Soft Color Palettes Soothe and Stimulate

Decorating with tints of color and touches of white has a special allure. Offering calm, serenity  and yet nothing less than drama, it's easy to understand how people gravitate to these color schemes. Not limited to pastel hues, the design motif can also include a pop of bold color amid shades of gray, white and earthy taupe.
I perused our library of product images and was amazed at how many beautiful creations that we developed for our interior designer clientele over the years.I found some wonderful examples of knobs, pulls, drapery hardware, switch plates and furnishings. Some sophisticated, some whimsical, some simplistic - all excellent applications of soft color palettes, these are some of my favorites.

Nu Lily Knobs adorn cabinetry and complement wall covering. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Deleon Associates Interior Design.

Close up of Nu lily cabinet knob combines light sapphire blue with deep opal gray and Swarovski crystal.

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Jitterbug cabinet dresser with cabriole legs has paint unique paint finishes using warm light gold, jade green and amber brown.

Jumbo Birdie Drapery hardware combines gold paint finishes with alabaster white and Swarovski crystal has always been one of our best selling window decor sets.

Corner and finial detail from Barcelona dresser shows unique artwork in a sophisticated color scheme combining pastel tones of lilac and shell pink with light teal and deep opal gray.

Birdie drapery hardware set combines silver with shell lilac and periwinkle purple with Swarovski crystals.

Combination duplex outlet and single toggle switch cover combines pale blush and silver paint finish with Swarovski crystal.

Erte Tieback has soft blend of pale blush and gold with drape and belt in various shades of mauve.

                                    Eel Ivory  knob and Drawer Pull in cast and sculpted resin in alabaster with gold and just a hint of black with  Swarovski crystal. 

Custom duo knob 2" was designed to match kitchen glass tiles and has a matching pull.  

Red and Green - When Opposites Attract

Complementary colors sit directly across from each other on the color wheel and it's an easy way to compose a decorative color scheme that is sure to be a winner. I know we all tend to think of Christmas at the mention of a red and green combo. Or maybe a Scottish tartan? And yes a foodie is likely to conjure up images of salad greens with  tomatoes. I love this complementary duo and enjoy putting together the red and green hues from our jewel tone palette.There are pairings of ruby and garnet with jade and emerald throughout our line. It's always been a fave of mine and our customers too. Here's a sampling:

Barcelona bed headboard has emerald and jade green tigress pattern that surrounds the ruby red.

Cleo knob 2" diameter is jade green and garnet with amethyst crystal.

Birdie drapery rod finial with matching bracket has garnet and jade green paint finish.

Charisma bathroom sink cabinet has jade green top. Cabinet doors are painted ruby surrounded by a blend of jade and bronze green.

Cleo double toggle switchplate has jade green paint finish surrounded by garnet trim.

Mini Tudor cabinet knob 1.5 " has garnet, bronze and ruby paint finish.

Contessa Jewelry armoire has emerald green drawers with rose and mosaic artwork in ruby jade and garnet.

Land and Sea -Decorating with Blue and Green

Whether thinking of an idyllic seascape or green pastures under brilliant blue skies, there's something about a blue green color combination that stirs our senses and yet calms us with feelings of serenity, purity and rejuvenation. It's easy to understand how this color scheme is oh so comfy in home decor,and no surprise that it's a popular pick for bathrooms and bedrooms.

Designing with blue and green color stories gives me a lot of freedom that's evident everywhere in our collections. You see it in our paint finishes, resins, glass, silk, crystals, all the materials that we use in the manufacturing of our products. So I had a bit of fun scouting our decorative hardware and furnishings and assembled some of my favorites.

Nu Tiki cabinet knob and Orbit Tiki pull in light sapphire and lapis blue.

Duo Square cabinet knob in deep lapis and  jade green with silver metal accents and crystal.

Birdie drapery hardware set includes finial, bracket and wooden pole in jade and light sapphire paint finish.

Shirley lamp has dupioni silk shade in absinthe green. Lamp body has hand painted peacock artwork in lapis blue and citrine green. 

Seaside Sara lamp has dupioni silk bell shade in nugget green. Lamp body has handpainted artwork in bronze green and light sapphire blue.

Detail of  Barcelona bed headboard and footboard  have unique paint finish in lapis blue, deep opal and citrine green.

Rumba end table has unqiue ripple and stipple paint finish with jade green, lapis blue and amber.

Home Accents are Bringing in Brown

If there was any one color that takes a neutral stance in interior design, brown fulfills the role. Contemporary, modern, traditional, classic- inevitably all decor styles make great use of this color in some way shape or form. Just take a look around your house. Wood floors, paneling, cabinetry, a coffee table or the drapes - from the lightest tan to the deepest mahogany there's bound to be something with a brownish hue that plays a part in your home. That includes the lighter tones too. Yes even taupe and beige are hiding a little brown pigment in the formula. So it's no surprise that it marries well with a wide spectrum of colors to create stylish and inviting color schemes. I love the freedom and warmth that a dose of brown brings to design and enjoy exploring new color combinations from our jewel tone palette.                                                                                                            

Drapery hardware includes Birdie Finial with matching support bracket in ruby red and agate brown.

Siena Sara accent lamp has a Dupioni silk shade in pecan that throws off a rich reddish brown glow when illuminated.

Eel Iris Left Drawer pull has Swarovski smoke topaz and mocha brown crystal.
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All Things Purple in Home Decor

Mauve, violet, and lavender- It's a strange thing about the color purple.  Aside from a few fleeting moments like a sunrise or sunset, or a perennial garden, it's appearance is fairly rare in our daily lives. Oh yes there are a few fruits and veggies, hence the favorite shades of plum, grape and aubergine (eggplant). And then there's the gem  amethyst, which of course we only see in small doses.  Unlike the omnipresent blue or green of planet earth, it's probably most familiar in a box of crayolas and easy to see how it becomes a child favorite or an artist's passion. But my point here is how we use it in home decor. I love the way the color is so easily associated with decorative genres by just how we mix it up with other colors. So here's my interpretation on purple-ish motifs and how they affect interior design.

Take for example the lighter hues like mauve and lilac. Put them together with silver and white and you instantly get a modern motif. Go a step further and throw in some cinnamon brown to create something even more modern. If you substitute the white with black you're approaching Art Deco territory. On the flip side, antiquity reigns when we delve into saturated sorts like red or blue violet paired with golden hues (purple's color wheel complement). Here it captures the feeling of something classic, baroque or majestic. Intricate tapestries, brocades and luxurious fabrics like velvet and silk all come to mind. Think pageantry and Mardi Gras (yes, purple loves a parade).

Just about any shade of purple with a mix of soft pastels offers a French impressionist flavor, a taste of country decor for rural abodes. Plaid, floral and paisley prints sprinkled with shades of lilac and touches of sage or mossy green conjure up a spring time mood.

And finally there are the vibrant purples that take a spot with feisty shades of turquoise, red or lime green. These color palettes follow the fashion trends of the clothing industry that eventually spill into home furnishings. Young, hot and stylish, they are the color schemes that dominate contemporary decor and sure to pop up in tiles, fabrics and wall coverings.

The New Place

Greetings -- Welcome to our new home!
For those customers who have visited susangoldstick.com before, I just want to assure you that yes, your search has taken you to the right place. This is our new residence and I urge you come in and look around.

Launching a new web site is very similar to moving to a new home. Quite literally the process is the same. First you have to take a real hard look around the old place and assess what you want to keep and those treasures you want to take with you. Then you have to find the proper place to put everything, all the while mindful of  keeping things modern and uncluttered. Decorating the new space is a lot of work but it definitely has it's rewards. I love the new look for old favorites. Much like a fresh coat of paint, everything looks lively and more vibrant.

                                         Eel sunflower pull posed in a seashell on our old site.

Eel Sunflower pull is a  radiant beauty on our new site.

Search Box and Tags
I'm hoping my returning customers will appreciate some of the new features on our site, particularly the Search box and Tags - two ways to search that makes shopping easy. There's the search box where you  put in your words. And then there is the less familiar "find similar products by tag" which gives you our words to do your search. Either way if you can't find what you're looking for, you can always give us a ring or email us.  We have a new site and our goal is to provide the same conscientious service that our customers have always appreciated.

The times, they are a-changing

2014 is going to be a very interesting and exciting year for us. Before the end of January we'll be launching our new modern mobile friendly web site. Typical of on line stores you see today, products are brillant against white backgrounds with large images, multi-views and maginfier tools. 

You'll be able to jump right into the shopping mode with easy product quick peek and site search by tags and key words. Plus our new site is loaded with all kinds of enhancements that allow for easy sales promotions, gift certificates, wish lists, and more to be discovered.

Making our furniture available for on line purchase is a big leap for us. I can remember 10 years ago when it seemed ridiculous to me to put a $7500 bed in a shopping cart, but hey – not so unusual anymore. Yes all of our furniture will be shopping cart ready, complete with all the information that addresses FAQs, pictures from all angles and detailed descriptions.

Reflecting back on our old site for a moment I'm reminded that it was deliberately developed to mirror our catalogs that had an eclectic way of showcasing our decorative hardware. Designing the cover was my biggest challenge and I never knew which knob or finial would be the star. But honors go to the Merlin, my first knob design inspired from a Circque du Soleil costume. Now retired, Merlin made it onto just about every cover shot.



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I'm always surprised at how often we get calls from people who have kept our catalogs over the years, particularly when we're told they've been saving it for just the right project or venue to pop up. I know printed material is becoming a dying breed and maybe that's why I'm hesitant to tell anyone to toss them. I can see a new catalog project on the horizon. But until there's a formal announcement, I encourage our customers to visit our new site.