OPEN LIVING WITH DISTINCT COLOR VIEWS - ACCENT WALLS

Nice modern living room - with an organized open floor plan. From one angle it is stark white with white epoxy painted concrete floors, white walls and white cabinetry in the kitchen. A few black and color accents in the furnishings. Flip around in the room and all of sudden - COLOR!

Bright sunny accent walls are carefully planned out to create a modern sleek colorful home.

Open kitchen island in white with yellow accent pops in the backsplash and on the living room wall.

Black mid century modern Barcelona chairs, a dark gray sofa, a light gray shag rug all contrast nicely against the white concrete floors and yellow accent wall. (above)

A floating wall in the foyer is also painted bright yellow. (above)

Benjamin Moore's Sunbeam yellow is a near match...along with the some charcoal gray and light gray tones to match (above)

Could you live with a few bright yellow accent walls?  If not, what color accent walls might you chose or do you already have in your house?

Happy Monday!

xo
Coco

P.S. Speaking of yellow. Date night with TE had a little lemon yellow infused into it. Had a nice lemonade cocktail at the Hungry Cat in Santa Monica on Saturday night...right before going to a very lovely dinner with TE at the very chic and cozy Giorgio Baldi restaurant on West Channel Road. Nice evening really. Here is a scene from the Hungry Cat bar.

Lemons at the bar at the Hungry Cat in Santa Monica....great lemonade cocktail! (above)

P.P.S.  Highlight of weekend was a fantastic dinner with my cute mother and my fantastic aunts LA, MA, JG and my guy TE at the Soho House on Friday night.  It took a bit to get all of the aunts coordinated to meet up, but we did it! LA and MA are visiting from out of town (Boston and France respectively) so it was their send off dinner before they head back. Had a lovely night filled with laughter, good food and good company.  All of my mom's sisters approved of TE!  That is good news!

P.P.P.S.  Hope you have a great week ahead!

Photos: Hus & Hem

TALE OF A TWO TONED KITCHEN

A color blocked kitchen in gray and white! (above)

Oooohhh...I like this modern farm style open floor plan kitchen, den, dining room from Dan Scotti Design.  Two toned walls and cabinets make a huge design statement.  I love the high ceilings, charcoal gray wood paneling and the clerestory windows.  So much light but effectively incorporates a rich dark color.

So many styles mixed in one space but they work...the farmhouse style feeling kitchen with its gray (maybe soapstone counters), the rustic country knotty pine wide plank wood floors, the Palm Beach like rattan furniture in the den and then the mid century dining table and Hans Wegner chairs in the dining room.  Doesn't feel like all  of those styles should work together but they do.

Nice, bright, airy, convivial space.  Perfect for cooking big meals and inviting lots of people over.

The kitchen island features gray soapstone counters and white cabinet doors framed in a light gray....love the see-through glass door refrigerator too! (above)

The farm house kitchen sink in white and with a lovely picture window (above)

The kitchen with its knotty pine hardwood floors also opens up to the dining room with a mid-century modern table and Hans Wegner chairs. (above)

Mosaic tile backsplash covers the wall behind the stove and sink. (above)

So what do you think of this two toned kitchen?  Like or dislike?  What might you add to it or take away.

I would leave it as is...although I might change out the round pendant lights...not sure but I might.

Happy Wednesday.

xo
Coco

P.S.  Soooo many of you have asked about the turquoise painting in my living room featured on Monday's post.  I went to the artist and will reveal who it is by tomorrow and more of his latest work!  Please stand by.

Photos: Dan Scotti Design

NEUTRAL ZONE - COLOR WATCH

Love this modern home in Finland in neutral colors...grays, tans, whites and blacks.  Works.  Doesn't feel like it needs any more color than this.  Great textures too...cement floors, black painted wood ceilings, gray cabinets and feature walls and black, white and tan furniture and accessories.  Very nice.  Soothing.  Minimalistic decor...no frills but feels very well appointed.

What do you think?  Do you like this design approach?  Would you want more color in your home or would this be enough?  Comment below please...would love to hear your take on this home.

Happy Tuesday!

xo
Coco

Photos: Scandinavian Deko

HOW TO MAKE A LIVING ROOM LARGER - DESIGN IDEA

Have a small living space? Here is a design solution for making it bigger.

It's simple...create an outdoor living space on an adjacent patio and mirror what is going on inside.

I like this small 2 bedroom home on the island of Majorca, Spain.  The owners took a very small open floor plan living room, dining room, kitchen combo and increased the size by using the outdoor space wisely.

Conventional design floor planning would probably have the furniture on the patio facing the garden.  In this case, the owners faced the outdoor furniture in towards the house...so when the large sliding glass doors are open...the conversation area of the living room is doubled!

Good idea I think!

The pretty much all white interior makes this small open floor plan living area seem larger...love the use of  natural materials like the tree stump stools and sea grass rug combined with the modern furniture. (above)

FLOOR PLAN (below)

The public living areas are to the right...the outdoor space almost doubles the size of the living room! (above)

To see the rest of this home click here.

What do you think of this design idea?  Any tricks you might have to grow a living room without doing a full remodel?  Please comment below!

Happy Wednesday!

xo
Coco

Photos: Mi Casa Revista

SEE THIS HOUSE - $6 MILLION DOLLAR MALIBU OCEAN VIEWS FROM UP HIGH!

Newly built Malibu canyon home for sale with an all white interior and lots of natural light (above)

A lofty real estate listing! Nearly $6 million dollars for this 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath Malibu canyon home.

The property is listed by Irene Dazzan-Palmer of Coldwell Banker Previews.  It is 6,200 square feet of home, sitting on around 4 acres of land.  Features both ocean and hillside views. 15 foot ceilings with exposed beams, hand scraped wood oak floors, a chef's kitchen with Wolf appliances and custom ash wood cabinetry. A state of the art surveillance system is included.

My kind of home actually. Something sort of modern and rustic about the home if that is possible. I think the pitched loft like exposed ceilings have something to do with the rustic part.

The best of both worlds...a spectacular ocean view from high up in the hills. Now just need to find $5,999,995 to pay for it. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone?

Pacific ocean view from the home's backyard!(above)

What do you think of this Malibu retreat?  Like or dislike?  What might you add to the home decor?  I might add a COCOCOZY rug or two actually!

Happy Thursday!

xo
Coco

P.S. So bummed that I didn't get a chance to sign up for a fab art auction that is going on today. Art consultant and good friend Samantha Nugent has a piece in today's Wright's "Living Contemporary Auction". I was traveling back from market and didn't get a chance to view everything until late yesterday...I've never bid in an art auction online and if I had signed up yesterday I could have.  Awhile back I was into collecting art from emerging artists here in Los Angeles. Browsing through this online auction has got me thinking about art again!  Thank you Samantha for sharing this with me!  Anyhooo...here's the piece Samantha has up for auction today. Love it - literally and figuratively speaking!

Robert Indiana, Heliotherapy Love (1995)  Screen print on board - $6000-$8000 (above)

APARTMENT DECORATING - 1000 SQUARE FEET IN SWEDEN!

A white bedroom with a mix of old and new. (above)

This cute one bedroom apartment is located in Linnéstaden, Sweden. It was recently on the market but was snapped up understandably. Bright, cheerful and light is how I would describe the interior design. White walls, white floors, lots of natural sun light. The decor fits the setting. Not too important, very easy, both modern and classic at the same time. I like!

Love the printed fabric wall hanging that acts as a headboard of sorts over the bed. (above)

Smart use of space with cute storage boxes on top of a white armoire wardrobe. (above)

Lots of pillows on a gray sofa and framed posters make for easy living room decor - and don't forget an Eames chair classic! (above)

White wood floors throughout the apartment and in the dining room help add to the cheerful feel. (above)

A stainless steel backsplash in the small modern kitchen.(above)

What do you think of this little flat?  Do you think it needs a little more decorating or is it just right?

Happy Friday!

xo
Coco

P.S. Was sitting at the office the other day at my real job - minding my own business - and these lovelies arrived. From the very nice TE. He is very thoughtful and sweet. Once they came, every girl I work with ran into my office...they were all cooing, oooohing and aaahhing. We then staged a mini photo shoot with the flowers where all of the girls were texting and putting them on Instagram. Got so caught up in "flowerpalooza", I forgot to text TE a thank you right away! Flowers...they do the trick every time.

Lovely flowers and my silver pig at my office. (above)

P.P.S.  Allegedly, I am doing a 5K tomorrow.  Okay...strike the allegedly.  I am doing a 5K tomorrow?  Okay strike the question mark.  I am doing a 5K tomorrow!

P.P.P.S.  Have a great weekend!

Photos: Stadshem

THIS OR THAT: WHITE LIVING ROOMS WITH SPECTACULAR VIEWS!

Living room #1

Two living rooms...two very different views.

Above, a modern New York duplex penthouse loft in the middle of Chelsea; a very modern apartment in the city with Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs and benches in white and a signature glass Noguchi coffee table.  Designed by Marie Burgos.

Or, a cozy West Vancouver apartment designed by Rebecca LaPres of Riesco & LaPres with a hillside view of green trees.

Which one do you prefer?

Living room #2

I like both!

Please vote and tell me which you prefer and why!!

xo
Coco

THIS OR THAT: DO EITHER OF THESE FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS SAY HOLIDAY?

All photos in this post by Coco of COCOCOZY

So tomorrow, on Christmas Eve, I'm spending the day cooking and prepping for a small gathering we are doing tomorrow night. Having a few family members and friends over to my sis DS's house for Christmas Eve. We are heading to the flower mart early tomorrow to look for some items to spruce up the house for the holiday.

The big issue is that I was supposed to be doing the dinner at my little cottage in the Hollywood Hills..."was" is the operative word here.

As you may know, last week I had to move out of my little snug cottage due to some major water damage and other stuff (still unresolved btw). I had my tree all decorated since the beginning of the month, holiday decorations were placed subtly throughout my tiny house... and Christmas was in the air.  At the beginning of December, I told my sis not to worry about a tree at her place and just to come over to mine and we would do the family holiday at my place with aunts, cousins and friends. Well as we took all of the ornaments off my Douglas Fir last Tuesday and hauled it outside and out of the way of all of the movers...I realized I would not be doing Christmas at my place. I didn't however think ahead and about getting a tree over to my sister's house.

So now we are sprucing up sis DS's house as best we can to make it say "holiday"...we'll make it work I think! Hopefully!

Oh did I mention that yesterday (Saturday) we did the first 2013 COCOCOZY photo shoot at my sisters house. The day started at about 8a with me and JW running around getting items for the shoot...and the day ended at about 8p when fab photographer Hugh Hamilton packed up his gear and left.

I had some flower arrangements made for the shoot and I made a little one myself with just with Dianthus Green Trick. My favorite florist Empty Vase has done all of the flowers for every COCOCOZY catalogue photo shoot since we started two years ago.  Brenda who works there was so nice to help me design and rush our arrangements for yesterday's  shoot.  As my sister and I were running out of the flower shop we saw the Dianthus and bought 20 stems to make our own DIY arrangement.

Take a look at these two arrangements...will use them in the house somewhere tomorrow for Christmas Eve... but do either of these say holiday to you?  What can we do to them to make them feel more festive for the holiday?  Help!  (We'll get some classic holiday greenery tomorrow but in the meantime we have these)

Homemade DIY flower arrangement with just Dianthus Green Trick in a mercury glass cylinder vase. (above and below)

Green and white Parrot Tulips and Hydrangea in a glass cylinder vase with wheat grass and green sand. (above)

Do either of these say holiday?  Which one do you prefere in general...or do you dislike both? LOL!

Happy Sunday!  Good luck with your holiday preparations!

Happy Holidays

xo

Coco

FASHION FORWARD: PINK, BLACK & WHITE - NEW AUTUMN!

Isabel Marant Fall 2012 Ready To Wear - Pink cropped pants with white vest. (above)

So was browsing through fall collections and noticed quite a bit of soft light pastel pink or rose and lots of stark white for fall.  Colors that traditionally remind us of spring now are year round it seems in fashion and in  home decor!  Here's today's FASHION FORWARD!

Phillip Lim Fall 2012 Ready to Wear - White cropped pants and a black and white sweater is on trend with the black and white themes in living spaces. (above)

Dusty rose dress from Christian Dior Fall 2012 Ready to Wear collection (above)

Love this almost nude pink dress from Jil Sander Fall 2012 Ready to Wear collection . (above)

What do you think of this trend? Light pastel pinks and bright whites for fall. Would you use in your home...would you wear out on the streets? Do tell!

Happy Tuesday!

xo
Coco