Hunter Green Campaign Chest ||And the Craigslist Experiment Results||

Back in August, I decided to conduct a little Craigslist experiment in order to test a theory.  Basically, my hypothesis was that a reserved and sophisticated muted teal piece would sell faster than my usual edgier and bolder color choices.  

1 month in, and I had a few nibbles but no solid bites.  I re-baited by lowering the price  and still hadn't "hooked" anyone.  Then I stumbled on a unique opportunity to test my theory even better.

No I didn't repaint the muted teal dresser.  I actually found an almost identical 7 drawer dresser.

 

Chelsea and have been crushing on hunter greens lately.  If we had our way, we'd write it in on the color-of-the-year ballot.  Scratch that, we'd probably write it in for President.  After Chelsea rolled out this piece in "Scholar Green" by Ralph Lauren, I think I started salivating at the thought of doing a piece of my own in such a moody shade.  When I found myself with another long-and-low campaign piece, it was a no brainer. 

Since the brass campaign chest was the same in size and scale, it was the perfect opportunity to pit a newer trendier color against the "safer" muted teal piece,

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The second chest had brass recessed pulls and decorative T-braces indicative of a true campaign piece.

The hue is dark and moody and could be a little risky for a potential buyer.  In person, it has a velvety, buttery texture.

Taking a cue from the hue, I went all equestrian with my styling.  

The wall hanging was an easy vintage-inspired DIY that cost less than $10.

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The camel leather "riding" boots and plaid blanket scarf were also inspired by my favorite fall weather (and hey, I'm really just looking for any occasion to break them out).

Although Chelsea and I are firm believers that dark green is the new neutral, not everyone can be so easily committed to such a strong look.  For that reason, I decided to style as both a living room credenza and a bedroom dresser in hopes that it would show its versatility.

On the left, the  living room credenza has a stack of books and decorative plant.

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While on the right, the bedroom dresser has a makeshift vanity station on a simple tray.

So let's get to the results of my expanded experiment: last month, a potential buyer set up an appointment set up an appointment because the green piece had caught her eye, but when she arrived she realized the muted teal piece was more suited for her new home in the suburbs and purchased it instead!

The green chest sold to a fabulous inner-city couple a little over a week later.  Interestingly enough, both pieces went for about the same price.  Even though the muted teal sold first, it had been listed for nearly 2 months and only "accidentally" got a buyer.  The hunter green was only listed for a grand total of 2 weeks.  Ergo, my results are a tad inconclusive.  But hey, I didn't go to school for scientific research now, did I? LOL.

Dark Green Campaign Chest
56"W x 18"D x 29.25"H
SOLD

Even though this handsome gent already sold, you can always contact me about a custom order!  

Color of the Year: Did Pantone Get It RIght?

Hi friends! Over the better part of the last decade I have found a tremendous amount of enjoyment from home decorating and styling. I desire to further my knowledge and soak in as much as I can both from a creative standpoint as well as the business. A large part of this business is understanding the ebb and flow of trends. Trends have always fascinated me even well before I stepped into the interior decorating world. How does an idea take off and become trendy? Who gets the ball rolling? Is it every day people or the rich and famous?

Then you have trend predictions which further add to my curiosity. One of the first trend predictions I started following a number of years ago was the Pantone color of the year. Didn't know there was such a thing? Here, take a look at some of their recent selections:

How do they pick the color year after year? I understand it from a marketing standpoint. With every declaration of which color will be leading the way that year you see the ripple effect right down to the most accessible and popular shopping destinations, such as Target, HomeGoods, Pottery Barn, etc. And then the celebrity designers partnering with those stores, (think Emily Henderson and Target), start styling their projects with the newest goodies available, showing everyone just how to incorporate the declared color of the year in a tasteful, manageable way.

This year the color turned out to be a twofer! They picked not just one, but two colors for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity. Here, they created this image of a faceless woman wearing a flowing cape to make the announcement:

Since this is an honest place I'll admit, I wasn't terribly excited by this combo. It brought me back to the days of when we had new boy-girl twins under our roof and everything was baby pink and baby blue. And really, other than a blush crocheted throw pillow at target I've barely noticed these colors make any strong statement this year.

Then something strange happened. I started noticing a different color breaking through the color-of-the-year combo - dark green!

If you're a big Fixer Upper fan you may recognize the photo above and the one below. They're just two examples from Joanna Gaines' strong use of dark green in their latest season which finished earlier this year. I noticed this color in just about every episode and I absolutely adored it.

And with the Fixer Upper cult following, I wondered if anyone else noticed as well. So I picked up a can of dark green, (Behr's 'Secluded Woods'), to refinish a mid-century dresser last Spring and it got scooped up within days. I had so many inquiries on that piece that once it sold, I had an immediate request for a nearly identical custom piece, (below on left).

I took the Summer mostly off from refinishing to focus on my family and some design jobs, but as soon as the kids went back to school last week I painted this beauty below in Ralph Lauren's 'Scholar Green', and it was taken within two days.

 
 

Is there a new color trending? Will it carry over to 2017? I sure hope so as we've got a little surprise to show you in a design job we're working on right now! But until we're ready to reveal, here are some more stunning examples of this moody color casually staking its claim:

Thank you all for stopping by!