DNA of color....

Of what?  COLOR...the DNA of color!  Use it to be sure your color scheme will harmonize.

After attending a class on color I got all excited and will write 3 different posts regarding this.  Think about how we perceive color...no 2 people see or react to the same color the same way!  Why, because of emotional and biological factors.  (Maybe your time-out sofa was mauve growing up and now you hate that color...almost get sick seeing it...enough of a visual?)

Before we get too far into this subject, consider harmony in color.  In order to do this, we must break down color into its "DNA form" or its most basic parts.  What colors make it up?  By that I mean, how much of the primary colors are present?  Blue, yellow and red. And, how much of each are in it- or it's undertone.  (We are not talking about whether the color is a warm or cool color here-we will save that for another time.)

Basic Color Chart

According to an article titled "Color Decoded", (published on www.kbbonline.com and written by Feras Irikat), before we get to far with the DNA of color or it's undertone we must first consider that a color can only have a blue or yellow undertone.  No red, but why not?  Our eye can recognize red as a full color, our rods and cones(inside our eyes) cannot recognize it as an undertone, therefore our eye moves to the next dominating primary DNA, blue or yellow.  If colors share alot of DNA strands they will work together harmoniously.  If they don't share these same DNA strands or undertones, will vibrate with each other.  With common DNA or undertones in the colors we are using together, the easier it is on our eyes to transition visually from color to color. 

The citrus colors and the purple are more lively here!

The article goes on to say that this does not mean you should never use "vibrating" colors, because some situations may require them.  They also quoted Michel Eugene Chevreul:  "In order to change a color, it is enough to change the color of its background." 



This room has a less jarring color scheme.

The next blog will go more in depth with color undertones and characteristics of people who prefer one undertone or the other.  Where will you fit in?

1983 Tri-level gets a 2011 RockyMtn Update



AFTER- ALL NEW ENTRANCE

What do ya do with a 1983 tri-level with grey vinyl siding to update it?

Actually a multi-level home meaning there are 4 levels, but from the outside it appears to be a tri-level.  Still, what do ya do with it? 


BEFORE-OLD HOUSE SIDING and
 BRICK

I am pretty sure my husband will never let me update a home again....we might as well built a new home for all of the updates it has led to...and as I have blogged before, this all started with the need for a new roof!   AND my attending Interior Design school...because then I knew what was possible...

SIDNG REMOVED to prepare for NEW ROOF

And boy, did it cost my husband...but boy does it look great!  This chronicles the changes to the exterior of the home as far as the siding, rock, etc. goes.  But, now we are contemplating the installation of a paver patio and filling in with some greenery where it got run over by contractors or died because we had no sprinklers.  (Sprinklers came at the end-I will mention them later.)

SHED ROOF ADDED above FRONT DOOR

So, because we needed a new roof, I said it would be a perfect time to add a new shed roof to the front to change the 1983 looks of the house in general.  (Believe me, vinyl siding in our hot/cold climate do not go together! Weed eaters eat them in the summer and freeze breaks it in the winter...))  So, off we go to an architect to get plans drawn up for the shed roof (that is the new overhang above the new door) and I wanted to add some columns of some sort-which he did and I truly love!

SHED ROOF, DOOR and COLUMNS during construction

So, new roof shingles meant a new shed roof needed to be constructed first, and if you are adding the new shed roof, we probly ought to change the front door as it was an oak door that the finish bubbled from the heat and had an old ugly storm door atttached. 



HUSBAND REMOVING BRICK(I hauled it to the trailer after it was down)

Do you see where this logic is going?  From there we had to decide what to do about the siding at the front door....you may not be able to tell easily from the posted pictures but there was brown brick from the ground up to the roof  across the main level and then as a wainscot on the taller side of the house.  To install the front door the brick had to come down...so we ended up siding the whole front of the house-AFTER we took the brick down and built an apron under the bay window. 

BUILDING NEW APRON UNDER BAY WINDOW

Now, if we were going to "rock" the front of the house, columns included, we need to "rock" the fireplace as well.  Again, do you see where this is going?  Yes, we built a new fireplace inside and had it rocked at the same time.  (Those pictures will appear later in an interior blog.)

FIREPLACE BEFORE

AFTER ROCK INSTALLATION

AFTER-NEW SIDING and ROCK

It took 2 years to get the siding finished, not because of contractor delays but because of the budget.  Several things, like 32 foot walls were removed inside and a sprinkler system installed, in addition to the roof, siding, rock and fireplace.  Interior changes will show up in an interior post to this blog.

I am actually taking a bookmaking class and plan to make a book of the whole remodel process and update of this home.  I will be able to use it for my business and have a record of what it looked like before, like a "look what I can do" book.



AFTER-NEW BACK DOOR AND SIDELIGHT(don't look at the deck, that is another project)

Our next stop on this remodel rollercoaster will be to show interior updates we have made so far. 

Check out my new facebook page titled: www.facebook.com/VernaVuckovich@v.v.Design
I share an interior design quote there every weekday- just to inspire you...AND if you are inspired but aren't sure where to begin with a project, give me a call.  Maybe all you need is a 2 hour consultation to get on the project started or if you need more help I can provide color renderings of the project, items to use in the project,  space planning( how much and what kinds of furniture would fit in a space), and kitchen or bath cabinet plans.

I hope the moral of this story is that you really don't have to build a new house to get a different look..yes, it may have been easier to build, but we loved the location, neighbors and square footage!  Happy dreaming!  I can help you do it!