Designing At Carol’s: Let’s Make Lemonade

Abby McIntyre

Happy New Year, friend! I’m not sure about you, but we are certainly welcoming 2021 with open arms, excited for a fresh start. There is no denying that this past year has certainly been sour. Our friends over at Pantone, a color forecasting company, certainly seem to feel the same way. Pantone recently announced that 2021’s colors of the year are Ultimate Gray, a soft elephant gray, and Illuminating, a vibrant lemon yellow. Inspired by the state of the world in 2020, Pantone’s color combination is meant to “convey a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.” So, to help guide your journey of using these bold new colors we’ve given you a few design tips to keep in mind.

First things first, friend. To incorporate such a lively color into your home you must have a delicate touch. Too much of this lemon yellow can easily overwhelm your space. It’s all about the details with this one. The details are what will help bring your entire room together to give it a designer touch. Determining your base color will be gray allows you to play with the yellow in the details. Let’s start with the window treatments. If your room is needing some pattern, try putting it in the draperies! Finding a delicate floral with grays and small pops of lemon yellow can bring a sense of whimsy into your space, while allowing you to pull the yellow into other areas of the room as well. For instance, think about your sofa and pillows. A beautiful sofa and pillow set upholstered in Ultimate Gray can be livened up by adding piping to the edges that incorporate both gray and yellow. Bringing the print of the draperies into a few sofa pillows will help the room feel cohesive. If you want to be a little bolder with your upholstery, try backing your chairs in Illuminating yellow while the front is done in a patterned or tone on tone gray. Again, adding piping with both colors around the edges will tie the individual pieces together.

From there, bring a fresh bouquet of yellow flowers into your room as a centerpiece on the coffee table or incorporate yellow into the artwork you hang on the walls. Perhaps you have built-in bookshelves that could stand to be restaged. Bring in a few colorful books and knick knacks to further incorporate the color and refresh your room. The pops of yellow flitting around the room are the finishing touches that complete your space.

So, let’s take our sour lemon of a year and transform it into something that resembles lemonade. Let’s refresh our homes in 2021 to fill us with hope and strength for the new year. Are you with me friend? If you are seeking vision or guidance with your design project, call 940-565-8337 to schedule your appointment today. We’d love to see you at our showroom. Happy New Year, friend! Let’s make it a good one.

As always, happy designing!