Monthly Archives: August 2012
Bedroom Design: Best Bedroom Colors
Post by Kyle St. Romain
Choosing the best bedroom colors can be a difficult task, especially if it’s the first time you get to choose the color of your bedroom. Most apartments and rental homes leave the bedroom walls white, and for very good reason: white goes with everything. However, white can be boring, especially the drab white landlords use. If you’re ready to add some color to your bedroom, I’ve compiled a list of the three best bedroom colors and why.
1. Neutrals
Many people hear neutral colors and think, “boring,” but this doesn’t have to be the case. Neutral colors create an ideal backdrop to frame the rest of your bedroom design against, and are more forgiving for novice designers. They also work well with different designs, which allows you to easily update the décor of your bedroom without having to repaint. Included in the broad category of neutrals is everything from white to gray, which is actually a lot. Take a trip to your local home improvement or paint store and see for yourself: you’ll be surprised how many different shades of white you can choose from.
2. Earth Tones
Earth tones include the more muted shades of brown and green. Remember, you want to feel relaxed when you enter your bedroom and lime green probably isn’t the best way to conjure that feeling. Earth tones make it easy to envision what colors to incorporate in your overall design too; simply think of what colors you’d find in a forest. Bright red is an excellent color to use for your statement piece with an earthy palette, just doesn’t overdo it.
3. Blues
The number of shades of blue you can choose from can be overwhelming. To help narrow your choices, first decide between light and dark blue. Dark blue will create a deep, mature feeling in the bedroom, while light blues are generally considered more light and airy. Use white to accent your blue walls. White floorboards, headboards, and furniture contrast nicely with any shade of blue.
What do you think is the best bedroom color? Let us know in the comments below.
Breakfast in Bed: Ebbitt Room Deviled Eggs
Post by Alison Hein.
If you find yourself in Cape May, New Jersey, make sure to stop in for dinner at the Ebbitt Room. The Virginia Hotel’s recently remodeled dining room will delight you with its shimmering charm, and its spacious yet cozy ambience. Even better, Chef Lucas Manteca employs a farm-to-table philosophy, showcasing fresh, local produce from the hotel’s certified organic Beach Plum Farm.
Sean, our friendly, professional waiter, wisely suggested the daily sampler of deviled eggs. Delicate Beach Plum Farm eggs are cleverly cut on the diagonal, artfully spiced, then creatively adorned with three different micro-toppings. Our selection? Spicy coppa with pickled garden hash and gouda crumble; cold beet purée with smoked salmon, crème fraîche and tobiko; and tuna tartare-stuffed Belgian endive with mint lime vinaigrette. (Sean kindly wrote all this down for me!) Believe me, a tiny farm-fresh egg, dressed with luscious seasonal accoutrements, is one perfect bite – a devilishly delicious, sophisticated combination of flavors.
Naturally, I had to try this out as soon as I got home. I purchased small eggs, to keep with the one-bite sizing. Then I foraged in my refrigerator for tiny amounts of topping ingredients (only ½ teaspoonful or so is needed per egg half). Here’s what I came up with: roasted asparagus with speck; fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomato, golden beet and basil salad; and smoked salmon with sour cream lemon-dill sauce. Perhaps not as sophisticated as Chef Lucas’ version, but still a devilishly delightful breakfast in bed!
P.S. If you dine at the Ebbitt Room, make sure to arrive early and enjoy a cocktail on the front porch of the Virginia Hotel. Overstuffed seating, a cool breeze, and hand-crafted drinks make it the perfect spot to people watch on quaint and busy Jackson Street.
Ingredients
3 small eggs
I tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon horseradish cream (or use fresh horseradish)
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup micro greens
Tiny portions of assorted meats, vegetables, cheeses, fruits, nuts, grains, etc.
Preparation
Place eggs in small heavy saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat and cook for one minute or so. Turn off heat, and let eggs remain in hot water for 10 minutes, until hard-boiled. Immerse in cold water and carefully peel eggs.
Slice eggs in half at the center, so yolk openings are round, rather than oblong. Carefully slice a little bit off the end of each egg half, just enough so the egg white can rest flat on a plate. Scoop out yolks and place in small bowl. Mash yolks thoroughly, then add mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, salt and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Refill egg white halves, and place three halves on each of two plates.
Prepare three assorted toppings. Place a tiny bit of topping on eggs, garnish plates with micro greens, chill and serve cold.
Makes 2 servings.
The Olympic Bedroom Part 2: Going for the Gold
Post by Laura Cheng.
As of last Monday, more than 2,100 medals designed by British artist David Watkins were awarded at the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, you don’t have to be a super athlete to bring in the gold medal. These gilded, winning bedroom ideas are a sure-fire way to bring a bright and modern update to any bedroom.
Wallpaper updates plain bedroom walls, but golden wallpaper can transform. A contemporary geometric pattern looks clean and crisp against the white nightstand and linens. A crystal starburst light over the headboard accentuates the gold and doubles the brightness of the room. A pair of translucent lamps and footstools further ensures there is no shortage of crystallized light in the bedroom. Since the gold is so dramatic, it is best kept to an accent wall.
Source: http://ladies-trends.com/2011/07/26/golden-bedroom-decor-ideas/
The Olympic gold medal is not actually made of gold. The gold medal is made up of 92.5% silver, 1.34% gold, with the remainder copper (a minimum of 6g of gold). Although not a metal approved by the Olympic committee, brass can create a beautiful faux gold look. The Putnam bed by Charles P. Rogers is simple but classic four poster bed “traditionally crafted with pure brass tubing, trumpet finials and solid brass castings”. It is pictured here in a hand-polished brass finish, proving that an elegant brass can really make the entire room glow.
Source: http://www.charlesprogers.com/putnam-bed-p-64.html?cPath=5_81
For those that feel gold is too flamboyant a color, using natural light and transparent wheat colored curtains can create the same brightness gold metallic colors would. This works best in a sunny room where light can filter through the curtains to cast a warm golden glow.
Gilded drum lamps are also a great way to test the waters. Lamp shades lined with gold fabric can be purchased to replace existing ones or follow these great DIY instructions from IkeaHackers.net to update current ones. It is a simple makeover with amazing results. The soft glow of the gold with the lamps on will add a new level of winning sophistication to the bedroom.
Bedtime Stories: Gone-Away Lake
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Ahh, summertime. Or rather, ahh, summertime when you are a kid and have nothing to do but to run around and explore and discover. I love those old-fashioned stories of children embarking on summertime adventures, roaming around, unraveling mysteries, where parents are but a peripheral part of the tale. Upon hearing of my love for The Penderwicks, a librarian friend of mine suggested Gone-Away Lake published in 1958 by Newbery-winning author Elizabeth Enright.
Ten-year-old Portia Blake and her six-year-old brother Foster get to ride the train alone to visit their favorite cousin, Julian, and his family in Western New York. Portia and Julian quickly set off into the woods behind Julian’s new home and make amazing discoveries, including a row of abandoned once-beautiful homes on the shores of a bog which used to be a beautiful lake. To their delight and surprise, a pair of elderly siblings, who lived on the lake in its prime, have returned to the erstwhile lake and the children begin a summer of new friendships and new discoveries.
So much of this book is things that most parents today would NEVER allow their children to do: wandering off in the woods on their own; going into strangers’ homes; drinking homemade sherry at strangers’ homes! If this book were written today, the reader would be waiting to find out what horrific secrets the old lady and her brother were hiding. SPOILER ALERT: they’re not hiding anything. They’re just really nice people.
A lovely, fun, innocent book of childhood, summertime, and the passage of time.
Movies in Bed: The Legend of Billie Jean
Post by Josh Zinn.
Back when I was an unattractive and rotund child, I often used to feign sickness in order to stay home so that I could play Metroid and watch copious amounts of television. Because there are only so many times a boy can defeat Mother Brain and subsequently reveal his bounty hunter’s true femininity (if you never owned a Nintendo this is probably going over your head), the videogames regularly took a back seat to the joys of daytime programming. From the lurid tales of Divorce Court; the demonic possessions that plagued The Days of Our Lives; to the scandalous biopics of Liberace and Susanne Sommers that defined a then-young Lifetime television, my real education came not from the classroom, but from soaking in the televised depravity of the human condition.
Amongst this sea of scintillation, HBO would frequently air a film entitled The Legend of Billie Jean. Now, I’m not sure what it takes to qualify as a legend these days or if a female vigilante fighting for the cash to fix her brother’s scooter truly qualifies as such, but for all intents and purposes Billie Jean was a revelation for me as to what young folks could achieve if they adopted a defiant stance, a Dolph Lundgren circa-Rocky 4 flat-top, and a wardrobe filled with neon-tinted leather. No, this wasn’t some cheap dramatization of Mr. Showmanship’s seedy late-night male deliveries; this was a rallying cry for a life beyond the borders of small-town oppression, where men with bandanas on their brow, beef jerky on their breath, and beer in their bellies ruled the land.
Billie Jean and her ragtag group of freedom fighters (including Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson!) taught me that I didn’t have to listen to naysayers who didn’t believe in the power of youth and the possibility of a life outside of a six-pack of Mt. Dew and a minimum wage job at the dollar store. Furthermore, as she handily evades both the police and the rednecks that have defiled her brother’s possession, she becomes a symbol for women everywhere that they are their own keeper; a veritable Susan Sontag of the trailer park.
Finding myself at my own crossroads as I finally graduate from college this week, it’s easy to get caught up in the memories of experiences that have shaped my life. While I would love to tell you about the amazing learning journey I had way back in junior high school, the truth of the matter is that most of that time was spent at home, “sick,” watching a media-savvy Billie Jean exclaim, “Fair is fair!” to anyone with a camera and credentials. For those words of wisdom alone, I am thankful every day my folks bought my numerous stories about the dog’s puke on the floor being my own.
