Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014!!!!

With the best wishes of love, peace, health and prosperity for everybody from

Isabel de Yzaguirre,

La Colorista.

Good networking practices in LinkedIn.

Dear readers of mine:

today I want to comment something that happend to me recently in LinkedIn. I write blog posts when I can and try always the content to be of interest. Then I share it in my groups trying to develop a good conversation. Lately I wrote two posts publishing interesting Houzz tours with my comment, and posted in my groups. I've always had a positive groupal behaviour, I think: I've been respectful and have tried to make my contribution to others...

Isabel de Yzaguirre, IdY.
La Colorista.

It happens that I publish my content from Bloggers directly to LinkedIn, and I've stated that slide presentations don't show when linked. Instead of that, my photo and Bloggers profile was shown, though I linked to the post. I usually had been posting my content in Color related groups, but since I belong to many Interior Design groups, I thought my posts on Color could be of  interest. And I must state that I had a great and very welcoming response, and a great contribution of fellow Interior Designers on developing conversations on Color. If you scroll down in my blog, you will see that I wrote two of this posts with Houzz content lately. I had a great feedback in general, but had a bad surprise as well. Having had a comment in a group, and wanting to thank it, I came to discover that I had been blocked there! I was shocked, I admit!!!

Then I discovered that my latest posts showed my photo and Bloggers' profile instead of the post content. Could this be the cause why someone flagged my contribution? Could be, of course. But it happened only two times before I realized my mistake, and nobody warned me through any kind of comment or private message, which is the procedure I think should have been followed. Simply put, someone flagged me once and I was blocked! I wrote to the group owner to explain myself and ask him his reconsidering my  being blocked in this Interiors group, but I haven't had any response. I understand group owners are busy, and I understand that spamming is annoying. But I didn't mean to spam the group at all. In fact there were many people interested in what I posted and that engaged in a very interesting conversation, where everybody shared his/her thoughts on the subject. And I wasn't given a single chance when flagged by someone. 

So here go my thoughts: I revised what could have happened and detected the possible cause of the blocking. And the lesson I've learnt: if you post a link from your blog, be careful to do it with an interesting introducing question on the subject, that can begin an interesting conversation. Be careful not to be too showy of yourself or not to seem to be too showy. Even if you think you are behaving correctly, make sure nobody can think on the contrary, for we never know enough about others' level of sensibility.

For me it has been a very unpleasant experience, since I've always tried to be kind to everybody and never post negative criticism on  other people works, posts and blogs. But this happened to me and I've tried to learn from this experience. I'd love to know your thoughts on this question and I hope that this can help others as well. Let me finish with  my best wishes for a wonderful Year 2013 to everybody, which I didn't before for personal reasons.

See you soon with more posts on Color and Interior Design!

Isabel de Yzaguirre,

La  Colorista.

25 most bookmarked Colourful Homes in Houzz 2012!

I've found this collection of 25 most bookmarked Colourful Homes 2012 in Houzz and really enjoyed the collection. Of course I love some more than others, but all of them are a good example of how color can help to make you feel better in your home. Which ones do you prefer?

As for 2013, I guess blues and greens are going to be on spot...

25 Most Bookmarked Colorful Homes of 2012

Houzz- Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel and More »

Happy and colorful New Year 2013 to everybody!

Isabel de Yzaguirre,

La  Colorista.

Guest blog by Joanna from Design Shuffle: Wonderfully Colorful Walls!

Hi! I’m Joanna, a writer for Design Shuffle, a terrific site featuring everything interior design. On the site you can find the latest designs from prominent designers and up-to-the minute news on the interiors industry. I LOVE my work. I get to spend my time searching the Internet and shelter mags for the most beautiful interior designs and bring them together to share on blogs like La Colorista. Thanks for letting me share today!

If you’re not faint of heart when it comes to wearing or decorating with bright colors, then you know the joy of a boldly hued outfit or interior space. I especially love color, but have a hard time committing to just one. That isn’t a problem for the designers of the rooms below. They went all out when choosing colors that pop for their walls.

 

A wall doesn’t have to be a solid color to be bold and bright. This wall has all the colors of the rainbow and becomes a cohesive burst of wonderful color.

 

An accent wall in a modern home office acts as a decorative entrance to a master bedroom.

 

This dining room (from the same home as above) is full of character and personality with its red and purple

accents.

 

All pretty in pink, this bedroom design wears the color beautifully. This would be a lovely room to awaken to every morning, don’t you think?

 

This fun retro room full of 60s charm would be a blast to hang out in with its comfy, stylish seating and brilliant colors.

.

Mum’s the word in this pretty corner spot. I love the pink velvet chaise and the dramatic black chandelier.

 

This room may seem as if it is shouting, “look at me!” but I find it dramatic and chic. Does it inspire any ideas for your bedroom design, den design, or any other part of your home?

 

Honeysuckle and silver cover a bold wall over a daybed. The silhouette adds personality along with rich textures and hues on the throw pillows.

Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 

Longing for even more colorful inspiration? Then head on over to Design Shuffle where you can explore various interior design styles and browse through the portfolios of Chicago interior designers and more!

The year of La Colorista.

If I look backwards, this has been a busy year! 

I had decided to go back to Art Classes in 2010, and there I explored color with Mrs. Marina Berdalet, and I went on in 2011. Those were Happy Days!

Liliums, by Isabel.

I begun doing digital Colour Paletes, just because I liked to. I thank Jaume Orriols for his Photoshop classes. Also  Joan Sunyer Moret, for teaching me some pro tricks and for his conceptual and technical help with my La Colorista logos and card. And Hornbeck Design Partners were so kind to let me use their Monterrey photograph for my now Insignia Palette:

Monterrey Palette.

I wanted to learn Color Consultancy in a more scientific way that I had been taught at the Art School. There are no such studies in Spain and I looked for Online Classes. The one that looked the best was by Sensational Color. I wasn't disappointed at all. I earned my Color for Your Home Consultant Certification with Color Expert Kate Smith. She was and excellent teacher and now is a friend!

In the last days of 2010 I had bought the domain lacolorista.es and very shyly opened a Facebook bizz Page. Now it has 218 followers! To all of you, many, many thanks!!!

I have  gone on publishing my blog in three languages, and this means writing three blogs in one. My English one is the more read and has lead me a lot of traffic -don't forget, I'm a small fish... I have gone from about 3000 visits in the beginning of 2011 to nearly 9000 today. I could never have imagined that. So, to all that have come here to read my posts, or maybe just to have a look at them, many thanks for spending part of your time here!!!

I have tried to do things in my way and have explored trends as well. And my 2011 more read posts have been:

Colors of the Year 2011: which one you choose?

466 visualizations

Mural project for a School's Yard

426 visualizations.

AzkoNobel's Colour for the Year 2012, Juicy Ripe Red

358 visualizations.

And the Winning Award goes to:

Tangerine Tango, Pantone's Color of the Year 2012!

586 visualizations until this moment.

Maybe this will seem not much to some, but I had never dreamed of being read by so much people!

To end this yearly review, I designed my logo and card and am launching my service locally.I had Joan Moret's help as mentioned above. But I have a special thank you for Color Expert Teresa Tullio, who kindly offered some free ideas from which my current logo was bornt.

And I have made many wonderful Color Friends. So what else could I ask for? 

Just one thing: please, come back in 2012!!!

Happy New Year to all!!!

Season greetings !!!

Color explained in a few words!

Color For Dummies

View more presentations from adechriz

TANGERINE TANGO, Pantone's color of the Year 2012!

Pantone today is announcing the new Color of the year 2012 and this is...

TANGERINE TANGO

Pantone 17-1463

“Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.” (Leatrice Eiseman)

According to Pantone "The 2011 color of the year, PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle, encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward."

It is known that Color Trends are set in advance, according to many events, and Color Forecast let us know where we are going to. So this is not magic, there are many professionals studying the market's evolution, people's and societies' trends. But I'm glad to see the info I released in early Autumn about AzkoNobel's Color of the Year 2012 was good. I also included Tangerine as an accent color for this Fall-Winter 2011-12  in my Color Focus 2011, Autumn-Winter, as shown below:

Carpet by Serge Lesage.

This Color reminds me as well  of Farrow & Ball Charlotte's Locks and of Phidias, the chosen by CMG (Color Marketing Group).

Fashion designers featured in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2012, including Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Steffe by Shaun Kearney, Elie Tahari and Adrienne Vittadini, are incorporating this attractive orange into their spring collections:

Adrienne Vittadini  for Pantone.

...accompained by...

Pantone

A very interesting fact is that Pantone has partnered with Sephora, the leading beauty specialty retailer, to create an extraordinary collection that will change how consumers wear, feel and think about color.  SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE™ will deliver their Color forecasting in Spring 2012. To celebrate the launch, SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE proudly presents the first Color of the Year beauty collection.The limited edition collection features a variety of products including eye shadow, lipstick, lip gloss, nail polish and accessories, and will be available in Sephora Americas beginning March 2012.

As for Interiors, Pantone's proposal is to energize interior spaces with Tangerine Tango patterned home accessories like pillows, bedspreads and tabletop accessories. See carpet above! You can  incorporate Tangerine Tango appliances and personal electronics for an unexpected pop of color.

 

Alessi USA

Are you willing to make your home more cheerful? Make it easy: "Paint a wall in Tangerine Tango for a dynamic burst of energy in the kitchen, entryway or hallway." And if you are not afraid, you can add it to your living room!

Styleestate

To be honest, I must state that orange, together with it's complementary, blue, are my favourite color combo. So I'm happy with what is coming for next year! Remember that Benjamin Moore have chosen a very pale blue for their Color of the Year 2012.

Benjamin Moore

You can pair it perfectly with pops of orange for a moden look! Or a chic one.

Styleestate

If you need a redo in your Interiors and need some Color Help, contact me!

Charlotte's Locks Red by Farrow&Balls, their colour 2012?

Farrow&Ball

I love this colour from Farrow&Ball!!!I received it in their Newsletter today and I can't stop watching it!
It reminds me of Juicy Ripe Berry Red, the Colour of the Year proposed by AzkoNobel  for 2012.

Farrow&Ball are highlighting this colour in their UK website and it's beautiful and suggestive name is Charlotte's Locks.The upper half of the image corresponds to this colour in Estate Emulsion and the lower part is the same colour in Full Gloss. This way, a striking, textured look is created and the high sheen gloss finish constrasts wonderfully with the chalky matt appearance of Estate Emulsion for an ultra contemporary feel


According to F&B, "Full Gloss offers an extremely robust and durable finish wherever it is used, inside or outside the home. Ideal for all interior and exterior woodwork and metal and available in 132 colours, its 95% sheen gives a striking finish." It suits front doors, furniture in a need of up-dating, walls and radiators.


I'm seeing lots of red announced everywhere.  For instance, CMG has chosen a red they have called Phidias as the 2012 color for Europe.It has something to do with Juicy Ripe Berry Red...

Font

Or not?

I  had never thought of red in the way I do now. And you? Would you have red in your home?

If you  need any advice, just contact me. I'm here to help you!

Mural project for a School's Yard

Busy as I was with my Colour for Your Home Consultant Certification at Sensationalcolor, I had given up writing in my blogs for an essential lack of time. Now that I have finished my Winter Class, here I am with a very special project I did in 2010-11. This is  a Mural Project to decorate a concret wall in a yard at the school  where I work, in Moià (Barcelona, SPAIN). I began it in summertime and delivered my work in January. I tried to capture the colours that we can find in nature in different yearly Seasons. Then I translated them into an imagined landscape that shows the Seasons in the same order in which we enjoy them at School, from September to June. From the left of the image to its right we go from Autumn to Summer. And from the bottom to the top of the wall are represented the colours from earth to sky, also according to the Seasons. Here is the final sketch:

 La Colorista

This is the wall to be painted:

La Colorista

I picked colours from photos that I had shot in all the annual Seasons and I produced this first messy colour palette ( I have a bit more of phtoshop knowledge right now, but this is a little bit naïve and I love it, between us...) :

La Colorista

After that I translated colours to printable ones  in Pantone Solid Coated, and I arranged seasonal groups and a colour palette for every Season. I have used many colours -not all of them- in the final project. Here you are my Seasonal Colour Palettes:

Winter colour palette, La Colorista

Spring colour palette, La Colorista .

Summer colour palette, La Colorista

Autumn colour palette, La Colorista

As unluckily we are suffering a tough economical recession, our annual  School's budget has currently been reduced about a twenty per cent and we don't know when the mural will be painted. But pupils, parents and my peer teachers seem to love the project and want it done as it is. So I'm feeling happy!!! What else could I ask for?

My next goal is specialising in colour for Architectural Exteriors. Will it be possible for me to fly to USA in 2012? I'd love to!

Colors of the Year 2011: which one you choose?

Citrus Yellow is one of the trendy colors this year 2011:

Font

Chosen by multinational AzkoNobel, owner of prestigious paint  brands in many countries, as their Color 2011, it contrasts strongly with Pantone's proposed hue, Honeysuckle Pink. In one hand I must state I wouldn't dare to paint an accent wall with such a strong bold color.In the other, I think this pink can work very well in fashion:

Font

Font 

I think also it can lighten  and enhance an Interior as a punch of color in some complements and make it look springlike:

 Font

Citrus yellow seems to work best for more extensive use in Interiors in its different hues, from buttery  to sherbet yellow, from canary yellow to the most bright and saturated hues of it.

Font

Let's look at this kitchen as an instance. Published in Apartment Therapy Trends 2001 Report it shows yellow in an up-to-date design. Enlightened by white cabinetry and in a bold contrast with the rich brown of the wooden floor, it sems to dialogue by analogy with the peach orange color in the next room. Some punchs of green here and there balance the whole composition.

 In Fashion we can find all kind of clothings and complements in this warm and yet refreshing color:

Font

 With what I love best from all these I have made my own Trendy Palette 2011. Enjoy!

If you are in Catalonia and would love to update your Home's Color and Décoration, I'm here to help you.
Just contact me and let's talk!

Happy Holidays and a Colourful 2011!!!

Autumn Tableware Palette

Autumn Tableware Palette

A few time ago I was asked for my friend designer Joan Moret to create a Color Palette for a Seasonal Tableware in Murano Compatible Glass. I made some investigation and through Ceramist Matoko Araki knew of the japanese tradition to change the Tableware according to the Season of the year. In Japan people have special names for the hues of leaves in the Fall Season and I searched for some inspirational images from there.And these are the colors I selected from the pictures. I imagined how they would look in the precious materials that were supposed to be employed to make an Autumn Tableware and I just loved them!

I made an attempt to draw and paint some plates and dishes, with the help of Photshop and this palette, though not being an expert, and they looked like this:

It was a funny exercise to test some possible combinations to do. As you see, I'm not a real Tableware designer, but I enjoyed triying. I even did a Winter Tableware Palette, but I will show when the White Season begins.