3/2/10

What Can Brown Do For You?

Well, lot's of things!
Its richness does as much for my palate as it does for my interior palette.
tom-eckerle-white-dark-and-milk-chocolate-pieces Brown Velvet Paisley  
While chocolate crème brulee makes me very happy!
chocolate-creme-brulee-h via Sunset Magazine The stark contrast of handsome carved wood against fresh white millwork makes my heart pitter-patter!
Eric Roth wood touches
Brown serves as a good strong base and is perfectly happy to be a backdrop.
pink flowers against brown wall
But occasionally it cannot help itself and wants to join in the mix. These chocolate cosmos and black pepper berries bring a rich baroque feeling when mixed with pink & green hydrangeas.
brow cosmos by Brie Williams
It has been noted that people who prefer brown are often conventional and orderly. That's me!
However, my craving for chocolate brown has always gone well beyond the dessert course. I completely agree with what designer John Saladino has to say!
John Saladino for Veranda
Where beige seems boring, cocoa adds drama.
farm table by Tim Young
Where ebony seems severe, mocha appears flattering.
brown and whitle by James Merrell
This deliciously rich hue is the perfect complement to candy-colored pastels.
Wainscott by Farrow & Ball mocha brown by benjamin moore cocoa by Divine Color
So many shades and tones - each producing a different effect.
 eames by David Prince In fact, because the color looks so great on nearly everyone,
harp1 by Paul Westlake we call chocolate brown the new neutral.
When my summer glow is all gone, I always turn to my saving grace, Bobbi Brown. One brush of her magic can give me a fresh face & fresh outlook on the day, even when it's the dead of winter!
bobbi  bobbi-brown-300x279
Brown is the smell of nature. Its woodiness brings this gardener to her knees, literally, for hours.
 pine cone planting soil via Hartley Botanic
Solid and reliable, it's the color of earth and is abundant in nature.
adrian briscoe Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. This Hermes Brasilia saddle is talking to me!
Hermes Brasilia Saddle
Brown can also be sad and wistful.
Tim Young Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors. 
leather by David prince  While the color may be received by many as utilitarian, boring or conservative,
dresser by Ellen Silverman
for seventh and eighth-grade boys, brown bags are the cool way to go. And UPS has taken ownership of the color and used it as a point of distinction.
 intro-lunchbags brown-ups
Brown can mix into many surroundings.
rustic bath via Lonny
The negative meaning of brown can be a repressed personality or a lazy person,
Listening Chair by David prince  but still, it always gives a feeling of solidity. Someday I would love to live in a beautiful Beacon Hill Brownstone!
beacon-hill-boston-ma062 Brown can be stabilizing. I love this rosewood Eames Potato Chip Chair!
rosewood Eames potato chip chair Some shades of brown create a warm, comfortable feeling of wholesomeness, naturalness, and dependability.
virginia macdonald        And some shades of yummy brown just remind me of being a kid.
bowl I can think of a number of places where I have always enjoyed brown in my world. So tell me, what can brown do for you?
numbers  by David Prince
Just for the record, my favorite color is blue. I wonder if there is such a thing as navy brown
All photo credits linked to the source.

19 comments:

  1. Delightful post! I'm now craving wood and chocolate :)

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  2. Lisa, I love chocolate brown $ the combinations are wonderfully luscious.
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  3. What a fun post Lisa. When I think of brown it reminds me of my little brother (now architect) who stated firmly as a teen, "Brown will never touch my body". Even as a small child his favorite color was black. Guess who has a heap of browns in his home now? I adore brown, even with all the popularity of grays,& charcoal, I'm drawn back to it. Now I'm dying for a Hershey bar!! Hope your week is going well so far Lisa? x

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  4. I love this post Lisa! I'm drawn to saddle-brown and dark chocolate browns. I lived in a Beacon Hill Brownstone for 6 wonderful years!! But I do think of the earth most of all, and have experienced being a happy gardener on my knees for years. But that garden was at our old house. There is not much brown here at the beach! Maybe a little Bobbi Brown while waiting for the sun to come back out!! oxo

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  5. My love for brown is overwhelming. My kids ask me all the time "what is your favorite color?" I usually say brown but I have moved onto the obscure color between brown and grey - greige...

    Wonderful post as always!

    Christina

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  6. I LOVE various shades of brown. Because of my dark eyes, I often gravitate toward this color for clothing, make-up, etc. The images of chocolate were hard to take, though, because I've given it up for Lent. Easter can't get her soon enough!

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  7. You did an amazing job by showing us all these amazing pictures! You convinced me to use more brown!
    Fantastic post Lisa!
    xx
    Greet

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  8. Never thought of brown like that
    Kind Regards
    Karen

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  9. Oh...I can't think anymore. I need chocolate. Chocolate covered chocolate chips (thanks eames chair!)

    I'm serious here.

    I'm off to search the kitchen.


    What were you saying....?

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  10. These chocolate pictures are making my mouth water...You created a great round up of pictures incorporating brown, and I love the saddle!

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  11. What a wonderful post!

    My favorite brown is Van Buren Brown by Benjamin Moore, it is one of the Historical colors...

    I love those English looking chairs with the brass studs, not quite nailhead, is it? So large in scale... reminds me of a set my friend E and I found at Pooter o'Looms in Harbor Springs one Summer!

    Thanks for the inspiration, and have a wonderful day.
    ABCD

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  12. Yum, you had me at the chocolate pictures- I could totally use some right now

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  13. Lisa, I've always been a fan of brown and it happens to be the single most dominant color in my own home. I always think of it as you've shown as chocolate, cocoa, cinnamon, and latte. (see a theme here) Did you know that many brown dyes achieve their coloring from cocoa and when you iron them you can small hot chocolate. Try it some time - delicious!

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  14. Lisa,
    What a great post. I do love brown as it exudes warmth and invites one in. It makes a statement when contrasted with the lightest of colors and textures.
    Now chocolate delectables....another story! Yum!
    xx

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  15. Well Lisa that is just a whole bunch of beautiful~yummmmmm!

    Brown is one of my favorite colors. Make is Espresso Chocolate brown with white crisp linen against it and I am in love! Love how it is sleek yet smooth and so rich.

    Hope your week has gone well. Happy end of Thursday for you.

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  16. My favorite color is pink but thats usually to wear or for flowers. Brown - I love all the different tones. Thinking about purchasing a brown sofa to go with some red reading chairs.

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  17. REALLY LIKE THAT COCO COLOR. I SPYED THOSE BANGLE BRACELETS, NICE.

    ALSO LIKE CAMEL AND BLACK OR A WHEAT AN DARK BROWN. lOVELY POST.

    YVONNE

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  18. What a well thought post! Thanks!

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