Mood Changing Color

Also known as ochre, this shade is warm and welcoming. With just a hint more orange than mustard yellow, it's a nurturing tone that is commonly used in gathering areas such as kitchens and dining rooms.



Red-violet tones are a bit less serious than violet and blue-violet hues and are excellent for informal or playful spaces. The red undertones make this color somewhat feminine and youthful.



Red, the color which the eye most recognizes, is associated with movement, speed and excitement. Studies have proven that viewing red results in an increased heartbeat.



Of all the colors in the color wheel, orange is often considered the most flamboyant. Orange spaces are fun, happy and unapologetic. People who use this color for their interiors can be characterized as warm.



Often used by designers and architects to capitalize on the availability of a home's natural light, white also symbolizes purity.




Although black symbolizes both power and authority, it's usually the color east likely to be used on interior walls. This stems from the fact that black also implies submission. By the way, my favorite color is black.



Associated with romance, pink has long been a preferred color of women and girls everywhere. Certain shades of pink, when paired with otherwise masculine colors, can create a gender-neutral space.



Many men choose brown as a favorite color. It's also a go-to choice for designers looking to create an organic or earthy aesthetic.



Gray is often thought of as timeless and practical; however, too much gray leads to a feeling of old age or nothingness. Add bright colored accessories to make the gray pop.



This color combines the dependability and wisdom of blue with the royal richness of violet.

Neutrals

Though nature boasts dramatic shades of every color, the environment's neutral hues can also inspire. Create rooms with a natural and sophisticated feel by blending subtle shades of cream and brown.



Different combinations of fabrics are very important if you are going to go all neutral in a room. A textured rug, silk pillows, even in the same cream tone, will look different.



A neutral is the perfect backdrop for all the special details in your space — whether an art collection or pieces from world travels.



Gray is a go-to neutral for interior designers A favorite neutral without a doubt is gray.



From paint colors to furnishings, neutral rooms are anything but boring. These rooms by top interior designers showcase the beauty of neutral spaces.

Backsplash Designs

Add a little sparkle to your kitchen. The metal tiles add an industrial edge and luminescent backdrop to the crisp white surroundings. Stainless steel backsplashes are eco-friendly, easy to keep clean and look especially gorgeous in contemporary settings like this.

Nothing is more eye-catching than a sparkling mosaic backsplash. Designer Linda Woodrum created this kitchen's focal point by combining reclaimed stained-glass tiles in gray, white and yellow to create a stunning, detailed backsplash against the entire back wall. The colorful glass tiles complement the dark wood cabinetry and the kitchen's overall urban edge, while also integrating a bold dose of color to match the golden-yellow work island.

To add some visual eye candy to her brand-new kitchen, RMS user cc_insidearch used gold glassed-curved tile to create a basket weave-patterned backsplash in the cut-out of her back wall cabinet unit. With bright backlighting and a reflective granite countertop, the glass tiles' iridescent finish appears especially sleek and shiny.

To prevent this Mediterranean kitchen from feeling ancient Old World, designer Sarah Barnard used a modern backsplash technique, embossed concrete, to add a contemporary edge. A wide range of imprinting tools and embossing skins can be used to stain, stamp or add texture to concrete, creating a variety of classic appearances. This particular patterned backsplash suits the rich wood cabinetry surrounding it, and it also blends well with the other hues and materials within the room.

To create a rich and natural look in this country-style kitchen, designer Joel Snayd used Carrera marble with a stunning pattern for the backsplash and countertops. The veins in the marble prevent the kitchen's all-white elements from appearing washed out. Considered a "living surface," marble can easily chip, crack and will acquire a patina over time, so proper care is essential to keep it looking beautiful.

Custom and Comfort

This traditional neutral master bedroom is complete with matching lamps. A touch of black in the lampshades anchors the space and adds the right touch of elegance and drama.



This bedroom addition opens out to the desert floor where the homeowners enjoy coffee with the Arizona wildlife. Mechanized window shades are recessed into the soffits to provide blackout or translucent light control. A base of neutral colors (paints, fabrics, carpet) is balanced with varying textures and patterns to create a calm, harmonious interior space. A new gas fireplace, recessed TV, lighting, sound and windowcoverings are controlled via remote from the bedside.



Custom pieces can make a big statement in a room. This hand-carved, mahogany mirror frame was specially commissioned to artisans working in the mountains of Colombia.



This dramatic, custom-designed master bedroom features an oversized diamond-tufted leather headboard that sits in a niche. The espresso-colored Wenge flooring is carried up the wall frame through to the custom bed. The bone white headboard is a sharp contrast against the rich wood floors and walls, creating a sense of luxury.



The Buddha cutout and shoji screens slide together to cover the window completely, or slide apart to become large blank canvases reflecting the 'being" and "nothingness" of Zen.



Speaking of Zen, I love this closet design. The walls in this luxurious, Asian master suite closet were rearranged to resemble a spacious high-end boutique. The custom cherry cabinetry by Irpinia Kitchens adds to the elegant look.

Asian Inspired Baths

Airy Asian-Inspired Escape

Designer Joseph Pubilones used a combination of neutral tiles — pale peach, copper and bronze — to create a mosaic that adds interest without too much proverbial volume. The floating vanity adds to the room’s airy allure. Photo by Daniel Newcomb

Wow-Factor Shower

More and more homeowners are opting for luxurious showers in lieu of seldom-used tubs. This stunning floor-to-ceiling shower enclosure embodies the trend; it features dramatic chartreuse and pink tile, a shaving bench and steam capabilities. Design by Joseph Pubillones; photo by Daniel Newcomb

Classic and Clean

This timeless master bath uses cool wall tiles and muted lighting to create a refuge from the daily hustle and bustle. Minimal furnishing and accessories keep rejuvenation the focus of the space. Design by Lori Gilder

Rustic Flair

Designer Dan Heldenbrand used a stone bowl sink and a rustic wood-and-iron cabinet to create a Western-inspired theme in this desert home. Oil-rubbed bronze fixtures and a distressed wood countertop complete the look.

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

Designer Kenneth Brown used a large-scale mirror to make this small bathroom appear more spacious. The large looking glass also provides ample space for two people to get ready in front of the double vanity.

A round mirror and bi-colored red horizontal tiles mounted in straight lines give this globally-furnished room a contemporary look. Worldly accessories, like the carved wooden mask and tribal-inspired drawing, look right at home against the warm backdrop. Design by Amy Bubier

A Secret Garden

To get maximum natural light without compromising bathroom privacy, this bathroom features a walled garden outside the picture windows. A contemporary soaking tub provides a spot enjoy the view, undisturbed.

Alluring Azzurro

From a distance, the Azzurro Collection might actually appear to be made of woven linen, such is its intricacy and palpable tactility. Any one of the more than 40 designs positively begs to reach out and be touched.




And the exotic nature of the prints might suggest linen as well, evoking, as they do, a sense of the bygone days of colonial Britain. But this is a new era and it takes a wise use of an old reliable material to create the dazzling reproductions of Azzurro.




This vinyl wallpaper on an unwoven backing comes in rolls of 10 x .7 M., sufficient dimensions to adorn the walls of an Italian villa or a Bombay flat. Each design in the Azzurro collection plays with shadow and light. There are vibrant purples dazzled by streaks of white; a dizzying and dazzling masala of reds, yellows, blacks, blues, and greens; and, my favorite, a burnished blend of earthy browns, burnt oranges, and floral yellows—evoking, ever so subtly, the wondrous striations of a Bengal tiger’s stripes.




About the Manufacturer: Èletis was established in 1988 when the company’s founders perceived a niche just ready and waiting to be filled: “colorful and innovative wallpapers which we felt were missing.” The company’s product line thus includes the fanciful and the fantastic—everything from stripes and geometrics to patterns and solids, in all the colors of the rainbow and many more besides: “Our strong passion and distinct look are recognized worldwide and this has allowed us to develop rapidly.”

Asian Inspiration

Tilted to one side to allow views out from the central platform, The Nest is enveloped in foliage, creating the illusion of sprouting from the forest floor like a plant. Trees grow up through the center of the platform, creating a canopy that protects and embraces the living space whilst allowing dappled light to penetrate.

Access to the deck is only achieved via timber steppers floating just above the surface of the water.



The undulating deck splits to reveal a pocket of Australian native violets. Where the deck dips an ergonomic seating area is created.







This organic sculpture is on permanent display in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. It is a multi-terraced, recycled Corten steel structure overflowing with spectacular succulent specimens from all over the world.



This outdoor room incorporates a few key design elements, which work together to enhance the feeling of space. The incremental level changes, sinuous deck and seating curves and the directional changes in the decking help create movement and draw your eye around the space.





Suspended from a pergola of oversized timber beams is a day bed curved in the form of a palm husk that cradles the body.



Inspiration for this design comes from the Japanese philosophy of stylizing nature into miniature landscapes as a focus for meditation, and a water feature is key to this.