Pantone calls Viva Magenta a nuanced crimson tone that offers a balance between warm and cool, drawing inspiration from a very organic source: the cochineal beetle. This insect produces carmine dye, one of the strongest and brightest natural dyes in the world. The psychology of this color is a rebellious softness that’s impossible to ignore, speaking to our desire to take on new challenges while meeting others with compassion.

“As we balance our digital and physical lives, we continue to grow our appreciation for the natural world,” says Pantone. “The Color of the Year 2023 acknowledges our gravitational pull towards natural colors as movements swell around climate change, sustainability, and land protection. Viva Magenta offers us the assurance and motivation we need to weather long-term disruptive events.”

“Three years deep into a pandemic, facing a war, an unstable economy, social unrest, supply chain breakdowns, and mounting climate change, we need to heal. And still, we need to find the motivation to continue. Here, Viva Magenta cloaks us in both power and grace, and sends us out into the world with the verve we’ve yearned for.”

Pantone unveiled Viva Magenta at ARTECHOUSE in Miami Beach alongside its exhibition Magentaverse. Presenting its Color of the Year as an immersive experience for the fourth year in a row, the company projected magenta-hued images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and other outer space images into an animated LED tunnel. As visitors explored the exhibition, they activated a LIDAR sensor that triggered the visualization of data in real time.

Pantone also used the AI generative tool Midjourney to create a series of promotional images featuring Viva Magenta, and they’re every bit as surreal as you’d expect. That’s a fitting choice, given that Pantone sees Viva Magenta as a color “capable of driving design to create a more positive future.” Of course, the choice of the term “Magentaverse” is no accident, referring directly to the looming prospect of the metaverse in the near future.

If you want to incorporate Viva Magenta into your home this year, use it as a vibrant pop of color in a neutral setting or make it the focal point of the space in large-scale form using a painted accent wall. ArchDaily has a fantastic gallery of architectural projects that have already employed colors in a similar vein, using saturated magenta for furniture, built-in bookshelves, and even entire facades.

To get a sense of just how much Viva Magenta aims to change our collective mood for 2023, look back on the previous Colors of the Year. In 2022, Pantone chose the soothing warm bluish-purple shade Very Peri to help people get through difficult times. The company saw it as representing “courageous creativity.”

Back in early 2021, when the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were perhaps at their most dramatic (thus far, at least), Pantone announced two Colors of the Year: “Ultimate Gray” and “Illuminating” yellow, a contrast of neutral and bright shades meant to symbolize dependability and cheer.

The post Viva Magenta: Pantone Reveals Its 2023 Color of the Year first appeared on Dornob.

All About Sage Green

Image via Studio McGee

Muted colors are coming in like a warm blanket to give our interiors an ultra-calming vibe, and none are looking more popular for 2023 than sage green. This soothing, slightly dusty hue works for contemporary and antique design styles alike, pairing beautifully with just about everything — including black, white, and natural wood tones.

Finding Meaning

This past year was dominated by eclectic, maximalist interior design trends, with designers buying all kinds of attention-drawing objects to place on clients’ their tables and shelves. As we move into 2023, the process of choosing those objects is becoming more intentional. Instead of random trinkets, people are choosing items that resonate on a personal level for their homes. Perhaps that’s an antique passed down from a relative, a gift from a friend, or an object that reminds you of a favorite memory.

Arches and More Arches

Image via Vaunt Design

Hallways, doors, shower niches. Arches are coming back in a big way in 2023, building on the curved furniture trends we’ve seen in previous years. More recently, they’ve taken over luxury commercial spaces like hotels and designer retail stores. We’ll soon see homeowners renovating their interiors to achieve a similar effect.

Multi-Use Rooms

Modern life can change in the blink of an eye, so we could all use a little more flexibility. Perhaps one day you want to use that little corner of your living room as a music listening area, and the next day you want to use it as a home office. Perhaps your extra room needs to work for both yoga practice and a guest space. Adaptable furniture and multi-use setups are a top priority nowadays, so it’s time to get creative to make the most of our spaces.

Natural Stone

Image via Lynn Byrne

Bold, textural, and evocative of nature, natural stone is never really out of style, but be on the lookout for interiors using it in a whole new way next year. Designers are using stone slabs with interesting colors and patterns as backsplashes, countertops, bathroom floors, and even ceilings.

Small Luxuries

Maybe you can’t afford that one-of-a-kind sculptural sofa on 1stDibs, but it’s not as much of a stretch to save up for an amazing table lamp or an original work of art. These kinds of small-scale luxuries can make a big impact in a space, especially if you make them a focal point. When possible, it’s nice to invest in higher quality and handmade pieces instead of mass-produced “fast furniture” objects and decor, most of which fall apart after just a few years.

Restoring Thrift Store Finds

Image via A Ray of Sunlight

Thrift stores are full of items that have tons of potential, if only you can see past their current condition. Sometimes all it takes is a little elbow grease, polish, paint, or new hardware to give a junky-looking piece a whole new life. The process can be a lot less involved than you imagine, even if you don’t have a lot of experience. Pinterest is packed with DIY thrift store furniture projects you can browse for inspiration.

A Balance Between Minimalism and Maximalism

Minimalism was king for a long time before maximalism swung in like a wrecking ball to shake things up. But the reality is that most people’s preferences lie somewhere in the middle, and we’re starting to see that reflected in higher-end interior design, too. That means one thing you’re doing is on-trend without you even trying. Congrats! In the coming year, we’ll likely see a lot more professional examples of well-balanced spaces to give us inspiration for our own homes.

The post Top 8 Interior Design Trends to Refresh Your Home in 2023 first appeared on Dornob.

“Everyone thinks of the desert as monochromatic,” says Schweitzer. “But when you look carefully, there are all these amazing colors: a vivid green lichen growing on a rock, a bright red flower, and the impossibly blue sky. This compound takes those colors and builds them at the scale of man, which is bigger than the flower, but a lot smaller than the rocks.”

The Monument House is one of many multicolored homes in the park. “Following in the footsteps of Lloyd Wright’s nearby New City of Mentalphysics, this home continues a rich tradition of experimental and radical architecture in the California high desert,” says the website for Homestead Modern, the Joshua Tree rental firm currently managing the property.

The listing follows a recent renovation of the Monument House. The home’s moss-colored building features an open plan living room with comfy but modern furniture and a bright orange fireplace, with views of the desert landscape framed by trapezoidal windows and doors on all sides. These playful geometric openings are meant to mirror the shapes of the large boulders in the surrounding park. While there’s no TV here, there are plenty of books, games, and internet access to provide entertainment.

In the blue structure, a canary yellow “chef style” kitchen has all the essentials for small gathering meal prep. The dining room is equally sunny, with a table by Roy McMakin and chairs designed by Schweitzer himself. If you’d rather eat outside, you’ll have no problem dining al fresco in the home’s red-colored outdoor gazebo, complete with a propane barbecue grill.

Come nighttime, visitors to the Monument House can stargaze around the outdoor firepit before heading inside to the solo bedroom with its plush mint king-size mattress from Tuft & Needle. Or they take a dip in the outdoor hot tub (hidden in a deck) to enjoy 360-degree views of the five-acre estate and beyond. The home also includes an electric vehicle charger for any EV-driving guests.

The property location is idyllic. Located just one mile from the entrance to Joshua Tree Nation Park, the house is easily accessible while retaining a secluded feel, standing alone against a rocky hill in a valley of boulders. It’s important to note that guests are not permitted to use the rental for any photo or film shoots without advance permission. Bookings at the historic Monument House start at $299 for a two-night minimum stay.

The post Colorful Joshua Tree Monument House is Now Available to Rent first appeared on Dornob.

Commissioned by a homeowner in the seaside town of Javea, Spain, Pantone and his team used over 130,000 one-inch ONIX tiles in just seven colors to create a stunning underwater prismatic pinwheel. Known for his work with light and color, the mosaic spectrum of blues, yellows, and reds showcases the artist’s brilliant way of melding individual pixels into a seamless rainbow of movement.

“Color only happens because of light, and light is the only reason why life happens,” Pantone writes on his website. “Light and color are the very essence of visual art. Thanks to television, computers, and modern lighting, our perception of light and color has changed completely.”

His process begins digitally as he works with various computer software to invent his designs. Then comes the manual manipulation of materials — in this case tiny colored glass tiles — to bring his kaleidoscopic vision to life. Radiating out from the very center of the pool, the colored squares flow over every inch of the floor and up and over the side walls, extending the optical illusion to its fullest degree.

The vibrant pool, which he calls the Felipe Pantone Residential project, is even more dramatic because of its juxtaposition with the starkly white modern home it’s attached to. From above, the tiled pattern appears to shift and gyrate beneath the water’s waves.

Born in Argentina, Pantone and his family moved to Spain when he was 10 years old. It was there he spent the remainder of his youth outside near the seaside stand his parents ran, finding artistic inspiration all around. “I was hanging out on the streets all day, immersing myself in the hip-hop culture, dancing breakdance, meeting graffiti artists,” he explains. Pantone eventually started making his own graffiti for fun before heading to the University of Valencia to get a degree in Fine Arts and unleashing his unique style on the world.

“I grew up as a painter, trained as a painter, and now my biggest goal is to get clear of all the academic training and to be able to make art freely, with the tools that work best,” he says.

Having grown up in a technological age when “kids unlocked life’s mysteries through the Internet,” his art is self-described as “a collision between an analog past and a digitized future, where human beings and machines will inevitably glitch alongside one another in a prism of neon gradients, geometric shapes, optical patterns, and jagged grids.”

Thanks to his bold use of color and geometry, Pantone’s aesthetic has been depicted by Forbes as “the intersection of Blade Runner and PhotoShop.”

Since his first gallery exhibition in 2006, Pantone’s bright optical illusion-like work has received global acclaim, with shows and installations in places like Paris, Mexico City, London, Italy, Palestine, Japan, and Australia. In 2017, he even painted what was at the time Portugal’s tallest mural. He’s since collaborated with international athletic brands like Reebok and Puma.

The post Felipe Pantone Dips His Signature Color Spectrum into a Residential Pool first appeared on Dornob.

All About Pink

Barbiecore became a trending hashtag on TikTok earlier this year, and a quick look around will tell you it involves a whole lot of pink (and the brighter the better). Valentino’s Fall ’22 Ready to Wear collection highlighted a very specific shade of pink that has become emblematic of Barbiecore, called “Valentino Pink PP” after the fashion house’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli. Verging on magenta, this neon hue is impossible to ignore, and used alone, it could be a bit much. For interiors, Barbiecore enthusiasts often layer different shades of pink for a slightly softer effect.

Decorating Your Dream House

For inspiration, start with the source. Barbie’s actual Dream House has evolved many times since its first debut in 1962, but since the 1980s, it has typically featured at least four shades of pink, often accented by white, purple, and turquoise. It’s never crammed full of stuff, so despite the loud colors, it doesn’t feel too chaotic. Accent pieces like overstuffed armchairs, chandeliers, and playful wallpaper patterns make a big impact. To mimic this effect without transforming your entire home, look for eye-catching accent pieces like a giant spray of feathery pink pampas grass in a vase, a vivid framed print like this Riot Grrrl-inspired piece, or a graphic pink wallpaper like this banana leaf motif.

If something about Barbiecore appeals to you but you’re not quite ready to go full Barbie, try integrating a little pink into your life for a touch of fun. You might be surprised at how well it can integrate into all kinds of color schemes and decor styles. Even in dark, somber spaces, a pop of salmon, bubble gum pink, or fuchsia can be a breath of fresh air. The softest, palest pinks paired with gold and white can evoke the old-school glamor of 1950s Barbie without being too in-your-face. A pink accent wall, faux fur throw pillows, and a cute side table would be enough to capture the trend’s intrinsic mood-lifting qualities without going overboard.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Extra

Of course, if you want to go full-throttle Barbie, have at it. House Beautiful recently interviewed Adora, the owner of Nashville’s infamous The House of Adora, which truly feels like somebody cast a spell on Barbie’s home to expand it to human proportions. From the front walkway to the kitchen, it’s meticulously curated and very pink.

“I only very recently heard the term Barbiecore, and I love it,” Adora says. “Barbie pink is glamorous and unafraid. I’ve had people on social media tell me they used to be embarrassed that they liked the color pink but that they aren’t anymore. It makes me sad they were ever made to feel that way. But I’m so happy the tide is turning. Pink is such a wonderful color, and I love that more people are embracing it. Like how could I not be happy every time I walk onto my pink porch? Barbie-inspired design feels like the ultimate meaning of living your best life!”

The post Barbiecore: How to Decorate Your Very Own Hot Pink Dream House first appeared on Dornob.

Now, Masquespacio is stepping even further into the future with their newest offering in Barcelona: a Mango Teen store that’s an iconoclastic invention steeped in both the physical and digital worlds. Brimming with bright, vivid hues and expressive angles, the store echoes the color palettes commonly favored by the firm in past projects. However, in a dramatic departure from the norm, here they’ve decided to take their vision to the next level, creating a real-life/metaverse mashup where multipurpose features reign supreme.

Designed as a way to connect teens with a new “spatial identity,” the firm wanted to create an immersive store that reflected the world many young people find themselves spending increasingly more time in. As Masquespacio’s Ana Hernandez said in a recent statement, being a teen is “…a time when you start to dream big, without taking in mind the limits. [But] above in your dreams, strange things are happening that are out of the box…things that are not real.”

It is this dreamlike aura that defines the new Mango Teen store. Like a trippy multi-layered onion, its real-life layers are peeled back to reveal doorways into the metaverse a la Alice in Wonderland, beginning with the brightly-colored entrance arch, where shoppers make their backlit way into the store, and ending with a dreamy, distorted dressing room experience whose reflective surfaces and Art Deco flair creatively combine the store’s hybrid ethos. According to Masquespacio, these dressing rooms were one of the shop’s most requested features.

The store’s real-world features ground the colorful space in reality while also serving as immersive multipurpose stations. A hotel reception desk doubles as a checkout counter, a swimming pool doubles as an exhibition space, and a washing machine acts as a recycling spot where customers can donate old clothes. The distinctive decor is also meant to mimic the store’s digital/analog combo, with matte surfaces and brightly-lit reflective paneling in beautifully deliberate fashion. Elsewhere, the blending of straight and curving organic lines is a nod to Mango Teen’s inclusive message, meant to evoke an atmosphere of gender neutrality.

Masquespacio has raised the bar even higher on their colorfully creative vision with their new Mango Teen store in Barcelona. Here, reality itself is distorted and reimagined to reflect the ever-growing digital world waiting just behind the (dressing room) curtains.

The post Worlds Collide at Masquespacio’s New Mango Teen Store first appeared on Dornob.

What do these seemingly incongruous things all have in common? They all describe the magic and wonder of artist Eric Rieger, aka HOTTEA, and his use of a nearly endless gathering of strings to create epic art installations that appear to “have a mind of their own,” according to My Modern Met.

A location-specific endeavor usually influenced by HOTTEA’s own personal experiences and connections with places, people, and time, the individual strands become larger than the sum of their parts when deliberately placed for maximum impact — a sensory overload that’s both visual and tactile, and a living embodiment of gloriously rainbow-hued complexities come to life.

Rieger is certainly no stranger to colorful yarn installations that mesmerize viewers with their vastness and statement-making colors. One only needs to check out his “Letting Go” or “Hot Lunch” installations, both prime examples of his willingness to expand perceptions using only yarn. Best known for both outdoor and indoor yarn pieces that are as grandiose as they are impactful, the Minneapolis-based artist has branched out from his Minnesota roots with his latest project entitled Strangers, located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

A reflection of the people he met while creating the installation and his experiences in Brazil, the vast 100-foot-long, 30-foot wide piece is meant to incorporate both memory and a sense of belonging. As the artist himself has said, “The word ‘Stranger’ often times has a negative connotation, [and so] I titled this installation Strangers because I liked the idea of referring to a stranger as a positive thing.”

It seems the artist’s kaleidoscopic Brazilian installation is just the beginning for additional projects that see him creating further cascades of colors across the U.S., with locations including Los Angeles, New York City, and Far Rockaway, New York, in addition to a collaboration for a fashion show and new project in his Twin City home base.

Exploring human relationships, memory, and life experiences, the saturated hues and the ethereal beauty of HOTTEA’s yarn installations are not only visual cornucopias of color, but also tactile treats that seem to breathe with a life of their own. Often consisting of (literal) miles of brightly-hued yarn strands that are delightfully cartoonish in scope, the artist’s latest installation, entitled “Stranger,” further exemplifies his talent for manipulating textiles into full-blown multisensory experiences.

To see more, check out HOTTEA’s Instagram @hotxtea

The post HOTTEA’s Kaleidoscopic Yarn Installations are a Feast for the Senses first appeared on Dornob.

Embroidered Cotton Beach Towel

Hang this decorative beach towel on a hook to switch up the mood in your bathroom, bringing in a summery feel. Made of fast-drying lightweight cotton, it features embroidered details and fringe on the short sides. Get it for $17.99.

Round Rattan Tray

Everybody needs a multipurpose tray for their summer table. We love this round rattan one, $29.99. Fill it with candles of various heights, a plate of hors d’oeuvres or whatever centerpiece you fancy.

Tasseled Seat Cushion

For garden parties, beach trips or just lounging in the backyard, this outdoor seat cushion is definitely a few steps above an uncomfortable camping chair or basic beach mat. The natural white and terra-cotta print continues H&M’s summer sunset theme. Stock up on a few of these at just $17.99 each.

Pink Wine Glasses

H&M is currently offering a variety of cocktail and wine glass shapes with this pretty translucent pink base, and you’ll find a matching cake stand and complimentary pink tablecloths and cloth napkins on the site as well.

Stoneware Candlestick

This fun branching shape is reminiscent of coral, and the clean white shade lets it blend right into whatever color scheme you’ve got going on. This one features four arms with different heights, measuring about 7.5 inches tall for $29.99.

Stoneware Cheese Board

Compact and lightweight, this is just the right cheese board to take on a picnic or use as part of your outdoor dining set. Get it for $17.99.

Patterned Cotton Cushion Cover

H&M really hit it out of the park with their second summer collection, a Mediterranean-inspired series of dreamy blue home decor that will make you feel like you’ve landed in Greece. This patterned cushion cover is among the standouts of the bunch, with an abstract motif just the right shade of azure. It’s made of 100% cotton and costs just $3.99.

Patterned Glass Vase

A beautiful shade of blue swirls through clear glass in this round $24.99 vase; you can also get a matching larger cylindrical version for $39.99.

Large Terracotta Vase

The Grecian theme continues with two large blue terra-cotta vases in fun graphic shapes drawing from ancient designs. The glazed terra-cotta vases have a matte finish and range from X to $39.99 in price.

Striped Throw

Use this breathable cotton warm weather throw blanket as a decorative accent thrown across the arm of a chair or a lightweight cover when the evening breeze rolls in. Get it for $39.99.

Seagrass Candle Lantern

No summer table is complete without a big candle lantern in the center. This one, made of seagrass and priced at $29.99, really captures the laid-back mood of warm evenings.

Cotton Tablecloth

The casual, slightly irregular printed pattern on this $39.99 printed cotton tablecloth adds a fun touch to your dining table, and it’s neutral enough to go with virtually anything.

Watercolor Patterned Duvet Set

How gorgeous is this watercolor duvet set? Turquoise, Aegean blue, and soft sandy pink meld together like waves on a beach. The King/Queen set comes with a duvet cover and two pillowcases for $79.99.

Large Cotton Rug

A large casual cotton rug is just the thing to tie the room together. It matches both the Mediterranean blue collection and the sunset-hued items from this summer’s offerings, and costs $84.99.

Fish-Shaped Stoneware Serving Pieces

These cute little fish-shaped platters and bowls are a fun way to serve your guests. They come in natural white and a variety of sizes starting at just $6.99.

The post Our Top Picks from H&M’s Sizzling Summer ’22 Home Decor Collection first appeared on Dornob.

“We were excited to see such an exciting and imaginative use of color in this year’s entries,” says Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux Color and Communications Manager. “Architects and designers have really pushed the boundaries with color application to create inspiring, engaging — and often surprising — interior and exterior spaces.”

According to the Dulux website, the annual competition “is Australia and New Zealand’s premier showcase of inspirational color application in interior and exterior residential, public, and commercial spaces.”

Each year, the Australian paint company selects a panel of design professionals to judge entries from architects, designers, and students to “[recognize] their creative and innovative use of color” with Dulux shades. The contest spans six categories: interior residential, exterior residential, commercial and multi-residential exterior, public and hospitality commercial interiors, workplace and retail commercial interiors, and students.

Company executives noted an inclination toward moodier home colors this year. “Deeper tones of blue and green were popular amongst residential interiors, showcasing diverse moods in areas and differentiating functional use in a space — from deep and dark, to bright and lively — applied to cabinetry, trims, and walls to create a peaceful, relaxing interior setting,” Lucena-Orr says.

That was especially evident in “The Pad” by architect Suzanne Hunt, an entry in which all the walls were shrouded in slate gray as a backdrop to a set of indoor-outdoor Zen gardens. Natural light filters through the palm leaves and ferns, further balancing the seriousness of the dark grays.

Other darkly pensive residential entrants included the “Malvern House,” with its wall-to-wall sage kitchen cabinetry and green marble countertops and backsplash. “The Grid House” highlights its stairwell with a navy blue that perfectly matches the carpet-lined steps.

Lucena-Orr also found that “impactful tones and washed walls are also making a presence, bringing a sense of moody sophistication to interiors.”

For example, the “Nelson Road House,” named one of the year’s most stylishly colorful Australian homes, uses a tranquil pastel pink in the primary bedroom but switches it up to a night-sky blue in the formal living room, allowing for a full array of ambience throughout. The designers from Bloom Interior Design in Melbourne said they “treated each room as its own space,” which gave them the freedom to “play with a range of different colors giving each space its own persona.”

Neutral-themed residential dwellings also made the 2022 list. The “Bondi Terrace,” designed by Studio Quarters, is a flow of understated whites and beiges with only touches of contrast in each room. The mildness of the paint lets the original period details like the marble fireplace and crown molding take center stage. The designers explain that they used full, half, and quarter strengths of the same color in different rooms to create an “overall calmness that permeates the whole house.” The “Sorrento House,” submitted by the Fiona Lynch Interior Design firm, also drew on a cream color palette for a soothing, restful effect.

On the other hand, some finalists went bold and bright to earn their spot. For instance, the designers at Pac Studio used sunny yellow to liven up the kitchen of “Heron House,” giving it extra punch by painting the surrounding walls an azure blue.

The Dulux website says that all colors in the Dulux range were considered, even black and white. The final selections will be based on both the use of color and the designers’ reason behind the choice. The winners will be announced in announced in just a few months, so be sure to check back with us for updates!

The post 2022 Color Award Finalists Reveal Trend Toward Moody, Pensive Shades first appeared on Dornob.

Now, the design world is responding to the uniquely human need to put our emotional stamp on our surroundings with a new trend destined to make a splash in the coming years: emotional decor.

Apropos of its name, this trend is all about crafting spaces meant to provide an emotional outlet and promote the free flow of feelings — and according to Pinterest Predicts 2022, it’s set to be the “it girl” of home decor both now and in the future.

Where emotional decor makes a departure from other design trends like feng shui is that it creates focus. Instead of creating a flow throughout your entire space, try devoting a single powerful emotion to one room, or even a secluded nook — any place where you can channel those feelings, whatever they may be.

The term (while not incredibly imaginative itself) spawned from a global analysis of Pinterest data that shows an uptick in searches for things like “rage room,” “library room,” and “crystal room,” to name a few. But how exactly does the emotional decor trend actually translate to a real-life living space? Before you channel your inner Madonna and “Express Yourself,” check out these helpful hints for getting in touch with this sensitive new style.

In Living Color

It should come as no surprise that color choices are important when it comes to expressing yourself — but saturating your space with specific hues plays a central role in the emotional decor trend, having “complex effects on how its users feel, and can amplify the sensation of lighting, create optical illusions, and change the perception of the environment dramatically,” according to archdaily.

Light It Up

Lighting goes hand in hand with color, and the ways we choose to illuminate (or de-illuminate) our homes can have a huge impact on our decor’s emotional IQ. Want to create a warmer, cozier space? Opt for more yellowish tones. Need to stimulate your inner busy bee? White, more natural lighting is the ideal choice for channeling productivity (it’s easier on the eyes, too). In short, lighting + color = ambience. It’s as simple as that.

The Sound of Silence

Sound, or lack thereof, can be instrumental to setting the mood in any space. Those looking to evoke a zen feeling of meditative reflection may want to opt for decor that eliminates unwanted acoustics that may kill their chill. Rugs and curtains with thick fabrics help absorb sound, while hard furniture like bookshelves can help break up a room and create a more reverberant sound (this is especially true in smaller spaces).

It’s Only Natural

Being a proud plant parent is so much more than a hobby — it’s a way to express yourself through a proximity to nature. Anyone who’s ever heard of biophilia will undoubtedly be copacetic with this vibe— the “notion that human beings have an innate tendency to seek closeness to nature.” Plant power, indeed.

As with any trend, emotional decor is subjective. How it’s interpreted is entirely up to you. So whether you want a red rage room to scream into the ether or a calm alcove of meditative bliss, it’s up to you to choose your own emotional path to decor nirvana with this trend that welcomes all the feels.

The post The Emotional Decor Trend Has Us Feeling All the Feels first appeared on Dornob.

The south Tyrol AEON Hotel was designed by noa* (network of architecture), a firm based in Bolzano, Italy who used this project to highlight the boundaries and connection between old and new worlds.

“The creation of an ambivalent tension between the centuries-old tradition of the rural complex and an exclusively modern statement was the basic principle underlying the design process,” explains designer Christian Rottensteiner on the noa* website.

Instead of one large structure, the architects decided to begin the theme of duality with two separate barn-shaped buildings. The exterior forms pay homage to the 550-year-old farm on which the B&B resides. Gabled roofs and wood siding harvested from the property’s own forest, as well as the family’s old coat of arms from 1464 posted on the entry, highlight the past of the hotel that was formerly the historic Lobishof Inn. Pentagonal floor-to-ceiling windows on every floor provide stunning views of the Merano Alps, Dolomites, and Rittner Horn.

Moving inside, the first building houses the common areas, including a reception desk, bistro, bar, and wellness area. The color contrast is immediately apparent and striking. A deep blue covers the ceiling and top one-third of the walls, while whites and creams comprise the bottom two-thirds and the floor. The hues were chosen specifically to convey a sense of the past and future: “A soft beige – communicates feelings of being grounded, familiar, delicateness – meets a mystical blue that embodies the future, the mysterious, the uncertain,’ the noa* website says.

These tint divisions don’t merely run through the walls, but also cut across furniture and fixtures at the exact same horizontal planes. Only in the wellness area is the color play inverted, with navy on the bottom and white on top, representing the feeling of wading or floating in water.

To enter the second building, a collection of 15 guest suites, there’s no need to enter the outside world again. Instead, the designers created a tunnel between the two structures, ingeniously buried under a manmade hill. Moving through this tunnel is a similarly transportive experience, as the walls are intersected by harsh angles of contrasting blue and white. “Guests are invited to move through and sense this cosmos between polarizing environments,” explains noa* interior designer Patrick Gürtler.

The tone of the B&B shifts in the guest suite barn, where all color divisions become vertical. Rugs, bed, tables, and even lamp shades cannot escape being split by these lines. The Gallery Suite is perhaps the most arresting example of the separated verticality, as it features a two-story-high ceiling and a “living platform” on the roof for cozily gazing into the heavens.

In the end, the architects hope their design will help guests sense the unseen bonds around them. “Boundaries – between past and future, between dream and reality, between inside and outside: noa* makes the invisible lines visible, which become part of the full picture and, above all, instead of a separation, a connection between two worlds.”

The post AEON: Italian B&B Toes the Line Between Modern and Rural first appeared on Dornob.

The crystal ball at Pantone’s headquarters has looked into the future and pulled out a brand new shade for 2022, a periwinkle tint called PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri.

“It is literally the happiest and the warmest of all the blue hues,” said Pantone Color Institute’s Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman in a video call with CNN. “Because of that red undertone, it introduces an empowering feeling of newness, and newness is what we’re looking for.”

“The color symbolizes the future,” she added. “[It] has that sprightly, joyous attitude that we’re talking about, that carefree confidence, and creative spirit.”

Pantone’s Vice President Laurie Pressman agrees, adding that “We’ve gone through so many challenges over this time, we don’t know what’s going to pop up from one day to the next. It’s curiosity that’s helping people to get through these difficult times. What we would call courageous creativity.”

Each year the company scours the worlds of art, entertainment, travel trends, and socio-economic conditions for new color influences. This year, Pantone experts took cues from the pervasiveness of technology in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are living in transformative times. PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through,” the company says on its website. “As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways. Digital design helps us to stretch the limits of reality, opening the door to a dynamic virtual world where we can explore and create new color possibilities. With trends in gaming, the expanding popularity of the metaverse, and [the] rising artistic community in the digital space, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri illustrates the fusion of modern life and how color trends in the digital world are being manifested in the physical world and vice versa.”

In keeping with that emphasis on technology, the Pantone Color Institute digitally created its 2022 Color of the Year, the first time in its 23 years that it has not simply pulled from the company’s existing archives.

“The Pantone Color of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that color can hope to answer,” adds Vice President Pressman. “Creating a new color for the first time in the history of our Pantone Color of the Year educational color program reflects the global innovation and transformation taking place. As society continues to recognize color as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet-infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us.”

In fact, the company is partnering with Microsoft in 2022 to roll out Very Peri across multiple applications, including screensavers and interface options for PowerPoint, Teams, Edge, and Windows. And thanks to this collaboration, Eiseman’s statement will be true in a literal way: “Very Peri places the future ahead in a new light.”

The post Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year Conjures “Courageous Creativity” first appeared on Dornob.

Dubbed “Flower Home,” the collection joins a long list of celeb-endorsed furniture and decor collections making a splash at retail giants lately (see HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Hearth & Hand Line at Target if you don’t believe us). But Barrymore’s collection, like the actor herself, is unique: diverse, distinctive, and oh-so-Drew. There’s even a collection of 27 colorful paint colors so you can Flower Home your home from head to toe, all in the vein of the collection’s fun signature feel.

Below are some of our favorite pieces from the Flower Home collection. Oh, and we’ve also thrown in a few handy tips on how to style them. Warning: major design inspo ahead!

Not Your Typical Chaise Lounge

This elegant chaise lounge adds a touch of class to any space — but it’s miles away from the stuffy, uncomfortable chaise lounges of old. Super cozy and comfy velvet fabric pairs with unique design touches to make this piece the star of any room it finds itself in. And it can be all yours for $816.80!

Style Tip: This pleated velvet decorative pillow adds a pop of color and makes the perfect complement to this uber-elegant lounge.

Mirror, Mirror

Everyone knows that mirrors create the illusion of more space when placed artfully throughout the home, and this wood leaner mirror from Flower Home makes for a great way to introduce yourself to the trend. With a modern yet comfortable vibe thanks to its warm wood and sleek lines, this mirror will feel right at home wherever it goes. Available for $148.88.

Style Tip: The mirror also comes with metal hangers on the back, so feel free to mix it up and hang it up rather than lean it for a fresh update on a classic look.

Deck the Walls

This list wouldn’t be complete without a color from Barrymore’s new paint collection, and Dusty Sage is the perfect shade to steal the spotlight. Even better, it’s super on trend with many of the 2022 colors of the year, which offer warm but bright feels to evoke a feeling of calm and comfort. And all for just $39.00!

Style Tip: Pair this trendy color with some of Barrymore’s signature Flower Home wall art like this Palm Springs Pink natural wood framed canvas.

Raise a Glass

The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means entertaining guests. Why not stock up on some fresh vibrant pieces to make your holiday table shine? This Ombre Glass Drinkware certainly fits the bill (especially in Gallant Green!) and will be sure to add a cup of cheer to any gathering. $25.00 for the full set of eight.

Style Tip: Fabric napkins add a touch of class to any holiday table, and these Fringe Table Napkins are both cheery and bright — and neutral enough to be used after the holidays are over, too.

Light the Way

Rattan is a classic that never goes out of style, and Drew’s new collection takes it to the next level of chic with this Antique BrassColor Arch Floor Lamp. Both eclectic and charming, the slim neck pairs perfectly with the woven rattan shade to add a touch of warm light to any space. Grab it now for $132.92.

Style Tip: Create the coziest reading nook by placing the lamp next to this comfy Petal Accent Chair. Then settle in with your favorite book and a cup of tea.

The Flower Home Collection from Drew Barrymore is vibrant, eclectic, and trés chic. And with super affordable price tags, anyone with a taste for whimsical and elegant design will be wanting to fill their home with this distinctively Drew decor.

The post Drew Barrymore’s Eclectic Flower Decor Line is Whimsical, Yet Elegant first appeared on Dornob.

Use Lighting Wisely

Just as harsh, bright white overhead lighting can have an invasive, clinical feel, soft ambient lighting sends us subliminal signals that it’s time to unwind. An abundance of natural lighting is ideal for positive feelings of well-being as well as intense concentration, so make the most of your windows by choosing curtains and blinds that don’t cut off too much light during the day, like sheers or roman-style shades. Full spectrum LED light bulbs can also mimic the effect of daylight, if you find your available windows lacking. At the end of the day, turn off any lighting that leans blue in color, which can suppress the melatonin our brains produce as a natural sleep aid, and turn on warm, low lights in shades of yellow and amber.

Maintain Flows of Air and Movement

If you’re feeling stagnant, trapped, or claustrophobic, it’s time to change the flow of energy in your space. You can accomplish that in a few different ways – namely, by reducing clutter, bringing in fresh air, and changing the layout of your furniture to make it easier to physically move through the room. Simply opening your windows, letting the sunshine in, and cleaning the glass can make a world of difference, especially if you can get a cross breeze from one window or door to another.

Think about your patterns of movement in the space. Is your typical path intuitive and unimpeded, or are there obstacles you have to work around? Try eliminating objects that don’t get enough use and moving your furniture around until the room feels more spacious and easier to navigate. A deep cleaning can also do wonders for your mental health.

If this concept speaks to you, a book about feng shui can help you learn more about inviting positive energy into your home. Feng Shui for Healing by Rodika Tchi is a great place to start.

Make Calculated Color Choices

Color has a major impact on how any given space affects our mental well-being, but depending on your cultural upbringing, you may react to certain shades differently than other people. The important thing is to be aware of how color affects you, and which hues make you feel cheerful, energized, calm, content, worried, irritated, or depressed.

For instance, gray has been a major color trend for the past few years, but it can make many people feel gloomy. Bright red can be agitating, while neon yellow is invigorating. Purple reads as luxurious and noble to some, but in countries like Thailand and Brazil, it’s a color of mourning. When you’re choosing paint, flooring, textiles, and furniture for your space, think about the emotions each of these colors bring up for you, matching them to the moods you’re trying to set in individual rooms.

Affirm Your Connection to Nature

Humans evolved in constant contact with nature, and we need that contact to feel balanced and healthy, even (or especially) if we live in urban environments. Houseplants can be a big help, even if you don’t think of yourself as an especially attentive plant parent. Start with plants that can get by even when neglected, like snake plants, succulents, cast iron plants, and ZZ plants, and you might find that after a while, caring for your greenery becomes a sort of meditative task. Apps like Planta make it easy to log the plants you own, reminding you when it’s time to water or give them more light. Bouquets of fresh flowers, when replaced often, can also make for a bright spot in any room.

Another way to connect to nature through interior design is by choosing items with curving, organic shapes instead of hard angles and straight lines. Find items like wall art, couches and chairs, coffee tables, lamps, and throw pillows with pleasingly curvaceous silhouettes to mimic the shapes of natural forms and foster the feeling of a womb-like contentment.

Indulge Your Senses

Don’t forget about the power of scent, sound, taste, and texture when decorating your home or workspace. Create little vignettes where you can surround yourself with whatever you find most comforting, affirming, or motivating. For relaxation, you could set up a reading nook with a cozy chair, a silky throw blanket, your favorite scented candle, and a smart speaker to play some quiet music or ambient noise. For studying or concentration, give yourself inspirational things to look at, like images of your idols or poignant quotes, infuse the area with an invigorating aroma like lemon, peppermint, or jasmine, and give yourself something to fidget with while you’re thinking.

The post 5 Ways to Boost Your Mental Health Through Interior Design first appeared on Dornob.

As a high school junior in October 2019, Dasia Taylor first took on the project as a science fair entry. “I read an article about how these scientists created these stitches that involved this really fancy technology that I perceived to be inequitable to those that would actually be able to need this technology,” she said in an interview with PBS.

Most of the “smart stitches” she read about required the use of smart technology, not always available in third-world countries. A Pew research poll in 2017 found that in Tanzania, for example, just 13 percent of the population owned smartphones. And while the numbers are higher in some African countries, the viability of smart sutures in that continent is minimal.

But infections are high. In low-and middle-income countries, 11 percent of all surgical wounds develop infections, according to the World Health Organization, compared to just four percent of all surgeries in the U.S.

Taylor, who graduated this past spring from high school, was particularly moved by how many African women suffer from infections after cesarean sections. In some nations, up to 20 percent of those who delivered by c-section develop potentially life-threatening infections.

Taylor subsequently tried to find a cheaper, more readily available solution to identifying wounds gone wrong. Since human skin is naturally acidic, with a pH of about five, she looked for natural indicators that could detect pH changes (when skin is infected, it can have a pH of up to 9). After learning that fruits and vegetables change color with pH level, she struck upon a feasible solution.

“I found that beets changed color at the perfect pH point,” Taylor told Smithsonian Magazine. “Bright red beet juice turns dark purple at a pH of nine. That’s perfect for an infected wound. And so, I was like, ‘Oh, okay. So beets is where it’s at.’”

She then tested various suture materials that would hold the beet juice dye and found that a cotton-polyester blend worked best.

Using artificial skin pads, Taylor sewed on her sutures and exposed them to different pH levels. When the stitches encountered a high pH, they changed from red to purple, making it clearly visible when alterations were happening at the surgical site. And if the site was free of infection, the sutures faded to gray after three days.

Kathryn Chu, the director of the Center for Global Surgery at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, praised Taylor for her efforts toward health equity. “I think it is amazing that this young high school scientist was inspired to work on a solution to address this problem,” she wrote in an email. “A product that could detect early [surgical site infections] would be extremely valuable.”

For her work, Taylor was named one of the top 40 finalist in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search. Even as she prepares to attend the University of Iowa this fall, she is working on a patent for her beet-juice stitches.

Of course, concept isn’t perfect quite perfect yet, with sterilization being at the top of the issues to be solved. The cotton thread that accepts the beet dye effectively is also more prone to picking up infection-causing bacteria than standard surgical material.

Asked if she still counts her invention as a success, Taylor replied, “Yes, because it works. It does detect pH. It does change colors where it needs to change colors. There are just some details that need to be worked out, but they’re not insurmountable.”

The post High School Student’s Color-Changing Sutures Detect Infections as They Happen first appeared on Dornob.

Green, known for directing such movies as Pineapple Express, Joe, and the 2019 remake of Halloween, found the 1,250-square-foot loft shortly after the release of Halloween and was bursting with ideas of how he wanted his new place to look. Enter Lembo —familiar with the building where Green’s loft had sat untouched for over 30 years, and, most importantly, a lover of cinema.

Their connection was immediate. Green describes himself as “[being]…drawn to that weird place where nature and industry meet,” a sentiment no doubt inspired by the overgrown, dilapidated buildings found in the Arkansas and East Texas neighborhoods of his childhood. He’s also drawn to Stanley Kubrick, an iconic director known for his distinctive sets that pushed the limits between reality and sensory overload, often with the help of saturated colors and mind-bending twists. Though Kubrick’s films run the gamut from dystopian to satirical, what inspired Green and Lembo initially was one of late director’s most well-known movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

What emerged was a spacey vibe underscored by lots of steel and glass, changing colors throughout the day to create a fantastically futuristic environment that’s still approachable and comfortable. The spaciness doesn’t create a feeling of alienation; rather it acts as a pleasing contrast to the otherwise plush and cozy home.

The living room is the epicenter of the Kubrick-inspired decor, with a fireplace wall that evokes the shape and look of the distinctive monolith from 2001. Lembo explains that they “approached it like a floating plane.” And truly, it does seem to almost hover, as it both dominates the room yet somehow complements it perfectly.

This may also have something to do with the room’s distinctive wall prints, the 20-foot long deep-plum colored sofa, or the kitchen mirror reflecting a spacey round light to create the illusion of depth – which itself bears an odd resemblance to the same film’s “Discovery One” spacecraft.

The second bedroom, which “looks like an escalator mall in the ‘80s,” according to Green, is replete with dichroic glass that appears to shift in color throughout the day. Pinks, oranges, and shades of green shine through like magic, further completing the futuristic vibes that permeate the rest of the apartment – sometimes more subtly, like the wavy mirror above the main bedroom’s bed, and sometimes more obviously, like the kitchenette that resembles a spaceship enclave with its small, square cabinets and sharp, angular corners.

Green admits to telling Lembo, “Let’s go too far and see what’s realistic.” And Lembo, himself an imaginative, intrepid designer who likes to play with shapes and colors, was all too happy to oblige. The result is a spacey NYC retreat where Green can recharge, “write, listen to music, read, cook, and rest.” In other words, a home that even HAL 9000 would approve of.

Images courtesy of Eric van den Brulle

The post This Director’s New York City Loft was Inspired by Stanley Kubrick, and It Really Shows first appeared on Dornob.