in a recent survey i read, can you guess what the favorite color for living rooms in the mountain west region was?

brown (beige to be exact)… are you kidding me? it made me wonder who they polled to come to this conclusion. i’ve found that brown can absolutely suck the life out of any room. i like to keep it fresh and white is a great go to color for that…yes, white is a color too!

as an accent or more these colors can add so much to your space:

blue is a great color and can be safely used in so many areas of the home. usually classified as a cool color, it is generally relaxing and serene and is great in colorado as it blends nicely with our wonderful blue skies.

purple can range from a soft lavender to eggplant and is a great accent color whether used in an analogous palette, with blues or pinks or a complimentary one with yellows and golds.

red is one of those colors that either you go full blown, all the way, “katy bar the door” with OR you use just a touch. it can be overpowering quickly if used as an accent or vibrant and delicious if carried to the limit.

orange seems to be an all around favorite with the modern style and also the vintage and retro – it can add excitement to any space. of course you want to be careful; having lived in both tennessee and colorado (think tennessee vols and denver broncos) it can take on a unsophisticated turn very quickly if used with the wrong color or accent.

yellow can be fabulous or disastrous. due to the huge amount of sunlight we get in colorado it’s important to spend time selecting just the right yellow for your space. keep in mind the amount of direct sunlight to which your room may be exposed. one of my favorites is a butter cream yellow as it adds brightness yet is soothing to the strong bright light we are lucky to have here. another yellow that i love is what i refer to as the “aspen” yellow. you can’t live in colorado and not know the wonder of that beautiful color contrasting our snow covered mountains.

green is one of those colors that has a great organic quality. whether you are using a fresh bright yellow – green or running to the opposite side of the green range with blue – greens you can’t go wrong. green is a favorite for dining rooms and front doors and foyers.

the modmood design studio is a sweet surprise.  when we first began working on our business plan and the floor place for the store there was a little area in the back that seemed to accommodate perfectly a small design area.  having had a design studio in knoxville, tn prior to joining the corporate life i was anxious to get back to my passion.

i can remember standing in the middle of this little space, once the fabrics, tile, rugs, paints and pillows starting coming in, and telling pat, “i don’t care if i ever do any business back here i just love being surrounded by all these things”.

needless to say, what is going on back in that little area is far above and beyond my expectations.  i guess it goes back to doing what you love and the success will follow.

the growth in our studio has required us to take a leap and that is to purchase another building (if you can believe we don’t have enough room in this one!) and expand our studio even further.  so…we have a place under contract and if all our zoning issues are resolved you will see further expansion of the modmood studio later this year.

most of the work we do in the studio comes from those who walk into the store.  you would think that since we have a lot of contemporary, vintage and mid-century modern in the store that the design opportunities would follow those styles.  however, much of our work encompasses MANY styles.  i was recently discussing this with one of our modmood fans and he said he thinks it is because there are so may people that want to get outside their style box but are nervous about it.  they feel comfortable with you and your team because your experience is in many styles and you can bring that modern edge to the more classic looks…hence our new tag line: modmood a modern twist to the classic styles.

check out our design page and see some of the things we’re doing.  there are a few photos of some of our work posted.  we will soon have a before and after segment but in the meantime have fun browsing at some of the photographed staged units.