Tricia Guild's New Paint Box Book

No one does color better than interior designer Tricia Guild. Every season I pester my friends at ID Collection to send over images from the latest fabrics and wallpapers from her line, Designers Guild, because I know they'll be sumptuous and dreamy. I think most of us stick with bland palettes at home because we're afraid of using color. Tricia has a new book, Paint Box, that makes it so much easier to pull a color scheme together yourself, with 45 different palettes that include color, texture, and pattern. Every room in her book is accompanied by design tips and a directory of Designers Guild paint colors, fabrics, and wallpapers. I pulled some of Tricia's highly useful tips from the book, below...

Tip #1 Mixing a color with a neutral such as black, white, or gray, reduces the colorfulness. A neutral is the color that underpins your scheme. White is often the default option, but why not consider gray, ecru, chocolate, or a shade of blue or green, or even pale plaster pink. Tricia often uses a shade of slate blue or olive green as a neutral, especially with bright colors.

Tricia Guild

Tip #2   Tricia Guild's Faded Frescoes palette is inspired by Italy's ancient frescoed walls and looks great against a natural linen shade. She suggests keeping your neutral soft to echo fresh paint or wet plaster.

Tip #3   Olive and emerald colors liven up a mid-century palette, with charcoal acting as the perfect neutral. For this look, you'll want to keep the walls white, and mix wood furniture with upholstered pieces in wool and tweeds.

Tip #4   The glamour of 18th-century French royalty is evoked here with fresh blooms in plum and eggplant and bottle greens. Balance the look with a neutral wall, or you could paint the walls in plum or eggplant. This look is magical in rooms with little natural light.

Tip #5   If you love the look of vintage roses, make it more approachable with casual linens. Think about toughening up the look a bit with an off-beat colors such as warm denim blue.

Tip #6   The many shades of white can clash. Decorating an all-white room is one of the most difficult schemes to pull off. First, determine which white are you? Blue-toned white works well in sunny, light-filled rooms. Creamy, yellow-toned white feels more classical and is suited for north-facing spaces. A gray-toned white gives you a clear, crisp architectural finish. Whichever white you pick, make sure they all work together -- drapes, shades, furniture, accessories — and are united in their tones of white.

Historic St. Anthony in San Antonio

St. Anthony Hotel lobby

I love fascinating backstories, don't you? The historic 1909 St. Anthony Hotel's new parrot green and gold interiors were inspired by a set of china designed by Dorothy Draper, which had been long lost inside a storage room at the hotel. In the 1950s, Draper designed china for the ballrooms and the hotel’s exclusive St. Anthony Club, and a handful of pieces were discovered during its recent renovation. The inside scoop comes from Colletta Conner, an associate principal for ForrestPerkins, a design studio of Perkins Eastman, who worked on the multi-million dollar project for the hotel's new owners, The Luxury Collection from Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

The "Peacock Alley" lobby area, added in 1930,
includes an original 1927 Steinway grand piano

Lobby detail

Shades of gray throughout the hotel give Draper’s jewel tones a sophisticated edge, Conner told me. The St. Anthony’s 107-year-old footprint remains intact and public spaces have been returned to their original grandeur, including Peacock Alley, built circa 1930 as a lounge and bar overlooking Travis Park, where San Antonio’s chicest would once gather to see and be seen. And what a grand era it was. In its heyday, the St. Anthony drew such luminaries as Eleanor Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and John Wayne. And, for the past 75 years the hotel has hosted coming-out balls for Fiesta debutants, as a part of the city’s most celebrated event. 

Grand staircase in the lobby

While most of the new furnishings are custom, an edited selection of antiques were kept and restored, such as a pair of gilt, carved 18th century settees and a 1927 Steinway, which was returned to Peacock Alley. All of the hotel’s original artwork was rehung, along with historic photographs of famous patrons and gloriously gowned Fiesta debs. 

Light-filled dining room off the lobby

 Constructed by a trio of Texas cattle barons, the 10-story St. Anthony was so technologically advanced that it was considered one of the world’s most modern hotels, featuring doors that opened automatically and electric lights that turned off when guests locked their hotel room doors. Newly upgraded with all of the technology you’d expect and just three blocks from the Alamo and River Walk, the St. Anthony is poised to become the glittering center of San Antonio life — once again. Check more of it out here.