Continuing with my spring color obsession, corals and golds hold a special place in my heart. I tend to stear away from classic pink. I have never been a fan of that traditional girly shade, but the warm tones of coral have always grabbed my attention. I love how it reminds me of warmth and the outdoors. No matter where you see it, clothes, homes, flowers, it is always eye-cathing. Pair a sublte coral with some shades of golds, pinks, reds, and oranges, and you have the perfect spring time color palette. Here are some show stopping examples of how to bring coral into your home…

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Choosing your color palette should be one of the first things you do when begin your plan of attack for redecorating. By choosing colors ahead of time, your room is more likely to feel pulled together and cohesive. When starting this adventure, a great place to look for online decorating inspiration for colors in on Pinterest. Once you’ve found colors that you love, it is now time to put those hues into action. Decide which colors will be your dominant, secondary and accent colors. It is easiest to pick 3 colors and then play off different shades of each to create an eclectic yet complimentary space. If you want a bold space, choose a dark or bright shade for the walls. To tone that down a little bit without losing that daring edge, make that same bright color your secondary color for your larger piece of furniture like your sofa or headboard. Accent colors should be brought in through pillows, artwork and accessories.Make sure that you have one dark tone, one brighter yet softer color and one light and breezy hue for a balanced space that doesn’t feel too dark or too light. Also, if you do go bold and choose your dark tone for the walls, make sure that your secondary color for your furniture pieces is light and bright to provide contrast against the walls and brighten up the space.

To give you a better idea of how one color palette can come to life in so many different ways, check out these great interiors put together using the color palette above:

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A couple of months ago I was on a walk with my dog, Dakota, through the neighborhood when an extremely brave cat came walking straight towards us. I was shocked. He was so little and so fearless that I had to stop and see how close he was actually going to get to my 65 lb. dog. Dakota was also really excited to see what was going to happen, but I couldn’t tell if his excitement was because a new friend was approaching or a new chew toy. Dakota has always chased any and all cats in the neighborhood. If I’m not paying attention, he’ll practically knock me off my feet to get to them as quickly as possible. He never catches them, so I never actually know what he would do if he were fast enough. Today was the day I was going to find out. I had him on a very very short leash so that I could pull him back if anything were to happen, and I would never put a cat in that position unless it willingly walked right up to him…which he was doing exactly that. Dakota lunged in excitement, and the cat quickly jumped back to get out of his reach, but he wasn’t giving up on becoming friends with Dakota. He slowly walked up again, and Dakota put his face low to the ground to be on eye level with the cat, and then the most miraculous thing happened. The cat rolled over on his back, and Dakota started to sniff him and poke him with his nose, and the cat returned the playfulness by pawing at Dakota’s face. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen (and I’m not a cat person)!

Over the next few months, Dakota and the cat, Charlie, actually became friends. Dakota would stop by Charlie’s house every time we passed by hoping to see his new buddy. At times, Charlie would see Dakota from a block away and would cross the street and walk straight to Dakota and roll over. Everyone in the neighborhood knew and loved Charlie, and anyone who saw the two playing for the first time would stop in shock at what they were seeing. I talked to Charlie’s owner to see how he got to be so brave and friendly with dogs.  She didn’t have any idea because he was never around dogs growing up, and she chalked it up to his intense sense of curiosity.

I decided I should start taking my phone with me on every dog walk so that I could document this new found friendship between the most unlikely of allies, a cat and a dog. I tried to grab a picture whenever they would play, but a moving target is hard enough to catch on camera. Add in big dog tugging on the leash you are holding, and it becomes nearly impossible. Also, the sweetest moments were the surprise greetings from Charlie when neither of us saw him coming, which in turn, didn’t give me enough time to pull out my phone.

I finally had a day when I spotted walking over to see us before Dakota had a chance to see him. He had crossed the street and was waiting patiently by the curb for Dakota. I had enough time to get my phone out to start filming, and aside from the terrible camera angles and bumpy footage (from Dakota tugging on the leash to get to Charlie), it turned out to be a pretty cute video.

I had no idea this would be the last time we would see Charlie. He went missing that day, which was over a week ago now. There are signs all over our neighborhood with his little face and a note saying “Have you seen me?” It makes me so sad to know that we might not see him again, but I am so happy to have been able to catch it all on camera before he left us. Dakota still stops by his house every day and sniffs around searching for Charlie, and I now refer to our dog walks as “search and rescue missions”. I keep thinking and hoping he’ll pop out from under a car or be sitting in the bushes waiting for us. I wanted to share this video with everyone to tell this brave (and very curious) little cat’s story!

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Color psychology was one of my favorite classes in design school. I learned how red makes you want to eat more and spend more, and it can speed up your heart rate. Gray promotes creativity, blue can actually make you feel blue, and orange is supposed to lessen the value of something (although with orange being so trendy these days, I’m not sold on that one).

Paper Source recently blogged about their colorscope chart, which is really fun! Without reading the descriptions, pick your favorite color on the chart. That description should describe your personality. I couldn’t pick just one, so I picked two which I decided one would be my dominate favorite and the other a secondary. For me, I really gravitated towards Peacock and Gravel (with Peacock being my dominate). There’s no theory about picking multiple colors, but I couldn’t decide and that was more fun for me! This is a great way to find a starting point on your own home and find a color palette that really expresses you! Let me know what colors describe you!

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It’s beginning to feel a lot like spring, and all I can think of is having friends over and grilling outside. That would be a lot more fun if I actually had a yard to entertain everyone in, but I’ll settle for living vicariously through other people’s gorgeously decorated outdoor spaces.

I am in love with this backyard, if you can call it that, with floating balls of light to set the mood for your party! The house reminds me of a modern day version of The Great Gatsby. I would love to be sitting on that back patio wearing my cloche hat and sipping on a mint julep.

But, you don’t have to have a beautiful mansion backing up to a serene lake to really dress up the space (although it doesn’t hurt!). By adding comfortable (and stylish) seating, outdoor rugs, and great lighting, you can really add a lot of character to your current space. Also, bright and colorful accessories like candle holders and mirrors will go a long way. Outside is a great place to bring in all of those colors you love but are too afraid to use inside your home.

I couldn’t resist that face!

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Neutrals are a big trend due to the economy. People are looking to stay in the homes they’re already in and decorate in a classic way that they won’t grow tired of in just a few years. This doesn’t mean your home will be dull and boring, just long lasting. Using a neutral palette opens up the ability to add in splashes of color or paint the walls every year without having a big overhaul of the prominent pieces. Here are some inspiring (and exciting) uses of neutral palettes. Enjoy!

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