Living Well Newsletter
Winter 2010
Dear Friends, Our connection to Mother Earth is inseparable. When she changes her seasons, our inner natures also change with the seasons. We recognize the season we're in by the way we feel. Winter always reminds me of the phrase "go within or you go without" because it's a time when we tend to stay home more often. It gives us the opportunity to reflect and heal what no longer works in our lives so that we can listen to our hearts and create anew, planting the seeds of new beginnings. If you find yourself clearing clutter, reorganizing and rearranging, you are following your natural instincts at this time of year. Now more than ever, our homes are our sanctuaries and although not many people are buying new ones; they sure are busy enhancing what they have. "Lighten up" seems to be the phrase I'm hearing more and more of when it comes to repainting and redecorating trends. I love comparing the "before" photos I get with the "after" photos of newly painted and redecorated spaces and thought I'd share a few. |
"Before" & "After" Color consultant Barbara Jacobs' goal was to come up with a solution to please the owners of nine separate residences in this Boston co-op who asked her to transform their common entry areas. Their requests ranged from "elegant", "comfortable", "a 'Boston look' but not ordinary" to "classic, but just a bit different". |
 |
The first thing Barbara did was to recommend new lighting which not only helped give life to the space, but also enhanced the complex neutral attributes of the "Mushroom" color she chose for the walls. The existing yellow was not only a bit garish, but it also didn't complement any of the other materials, like the stone floors and hand-painted mural wall panels. Sparkling "White Opal" ceilings and millwork polished off the new look. Although Barbara is in the Boston area, she also works remotely and can be contacted via her website, IntegralColor.com. |
| Louisiana-born, Manhattan-based interior designer Marc Charbonnet is well known for his sumptuous and soothing interiors. We have been creating custom colors for all of Marc's projects for many years now, ranging from his signature "Classic Marc" to warm creams and crisp whites. Below is just one example of his projects which can be seen on his website portfolio at MECAProductions.com. |
Marc transformed this dreary room by infusing the walls with warmth using his signature soft, pale yellow "Classic Marc" which has become one of our most popular colors since it was added to our palette of stock colors two years ago. "Snow" millwork and "White Opal" ceilings further help lighten things up. "Classic" is an apt description for Marc's signature color, because it also fits his timeless decorating style. This was obviously a big |
 |
| budget project, but Marc and I have been friends since the mid-eighties and I have to tell you, he is a magician when it comes to transformations, no matter what the budget! |
 |
Jon Vaccari's New Orleans Showroom Moves to St. Charles Avenue
|
 |
Company News & Follow Up! As you may or may not know, ICI Paints, the manufacturer of the paint products we use, was bought out by Akzo Nobel about a year ago. Although they are in the process of rebranding from "ICI" to "Glidden Professional", the products themselves have not changed--except for the better! Our favorite "Lifemaster" VOC-free product line still comes in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss, and now also comes in a "High Gloss" finish. Also, the flat is now available in all tint bases (i.e. all colors!). Since this product is not only a very durable 100% acrylic but also certified "green" by the U.S. Building Council, we are slowly reformulating all of our colors into this product. Please bear with us, we'll be totally "green" very soon! Although Akzo Nobel has been doing quite a bit of advertising, I am happy to say that thanks to all of our loyal friends and clients, I still have never advertised, yet we continue to get great press! A recent online article, "Paints That Bring Emotion To Your Walls" by Jane Freiman for AOL Home, was a wonderful descriptive of full spectrum paints. I followed up my last newsletter with a Blog post, "2010 Color of the Year", and was surprised to see how many people searched every version of that title. Would you believe I had over 15,000 visitors in two weeks? The first person to comment, Yelena Kublinski of a wonderfully informative website, housepaintingtutorials.com, later called and interviewed me for an article on her website. Speaking of my Blog, have you seen it lately? I have been having so much fun working on it because I include posts about anything and everything I'm passionate about. Being the Southern girl I am, I have even included some of my favorite recipes!
Sidney Coffee's Zen House Last, but not least, I wanted to follow up on one of the first "lighten up" projects I wrote about in my Autumn 2008 newsletter. It showcased the Baton Rouge sanctuary of America's Wetland Foundation Senior Advisor Sidney Coffee, where I mentioned how lightening up her colors inspired her to follow her passion, putting together special tours to sacred sites for spiritual seekers. Her son Tyler Coffee, a bilingual anthropologist and resident of Mexico, guides her first "Goddess Journey" (March 18-27) to the ruins in the sacred heart of ancient Mexico. By clicking on "Goddess Journey" you can get the details! There is still room left on The Goddess Journey. For information, call 225-603-3698. Sidney has even recruited her talented husband Al Coffee to build what she calls her "Zen House" - A screened in structure he built in their backyard. He’ll build one for you, too. For a quote, call 225-345-0665.
Complete with fire pit, Sidney's Zen House is a great place to "go within" no matter what the season! Until next time, I wish you all the best! |
LIBRARY OF PAST NEWSLETTERS
SPRING 2009 (Color & Feng Shui)
WINTER 2009 (2009 Color Trends)
AUTUMN 2008 (Transforming Spaces)
SPRING 2008 ( Recap of Previous Newsletters)
WINTER 2008 ( 2008 Color Trends)
SUMMER 2007 (Livin' in "Easy World")
SPRING 2007 (Vibrational Awareness)
WINTER 2007 (2007 Color Trends)
AUTUMN 2006 LIVING WELL (Creating Healing Energy with Color & Light)
SUMMER 2006 LIVING WELL (Healing Energy of Color)
AUTUMN 2005 LIVING WELL (Resources for Finding Peace Within)
SUMMER 2005 LIVING WELL (Tips on Exterior House Painting)
SPRING 2005 LIVING WELL (Company News)
WINTER 2005 LIVING WELL (Company News)
SUMMER 2004 LIVING WELL (Company News)
SPRING 2004 LIVING WELL (Consciousness of Water & Our Emotions)
WINTER 2004 LIVING WELL (Create Harmony & Inner Peace by Clearing Clutter)
AUTUMN 2003 LIVING WELL (Color Philosophy)
SUMMER 2003 LIVING WELL (Tools for Living in the Moment)
SPRING 2003 LIVING WELL (Creating a Cocoon)
WINTER 2003 LIVING WELL (Creating a Synchronistic Lifestyle)
AUTUMN 2002 LIVING WELL (Using Healing Energies)
SUMMER 2002 LIVING WELL (Creating a Sanctuary)
SPRING 2002 LIVING WELL (Working with Color & Light)
WINTER 2001 LIVING WELL (More Color Therapy, What Color are You?)
AUTUMN 2001 LIVING WELL (Color Therapy)
SUMMER 2001 LIVING WELL (Creating a Sanctuary with Nature's Colors)
Home • Full Spectrum Paints • Virtual Room Painter • Design Projects • Furnishings • Photos-Reviews • Contact Us
