Does Home Decor follow Fashion?

I was just asked this question by a reporter. I think it definitely follows fashion although slower because home decor items are more expensive and aren’t replaced as quickly as clothing. Then I was on The Sartorialist today and saw these images from a Jil Sander fashion show. Apparently several of the editors thought it was the best show (so far) of the season.

The colour blocking is fabulous, I love it!

Image source

Now this is a fun laundry room/office. I have also seen a laundry room done in cherry red appliances, a fake grass (some kind of laminate but it looked like real grass) floor and sky blue walls, it was fabulous!

These bright colours are few and far between in designer fabrics right now though. Cannot find Kelly green at all even though it’s all over the magazines and my sunflower yellow sofa colour is impossible as well. Sigh. It’s a tough life to be so forward thinking :)

Image source

When I arrived on the site the second time to get the images for this post I saw this ad on the sidebar.

Don't these coloured tights remind you of the 80’s? (Well you have to be 40 to get it I guess) Wow!

I’ll be in Seattle this weekend for my fall shopping trip, I can hardly wait!

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.

Related posts:

How to wear Colour or Neutrals; Which Group are you in?

I just love the Awesomeness of it!

Who else knows Steampunk Style?

New to this Blog? Click here ; Subscribe to my free Monthly Newsletter; Become a True Colour Expert

How to Wear Colour or Neutrals – Which Group are you in?

My uniform until I started writing this blog has mostly been white, black, beige and brown. I always had the misconception that it was the most classy way to dress. Wealthy people wear a lot of white don’t they? So I always thought the more neutral my clothes were, the better and more expensive I looked (I'm quite sure this was all in my head). But isn’t it true that you can wear the same black pants twice in the same week and no one would notice, but if they were red, people would be thinking “She’s wearing those red pants again!”.

Credit

Early this spring I wrote a post about being Fashion Challenged. And I’m not saying I’ve become a fashion expert since then but I wanted to share what I’ve learned in the past few months since I’ve been focused on becoming more fashionable, especially in the realm of wearing colour.

Here’s my first and most important fashion tip. Subscribe now to Angie’s blog You Look Fab. Don’t ask questions, just do it. If you want to be fashionable starting today, this is the best way to learn how. One of my stylish readers sent me a link to her blog and I’m forever grateful!

The greatest thing about this stylist’s blog is all the examples of how to wear something you weren’t quite sure how and sometimes she’ll even make an appearance to show you in person. Her blog is 4 years old and chocked full of amazing articles and if you still can’t see yourself wearing anything but black or neutrals, it’s all there too, like this post on 6 ways to make a black top pop! Not only is she beautiful but generous too, click here to read the story of how her Forum readers got together to buy her dream Valentino bag (below). It actually moved me to tears it was so sweet.

I spent hours reading Angie’s blog the night before I drove to Seattle to shop for Spring and it was only then that I realized she actually lived in Seattle because I would have hired her for a few hours to help me! But it was the first time I actually had a list of things to buy (just like when I shop with my clients for furniture and accessories—too obvious that this should translate to clothes shopping as well!) like white bottoms, which look good with a lot of colourful items in the summer as well as a colourful necklance like this one she recommended (it was sold out when I arrived at Nordstrom).

The other more expensive option

Here’s a post she wrote on how to wear silver-gray, white is important to pull it together, but who knew? Not me until I read this.

I really loved this post 4 ways to wear Bright Shoes. I added bright yellow pumps to my list when I read this one and have worn them many times since I bought them!

“Wear several brights of the same intensity. I’d limit an outfit to 3 brights at a time. A pair of jeans worn with an emerald tunic and cobalt blue handbag works with a pair of yellow shoes, if the brights are of the same intensity. Throw in a pair of baby pink shoes and you’ve lost the harmony.”

The above paragraph is a direct quote from this post and I thought it was great first because it never occurred to me to wear colour that way (and I loved it) and second when I came across this living room I had to show you that it could translate to design as well. Certainly when choosing colours for your home. If you start with bright, clean, fresh colour you should keep going, walking from a fresh turquoise room into a muddy greeny gray would be a little more jarring (and it’s your house in the end and you should do what makes you happy).

Credit

The only thing that doesn’t work for me in this room (this is too much strong, bright colour for my taste but it’s one way to incorporate this much colour in your house) are that the drapes are not the same yellow as the chairs.

The other website I found for ideas on wearing colour is Kate Spade. Here are a few fun and happy looks from her site (I love the polka dots):

I loved this outfit too (below), but notice it looks so great because of the white bottoms! Bottom line, the easiest way to wear colour is to repeat it at least once. So if you wear a blue sweater, repeat it in a bag or shoes and you will look more classy and coordinated that way.

Citrus + Neon = Citron

Another way to incorporate colour into your wardrobe is to get a colourful bag and a matching scarf to go with it. This gives you instant colour and I do this a lot when I don’t have time to pull together a coordinated, colourful outfit.

What about you? Do you love to wear colour or do you still prefer all shades of neutral?

If you want your home to have atmosphere including colours that flow to fill you with happiness every time you walk in. Contact me by email info@mariakillam.com for on-line rates or call me at 604.318.9725 if you are local.

Related posts:

White is a Snob

Colour vs. Neutral

When it comes to your Decor, your Friends are Polite

If you are new to this blog click here to see the best of Colour me Happy.

Love your House and your Closet!

I am fashion challenged. I know, you’re shocked right? When I announced this to my sister Elizabeth (whom I shop with every Spring & Fall so that she looks good) she said “If you’re fashion challenged, what about me?” My other sister Anita, (who writes this blog) agreed.

Image source

I’m 42 years old and trying to be current and fashionable without spending a fortune. The problem is I’m not sure how far I should go with the skinny jean trend (for example) before it’s too ‘young’ of a look for me. I have bought 2 pairs of skinny jeans (the dark ones—below--I bought right before Christmas when I had slimmed down even more and I was so smug. . . sigh) and a second pair I bought this January that I wore for almost 2 weeks and then thought “Maybe they should be washed” oops.

Image source

So this week I decided to take the advice I’m always dishing out on this blog and hire a professional for everything I can’t do professionally myself. I hired a stylist, Amber Foreman (click here to email her). It took 4 1/2 hours to go through my entire closet. I have 2 huge bags of clothes that are going out to the local thrift store! Anyone in Vancouver a size 6-8, you would love me right now!

Here are my dark skinny jeans!

I consider myself to be a practical shopper who buys ‘classics’ so I was a bit sheepish about the 2 bags of clothes. Most of them I have barely worn. I try to shop outside of the box but then I don’t end up with clothes that are ‘me’. And I still stick a turtleneck on in the end because I hate to be cold. I have 11 turtlenecks.

I have four black ones :)

The other reason I don’t need to spend a lot of money on clothes is I don’t go to an office everyday (like I used to) where I didn’t like to wear the same thing for 3 weeks. I see different clients and different suppliers every day so I just want to look designerish (is that a word?). Plus when I do on-line consults, I could be in my bathrobe, which honestly does happen sometimes. When I’m working from home I get annoyed when I look up at 11:00 am and I’m still in my robe!

I love this ring!

So back to the moral of my story; I had bought 2 sweaters last week which my stylist pointed out were all wrong for me so I returned them (Value $130.00). My consultation with her cost $250.00 - $130.00 which she immediately saved me, actually reducing the total cost to $120.00.

I would not be happy if I started adding up the cost of all the clothes in those 2 bags that I have barely worn. So I have decided to only buy clothes with my stylist. Is this only for the rich and famous. Hardly. But isn’t that how we think about hiring these professionals?

Turquoise is my colour I need a sweater like this she said

When I arrive at a clients house, many times they’ll say to me “Just ignore that rug it was only $200, that was only $50 bucks I can toss it, and the list goes on. Wouldn’t you rather just pay for a designer to buy the right pieces in the first place so that your house looks finished and most of all has ‘atmosphere?’.

How about the gallons of paint you buy in the wrong colour? I have never left a consultation without the client saying (or thinking—I can tell :) I never would have thought of that! Just this week a client (in a kitchen renovation) was going to replace all the laminate flooring in the house because it had faded from the sun in the kitchen dining area (and they couldn’t find a match to the existing flooring). I suggested they take the tile that was going into the kitchen into the dining area as well, saving them thousands in labour and new flooring!

Image via House of Turquoise

Well that’s where I’m at with my wardrobe. I would rather pay my stylist and buy a few quality pieces that I’ll add to my favorites pile than waste a bunch of money on clothes I don’t wear.

She pointed out simple things like the length of my tops (many were too short) necklaces (should be longer for me) and my favourite Bebe jeans were wearing out so she told me to hem them so they could be my weekend jeans (and then I could wear them with flats)! Things that did NOT even remotely occur to me!

Image source

Just like when I’m in your house. There’s a fine line between your colour and furniture having a relationship with each other and being too ‘matchy matchy’ or the opposite extreme. You know the “Just-moved-in-need-to-paint-moving-out-soon-look”. The latter a client said to me once and I wrote it down I thought it was so funny—and true!

So just before you decide design advice is only for the rich? Think about what I’m saying. Professional help is not free but we don’t value the help we get for free the same anyway!

Image via House of Turquoise

When I’m being paid, my clients are listening and paying attention, vs. my family or friends (quick email questions excluded) who take my advice for granted and sometimes waste my time because they are not paying for it! Okay, that’s another post so I’ll stop there, but I think you see what I mean.

You know that post I wrote, 20% of the colours we use 80% of the time? Isn’t it true that we tend to wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time?

I’m thinking a Designer or Stylist equals Stylish homes and Sylish wardrobes, period!

If you want your home to have atmosphere including colours that flow to fill you with happiness every time you walk in. Contact me by email for on-line rates or call me directly if you are local.

Related posts:

Why you can’t afford NOT to hire a Colour Expert

When it comes to your Decor, your friends are Polite

Signature look or your clients look; Which one works the Best?

Happiness is. . . Champagne & Shoes

Have you ever sipped champagne out of your shoes? My friend Tami has (but she said they were new :) and if you saw her shoe collection, you would completely understand!!

Photo by Maria Killam

I arrived at her apartment the other day and walked into her bedroom to see all her flats stacked vertically in a large champagne bucket! Storage is at a premium in her bedroom, and since necessity is the mother of invention, she came up with this brilliant plan! I had to take a photo especially because she had the flowered ones at the front! Adorable or what!

Now that I’m talking about shoes I have a confession. I have never had a shoe fetish (like most women I know) until I became so heavily involved in the colour business (especially now that I have a colour blog!). People expect me to show up wearing colour.

For years my uniform in the summer has been white t-shirts, khaki pants and a light black sweater (or denim jacket) with black flip flops. If it was really hot, switch out the pants for capris or a jersey skirt. I would buy coloured t-shirts and put them on, and take them off again and they just sat in my closet and I couldn’t understand why?

The Gap

Since I live, breathe, and dream in colour, I have finally figured it out! You can wear the clothes I’ve just mentioned and look perfectly stylish and classy, but picture the same outfit with a blue t-shirt? Not so great unless I have shoes with blue or some jewelry with blue or something else on that repeats the colour I’m wearing. If you look at expensively dressed women wearing colour, that’s what makes the difference! And this explains why my friend Tami aways looks so pulled together, she has shoes to go with everything!

Chelsea Premium Outlets ad

Not like that’s a big rule, but notice how you can seem to be able to throw on a black sweater, jeans and black heels and be perfectly at home anywhere but it’s not always so easy when wearing colour? That’s my experience anyway. And this is my own little theory, not like I claim to be a fashion expert by any stretch.

Image Source

But to make a short story long, I’m here to tell you that I now have a shoe fetish (just like everyone else I’m finally in the shoe club!) I see shoes in my colours on sale, I snap them up!

Related posts:

Happiness is. . . a Beautiful Vignette

Authenticity. . . The Currency of the Future

Happiness is. . . Light