JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

It never fails to amaze me how much color can effect your mood! I am inspired by color from many different things whether it’s food, nature, or textiles, I just can’t get enough of it! I ran across the portfolio of Interior Stylist Irina Graewe. I thought that the photos in her portfolio were great examples of how colors can really set the tone of your mood and energy level. For instance, the set of blue photos give me a dreary, old, Victorian feel. While the white and cream photos makes me feel light and low key; and the rooms with pops of pinks gives off a feeling of warmth, energy, and fun! I find that I am inspired by aqua-blues, pastels, bright whites, and earth tones! What colors inspire you?

Hey guys! You did not think I was going to leave 2009 without a new post now did you? This year has been great, but much too sporadic for me when it comes to blogging. After having baby girl and finding out that we will be expecting again next may, my energy has been spread thin to say the least. Yes, you heard it right, I am currently 20 weeks preggo! We will find out if it will be a boy or a girl on Wednesday. But nevertheless, I hope to do more consistent blogging in 2010, but please do bare with me, because when you are preggo and taking care of a 7 month baby along with keeping up with a 6 year old who we home-school, it can get a little overwhelming. I want to thank you all for you immaculate support and here’s to more creative living in 2010!

Ok, on to the post…I could not wait to share these sleeping beauties with you all! Are these not the prettiest pillow cases you have ever seen! I cannot wait for the Rosehip etsy shop to be re-stocked. Just looking through the sold items will make you drool over pretty colors and crocheted adornments! In the mean time, you can check out Beatas (the creator of Rosehip) colorful inspiration by visiting her blog.

I LOVE how interior designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd fuses the colors and patterns from fashion within her home. It’s bold, bright, and rich! This has me wanting to use kelly green somewhere in my future home…maybe a half bathroom; and her closet…ahem, I mean dressing room haven is gorgeous. I would so love to toss through my clothes in such a room.

Oh, how I am so very excited to share this new line of custom handmade carpets from Textile Designer Malene B.! If you all remember, Malene shared some of her creative insight with us back when JuBella first launched. Malene is such an inspiration to me as she has impeccable style and so many creative ideas for the home. For more than a decade, she has been creating carpets for industry professionals and private label brands such as Nicole Miller, Martha Stewart, Nautica, Liz Claiborne, Nate Berkus, and the list goes on and on, and now Malene has her own line! I so wish I had a home because I have fallen in love with the Mendhi & Pupunya Pieces; and the Kantha is another favorite too…heck they are all wonderful!

Her Carpet collections will not only make you swoon over texture, pattern, and color, but each one of them takes inspiration from Malenes travel destinations around the world, taking you on a global ride as she identifies the cultures so beautifully within every piece don’t you think? I can only imagine the things to come from Malene…I so hope that a wallpaper collection and a shop open to the creative masses are coming in the near future! Oh my, she is truly one of my textile sheroes! Be sure to check her site to view the full collection & for custom ordering info.

SWOON! I love every nook and cranny of these photos. I am a sucker for color and pattern as you all know, so these spaces really do speak to my kind of style. It never ceases to amaze me how with just some creativity with the color wheel and playing around with patterns and textures, how those two elements alone can transform a dull room to something quite spectacular! Living Etc, Creative Home, Better Homes & Gardens, and Marie Claire Idees are my favorite print design/creative living mags (of the few that are left that is..lol). I can always count on them for some great color inspiration. Here are a few of my favorite picks from their last issues. I also love Martha Stewart Living of course, however I find myself not buying it as much as I feel “my creative ideas” would not feel as original, but just a subconscious remake of what I have seen in the mag. Did that make any sense? I think you all know what I mean.

I recently ran across these colorful and eclectic spaces photographed by Jean Baptiste Pellerin. I especially love the colorful arrangement of mix-match place mats!

Who: Henry Road
Where: 3949 Laurelgrove Ave, Studio City, CA 91604 (South of Ventura, 2 blocks west of Laurel Canyon): 818 762 8966

Color swoon alert! I have been a big fan of The Henry Road Collection for quite some time now, and they have added lots of new pieces to their store for 2009! I can just never get enough of rich vibrant colors and patterns that while they may be opposite on the color wheels, they are put together here so perfectly as if they were made for each other!

About Henry Road: “Paula Smail spent her childhood in a house on Henry Road in South Africa. Since then, she has traveled extensively and includes London, Paris and New York in the long list of places she has lived.

Currently based in Los Angeles, her design aesthetic of bold color is influenced by Marimekko blinds in the house on Henry Road, women wrapped in swathes of stunning African cloth and the work of artists like Rothko and many of his contemporaries. A self-taught designer, her professional life includes au pairing, crewing on a yacht, and being a corporate executive. Paula’s style is a happily eclectic mix of color, eras and ethnicities fueled by a life spent rearranging furniture, scouring flea markets all over the world and reading piles of design magazines. The Henry Road collection includes textile based home and personal goods designed by Paula and made in Los Angeles.” -henryroad.com

Ok, so we all know that I am a huge fan of color and vivid color combinations, so when I ran across this china town loft on apartment therapy, I just fell in love. I love this space because it is so cleverly playful and very modern and chic at the same time…this would definitely work when decorating a home with little tots in mind.

I am totally swooning over these photos that I stumbled across. I don’t even remember the website that I saw them on, it was some sort of Moroccan travel site. Nevertheless, I do know that the all of the images are from Elle Decor…not sure of what year/issue. I think the colors are fantastic and so inspiring…hmmm, makes me want to add some pinks and purples to our living area.

Have you ever ran across textiles that are just so overwhelmingly beautiful that it makes your heart melt and then you get pretty color overdose and you feel like all you can do to fix your textile hangover is to take a nap and sleep & dream about all that colorific goodness you just saw? Okay, well maybe you have not gone that far, but that’s how I felt when I came across the website of Anna Maria Horner. Oh my, I am in love with her pieces and her tutorials, and her home! Oh my gosh her home sums up my style perfectly…filled with color, texture, and playfulness (the total opposite from my husband, as he prefers earthy colors and simple smooth lines and empty spaces). Nevertheless, I am forever inspired by Anna and I am sure you all will be too once you wander about her website & blog.

Just click the last photo below which will link you to photos of her home & be sure to pre-order a copy of her book that is set to release in October called “Seams To Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing”.

I have my eye on her Scrap Bags and the Chocolate Lollipop Bundle! Oh me oh my!

This post is quite obviously inspired by the lovely Frida Kahlo and the beautiful colors of Mexico. I have had the idea for this post dancing around in my head for quite some time now, but it has just come together to where I can translate my thoughts. Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists and women in history and I am in constant inspiration by her style & if you have not seen the movie, then shame on you! No I’m kidding, well, kind of, the movie is fantastic and FILLED with color, textile, and pattern inspiration, in fact I think I will buy it after I finish posting this. I think it is a must have for any artist library & the soundtrack is fantastic and features one of my favorite singers Lila Downs(also seen singing in the movie). also, for those in the San Francisco area or for those planning on visiting, be sure to stop by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for the Frida Kahlo Exhibit that will be up until September 28, 2008 (thanks Rachel).

Her photos alone are just filled with decorative inspiration. From the flowers in her hair, to the patterns of her skirts, dresses, and blouses, to the richness of your home seen below (which is also affectionately known as “La Casa Azul” in many areas), her entire artistic essence speaks of design inspiration to me.

Her home which is now a museum is filled with lots of authentic design inspiration. My favorite is her studio and the kitchen. The painted yellow dining set above is fantastic and the avocado walls in her studio below is divine! Wouldn’t you love to be able to create in such an open space!

The colors of Mexico in general are intriguing, expressive, and rich, and I love it all. Cobalt, indigo, yellow, turquoise, red, fuschia, mustards, avocado, terracotta, all of these colors can be fused together to bring a beautiful Spanish flavor to your home. What I find interesting are the color palettes in which you can use to achieve the feel of Mexico.

Color & Earth: You can find many homes in Mexico that are illuminating with color from the inside out. From hot pink exteriors, purple painted bricks, or the cobalt blue ocean, and the cool greys & whites. You can never go wrong with shots of color when it comes to the colors of Mexico. One thing that I like to do is observe the food that is often prepared in a country and then translate those colors to my design ideas. In this case you can have very bright colors of fresh red & green chiles, green cilantro, bright lemons, limes, and oranges.

Just as well, you can find inspiration in the earthy tones of a maroon dried chile, avocado greens, terracotta pots, a freshly baked tortilla with spots of browns and blacks, and the mildness of the inside of a diced tomato. You will be surprised at how much color inspiration you can get from foods and spices alone!

Speaking of food, here is a GREAT cookbook that is inspired by the taste of Frida!