Sherwin-Williams' color picks for '09: neutrals

And last but by no means least, Sherwin-Williams weighed in on their predictions for neutrals in '09. Sherwin-Williams does a better job with neutrals than any paint manufacturer out there. So much so that their neutral palette is my default mode when I'm specifying colors. SW 7037, Balanced Beige has been an easy crutch for me for years. I'm feeling a need to branch out and SW's predictions for neutrals in '09 might just give me that opportunity.

The new neutrals take their inspiration from wood, stone and natural fibers, obviously. And for the last couple of years, neutrals have been getting increasingly black and gray. SW predicts that all that will change as they start to slide back toward brown and yellow and they take on a more direct influence of wood and metal.

SW 7695 Mesa Tan

SW 6146 Umber

SW 6148 Wool Skein

SW 7019 Gauntlet Grey

SW 7504 Keystone Grey

SW 7667 Zircon

Color scheme missing from the predictions

I see and alcove and I want to paint it black. This is so sharp looking I can't stand it. What a great idea. Take an already big room, paint the walls stark white, put in a dark floor and paint the alcove matte black. Man, a living room like this would force anybody to live efficiently and intelligently. And really, who wouldn't benefit from such an arrangement? This was spotted on Emma's Designblogg and she spotted it in an Australian magazine called Belle.

Great stairs!

This is my new favorite storage solution. It's interesting how the room's baseboard runs over the bottom drawers and breaks right along with them. Genius! This photo appeared over at Apartment Therapy a couple of times last week and I'm repeating it here. Thanks guys!

Is this a joke?

I took this photo about an hour ago. I was standing in front of a Starbucks and there's a Wamu branch next door to it. They were open for business and still taking mortgage applications apparently....

Sherwin-Williams' color picks for '09: yellows and greens

In keeping with my theme this week, the gang over at Sherwin-Williams has a few things to say about the directions to look for in the realm of yellow and green. There isn't a better palette on the market and these people know what they're talking about.

Yellow is enjoying a resurgence in fashion and it's started to show up more off of the runways. Yellows are getting brighter and more primary and at the same time, some yellows are taking on a greenish hue.

Greens are staying at the forefront too as a reflection of the current mania for anything that can be described as "green." Expect more sedate and mature gray greens and some occasionally bright jewel-toned greens. Stay tuned for more.

SW 7726 Lemon Verbena

SW 0060 Alexandrite

SW 6404 Grandiose

SW 6690 Gambol Gold

SW 6901 Daffodil

SW 6914 Eye Catching