Manoblue Design Blog

Yellow is the color of sunlight, cheerful and uplifting. Yellow always lightens and brightens any space, as well as creates a cozy, welcoming feng shui feeling. From hot Sunflower Yellow, or Canary Yellow to pale Buttery tones, or even Mustard tones.

Yellow color is an excellent feng shui choice for the children rooms, as well as the family room.

Yellow is sunshine. It is a warm color that brings happiness and joy.

Although it can work as the primary color, yellow often works best as a companion to other colors. It creates a great accent color. Use bright yellow to create excitement when red or orange may be too strong or too dark. Yellow can be perky.

Yellow color wakes up the room like the rising sun.

Any dull, dark room with little sunlight will greatly benefit from a Yellow based feng shui scheme to compensate for the lack of light and bring the gentle warmth of the sun. Color researchers believe color Yellow to increase self-esteem and strengthen the overall well-being. So don’t hold, use yellow!

Here are some wonderful interiors using Yellow.

Bright happy yellow curtains highlight the sunshine coming in through in this comfortable living room.

Yellow chinoiserie wallpaper and yellow ceramic lamps adorn Kelly Weastler design.

Soft palette of colors! This children’s bedroom is full of treasures against a light yellow striped wall for a lot of interest. – Southern Living.

The Queen of Taupe uses a yellow touch with this wing chair in a rich mustard velvet against a neutral cream and black palette design – Kelly Hoppen

Very chic mix of chocolate and mustard yellow in this bedroom by Amanda Nisbet.

For more information on colors for designing your rooms using Feng shui, contact Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit www.marieburgosdesign.com

Have you used yellow paint or accessories in your home?
Do you think that you are likely to use yellow in your home in the near future?
If so please let me know about it by leaving a comment!

Black floor create a chic and warm atmosphere. Paired with contrasted walls or window treatment, they look sophisticated.

here are beautiful examples of black floor applications in this designers amazing retreats…

What do you think? Me too! Love the shot of color injected into this relatively simple space – the space reminds me of the quintessential Queenslander – with the VJ walls and simple wood crown molding. Love the contract between the painted black wood floors and the white walls and the classical motifs (the horse, the chairs legs) set against the plucky color. Who’s eye created this work? Robert Brown.

Beautiful glossy black floor makes this colorful rug pop giving life to the space.

Elegant interior with designed by Brett Design

Kelly Hoppen new home living room in Chepstow UK.

Kelly Hoppen beautiful black floor application. How elegant!

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

Design by Marie Burgos

So many NYC apartments come with old and ugly parquet floors, painting them white or black is a really great option.

The rooms feel so fresh, clean, and bright. White floors are so bright and airy and cheerful. They also really help bounce the light around and give a feeling of space.

Here are some fabulous rooms with white floors.

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

Do you like white floors in design?
Do you think that you are likely to use style for your home in the near future?
If so please let me know about it by leaving a comment!

Painted floors are an interesting and artistic  way to spruce up an old room.  Forget re-finishing your floors. Use  stripes, solids, geometric, and organic designs. They look fabulous painted on wooden floors.  You can do everything from a shabby, organic look to a crisp, geometric paint job.   A traditional stripe or diamond looks great, but you can also branch out to do a fun design for a kids’ room or kitchen.  Below are some beautiful examples of rooms designed with painted floors.

Look at this breathtaking floor! Dean Barger painted this floor for Eric Cohler. This striking room is “living” proof that a painted floor can be an elegant alternative for transforming a space.

Mary McDonald made this soft blue and white bathroom a little bit jazzier with a zig zag blue and white pattern. I adore this bathroom.

Nancy Bozhardt, genius that she is, used different stains to pattern this gorgeous floor.

Beautiful and fun! This Kitchen blue painted floor from Coastal Living

Nautical style painted floor from Coastal Living

A turquoise high gloss painted wood floor is the highlight of the beach kitchen and eat in dining area or breakfast nook. Two surfboards serve as decoration in the dining area featuring an striped yellow and white upholstered banquet and a round table.

Very pretty drawing room with checker board floor painted in pastel colors.

Interior design with painted floors by Joel Woodard

The gallery features a bench byJohn Rosselli Antiques and Decorations and a leather-covered door trimmed with silver nailheads; the floor is painted in a faux-marble pattern, and the walls are lacquered Yves Klein-blue.

The shop’s interior (featured in this excellent Color Therapy post at Apartment Therapy) is alone worth the visit. The custom-painted chevron floor is a show stopper.

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

If you love animal prints or have an exotic theme to your room, an animal print rug can, piece of furniture or accent can be the finishing touch that really brings the feel of that theme to the room.

Animal print is a fun accent in a room, but it can be overpowering if you use too much. Just as you would not wear an all animal print outfit, you should not overpower your room with animal print either.

1- Animal print carpet or rugs are a popular choice for eclectic, transitional, and contemporary homes. Zebra rugs are especially popular in black and white rooms. If you have animal print carpet, you should have few, if any, other prints in the room. Do NOT do any other animal print in the room.

2- An animal print or faux fur ottoman is another sophisticated choice. Make sure you pair it with a solid colored sofa or bed cover. Here beautiful apricot drapes and wall accent make a statement.

3- Upholstering an accent chair in animal print is a fun addition to a room. Since it is sure to draw attention, make sure it is not competing for attention with other items in the room.

4- For just a touch of animal print, consider using an animal print or faux fur pillow. The pillow can go on a chair, on a bed, or on the floor for kids to lay on while watching TV.

So could a touch of zebra be used somewhere in your home?

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

Do you own any zebra style piece in your home?
Do you think that you are likely to get a zebra accent for your home in the near future?
If so please let me know about it by leaving a comment!

Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.

Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties. A purple room can boost a child’s imagination or an artist’s creativity. Too much purple, like blue, could result in moodiness.

Deep or bright purples suggest riches while lighter purples are more romantic and delicate. Use redder purples for a warmer color scheme or the bluer purples to cool down.

Purple, Lavender, Lilac, Iris, Mauve, Violet and Heather are all softer versions of the color Purple and are delicate and romantic, while deep or bright purples like Aubergine, Grape, Plum, Eggplant, and Iris are bolder and more dramatic.

Here some fabulous examples of designed rooms using these shades…

Austin Harrelson

Elle Decor

Elle Decor

Elle Decor

For more information on colors to use for designing with Feng Shui, contact Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit www.manobluedesign.com

Have you used purple paint in your home?
Do you think that you are likely to use purple in your home in the near future?
If so please let me know about it by leaving a comment!

Furniture historians trace the banquette, derived from the Germanic word for bench, all the way back to France in the 1600s. Royalty used banquettes as window seating in formal rooms, with cushions covered in lush upholstery and carpeting. Rumor has it that many castles and palaces had concealed entries to secret passages located underneath banquettes.

Fast forward to America in the 20th century, when interior designers Billy Baldwin and Elsie de Wolfe reflected on the finery of French design and began to incorporate banquettes into the homes of their wealthy clients. Again, not as a kitchen convenience, but as adornment in sitting rooms, libraries, and ballrooms.

Kitchen banquettes appeared in American homes in the early 20th century to accommodate the needs of a busy family. Many houses built during this time still had relatively functional kitchens, so a banquette, with it’s space-saving design of a bench and a tabletop, made more sense than a full table and chairs set.

Here are my beautiful banquets designs…  Which one is your favorite?

Entry round settee by Windsor Smith Home Collection

Comfortable beach setting with this beautiful banquette. Ready for a relaxing lunch!

Elegant tufted velvet banquette.

Classic look for this pretty kitchen banquette- Elle Decor

L’Auberge del Mar hotel using his Brentwood settee, banquette from his own collection – Barclay Butera design

DRAMATIC dining room with black painted walls and large crystal chandelier! Love the upholstered turquoise tufted chairs and glossy white round lacquer dining room table! Black dining room. Black paint wall color! Black turquoise blue white ivory cream dining room colors.

Peaceful setting showcasing a curved white leather banquette by Kelly Hoppen

Lunch in Tete a Tete  by the window with these banquettes with storage.

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

Mirrors have been used for centuries to accentuate decor. The shape, style and construction of a mirror (carefully chosen and placed) can be as much an art piece as any fine painting. Mirrors can be found in almost any conceivable shape, from round to square, to free-form. The materials used to construct mirror frames, including but not limited to wood, metal, glass and plastic, can lend a quality of uniqueness that can make an otherwise simple mirror seem custom-made for a particular spot on a particular wall.

Here some great examples of rooms designed with beautiful sun shaped mirrors.

Really pretty interior with double sun mirrors- Amanda Nisbet

The sun shaped concave mirror adorn beautifully this and classic bedroom making it really chic!

A small size sun shaped mirror application to this fun and colorful exterior design!

A sun mirror placed inside this luxurious canopy bed looks like a royal medallion! Very king and Queens like!

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com

Have you used a sun shape mirror in your home or another original shape?

Do you think that you are likely to display one  in your home in the near future?

Pink Bedroom design by Amanda Nisbet

Color Meaning of Pink

Cotton Candy and Little Girls: Pink is a softer, less violent red. Pink is the sweet side of red. It’s cotton candy and bubble gum and babies, especially little girls.

Little girl bedroom

Nature of Pink: While red stirs up passion and action, studies have shown that large amounts of pink can create physical weakness in people. Perhaps there is a tie-in between this physical reaction and the color’s association with the so-called weaker sex.

Pink Flamingo apartment design

Culture of Pink: In some cultures, such as the US, pink is the color of little girls. It represents sugar and spice and everything nice. Pink for men goes in and out of style. Most people still think of pink as a feminine, delicate color.

Pink Valentine bedroom design

Using Pink: Both red and pink denote love but while red is hot passion, pink is romantic and charming. Use pink to convey playfulness (hot pink flamingos) and tenderness (pastel pinks). Multiple shades of pink and light purple or other pastels used together maintain the soft, delicate, and playful nature of pink. Add strength with darker shades of pinks and purple and burgundy.

Pink and red bedroom by Erinn Valencich

Feng Shui of Pink:The right Feng Shui color use can bring a strong shift of energy into your environment. Pink color is the universal color of love, which makes it a perfect feng shui color to soothe the energy. Its gentle and delicate feng shui vibrations have a proven soothing effect on one’s behavior. You could almost say that, as a feng shui color, Pink literally soothes the heart and fills it with love!

Little girl bedroom design by Amanda Nisbet

A serene, pretty bedroom painted White Dogwood by Sherwin-Williams. Designer Phoebe Howard: “This pink is very soft and feminine, but it’s not sticky. Pair it with white or metallic surfaces to make it ethereal and inviting.”

Pink and white bedroom by Designer Phoebe Howard

Lovely Pink furniture and accents…

furniture- Rooms designed by Betsey Johnson, via House of Turquoise

For more information about Interior Design and Feng Shui email Marie Burgos at marie@manobluedesign.com and visit our site on www.manobluedesign.com