doors that open onto the glassed in porch in the photo below.

The porch overlooks Audubon Park in New Orleans so we painted the walls “Edgewood Green” and the ceiling “Christine’s Cloud” so that it feels connected to the outdoors as the green helps pull your eye out towards the view as opposed to using a white which would have the opposite effect and close you in.

The same clients like “Christine’s Cloud” so much, we used it on the porch ceiling of their country home here in Saint Francisville. The siding is “JV Cloud White” and the shutters are in my new color “Creole Shutter Green”. Note the softness of the “JV Cloud White” next to the existing white rockers. The home was on tour shortly after it was painted and got rave reviews!

You can order free hand-painted samples of any of my Full Spectrum Paint colors from my Online Store. There are also larger hand-painted samples and sample jars. Color Consultations with me are free when you order my paints!

ellenkennon.com
ellen@ellenkennon.com
877-877-7628

Throwback Thursdays

I love Throwback Thursdays because I always post a photo of my daughter who has had so many different looks over the years, it’s hard to believe it’s the same person. Also, I always tag her so that it appears on her Facebook page and try and post early in the morning before she has a chance to delete it off of her page. It has become a little game we play. She did tell me that in one of her theatre classes at Loyola, that my Throwback Thursday photos of her were quite the topic of conversation with everyone, including her professor, saying how much they looked forward to seeing them.

This got me thinking that I should start recycling old color and design projects on Thursdays for my blog. This might be a good way to inspire me to post more often. So, hopefully, this will be the first of many!

I’ll start with one of my first color consultation projects. Shortly after I started my line of Full Spectrum Paints in 2001, Mercedes Whitecloud asked me to meet her at the Pitot House Museum in New Orleans because they were doing some repainting. I didn’t have nearly as many stock colors to choose from back then (now we have over 100), so what was surprising to me, was that many of my colors were actually dead ringers for the historical colors original to the circa 1799 plantation. The interior millwork was all “Edgewood Green” and three of the rooms were the equivalent of our “Wedgewood”, “Citrine” and “Ruby” which is from our Magical Gems Palette. I was floored to discover that this saturated, bright red was used back then!

“Ruby” walls with “Edgewood Green” trim recreated from the original colors used in this bedroom. Photo from the book Creole Houses.

Today the Pitot House is home to the Louisiana Landmarks Society who saved it, moving it about two hundred feet in the mid-1960s to prevent its demolition for the construction of a school. The Landmarks Society focused its restoration during the period of 1810-19 when it was occupied by Jacques-Francois Pitot, a native of France who became the second mayor of New Orleans. Pitot previously spent time in Saint Domingue, now Haiti, hence the Creole architectural and colorful influences.

We created our full spectrum formula for the shutters and named the color “Pitot Shutter Green”.

Although I had already created several of the colors used in the Pitot House, I was so taken with the unusual colors of the shutters and the mango-colored parlor, I later created full spectrum formulas for those colors for colorful artist Hunt Slonem, who used them at both Albania and Lakeside Plantations.

Our version of the Pitot Parlor wall color was used in the parlor of Albania Plantation so we renamed it “Albania Mango”. “Edgewood Green” is on all millwork including the ceiling. Note how the trim is so neutral it goes with every color in the house!

“Citrine” walls with “Edgewood Green” trim used in one of the bedrooms. Citrine is a color we use often to brighten an otherwise dark space. Works every time!

“Wedgewood” walls with “Edgewood Green” trim used in this bedroom is probably the most subdued color in the whole house and still one of our most popular bedroom colors. To get samples of these colors, visit: Full Spectrum Paints

The Last Word on the 2013 Color of the Year (& other news)

In my Autumn Living Well Newsletter on the 2013 Color of the Year & Color Trends, I reported on predictions of next year’s color of the year by pretty much everyone but Pantone. Although it was looking like “Monaco Blue” would be Pantone’s pick, they just announced that “Emerald” was their pick for 2013.

(“Emerald” in the center is Pantone’s pick for 2013’s Color of the Year)

Interesting that it is very close to Pratt & Lambert’s “Tidal Pool” which was their pick for the 2013 color to watch, a dead ringer for our Full Spectrum “Albania Teal”, that appeared in the October issue of House Beautiful. Here’s a photo of Albania Teal in artist Hunt Slonem‘s NYC studio featured in Russia’s Architectural Digest Magazine (I didn’t even know they had an Architectural Digest!). “Albania Teal” was named after one of his plantation’s in Louisiana. The great thing about this color is that it is both soothing and rejuvenating at the same time.

I have to say, I’m still selling a lot more whites and complex neutrals, than the saturated colors predicted. We mostly use the more neutral, easy to live with colors, in main areas and save the jewel tones for jewel box spaces like powder rooms, closets, inside of cabinets and bookcases.

Speaking of whites, one of my biggest “JV Cloud White” (JV for Designer Jon Vaccari & created for his New Orleans showroom) fans, Karina Gentinetta, has been making quite a name for herself on the national scene and will appear on More Magazine‘s television special about women who reinvent themselves (Karina was an attorney for 13 years before becoming an antiques dealer, artist and interior decorator). After seeing this video of her segment, I’m thinking she needs to have her own TV show! (Karina used “JV Cloud White” in her 1st Dibbs Showroom and Annunciation Restaurant in New Orleans which you’ll see in the video.)

(Click here to watch Karina’s More Magazine segment) 

I’m currently working on my Winter Living Well Newsletter featuring one of Interior Designer Marc Charbonnet‘s latest projects, where he had another designer friend of mine (Ken Tibbils of St. Francisville) make this table:

(I have featured Marc’s projects often over the years. and this latest project showcases his amazing design versatility. Wait until you see the rest of the photos!)

New Orleans’ New Restaurant “Annunciation” – Heavenly!

I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Annunciation, a fabulous new restaurant in New Orleans. I mentioned it in my May 19, 2012 blog post “JV Cloud White Gets Around” and was finally able to dine there last week when I was in town. Located at 1016 Annunciation in the Warehouse District, it’s owned by the former chef of Clancy’s and the former general manager of  Tommy’s Cuisine, so not only is the food and service amazing; the decor by Karina Gentinetta is heavenly!

Karina recently used our “JV Cloud White” in her 1st Dibs NYC showroom and liked it so much, she specified it for every painted surface in the restaurant. The building has loads of charm with old brick and plaster walls, exposed wood ceilings and beautiful arched doors and windows that she wanted to highlight, yet make the overall feeling elegant and classic. Known for being a magician when it comes to working within a tight budget, Karina kept things simple with bentwood chairs and schoolhouse pendent lighting from Home Depot. My dinner companion, Isabel Winsberg, raved the entire time about how wonderful the space felt. But that certainly wasn’t the best part! The food was incredible! As we often do, we shared everything so we could taste a number of things on the menu: Fried Oysters with melted Brie and sautéed Spinach, Eggplant Ste. Marguerite, Crabmeat salad with Creme Fraiche and Choupique Caviar, Crabmeat, Lobster and Shrimp Risotto, Cauliflower au Gratin and for dessert, Butterscotch Budino (an Italian pudding topped with caramel sauce and whipped cream sprinkled with sea salt). Every single item was amazing–a word I couldn’t quit using to describe each course. Oh, and you’d think this might have set us back a bit, but our bill (sans wine) was $83! I can hardly wait to go back and am still dreaming about that dessert!

 (click image to the left for contact info, more reviews and menu)