2015 Colors of the Year, Theirs, Ours and Yours

Here at Quince Cottage we believe a home's design shouldn't be dictated by trends and forecasts, but instead should reflect the taste and preferences of those who live there. Having said that, it's still fun to see what colors the "experts" are telling us we should love for 2015.

Pantone always generates a lot of buzz when they release their Color Of The Year, and in this case it's Marsala, an earthy deep red. What do you think?

Courtesy of Pantone.com

Not wanting to be left out, paint companies also offer their opinions on what's the next big thing. Here is Sherwin-Williams' choice, Coral Reef. Makes us think of flip flops and the NC Azalea Festival in Wilmington.

Courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.com

For those of you who don't love saturated, warm palettes, maybe Benjamin Moore's serene Guilford Green will do the trick.

Courtesy of BenjaminMoore.com 

Which is your favorite? Will you be featuring one of these trendy colors in a 2015 room re-do? We'd love to hear about your favorite 2015 home decor color in Comments.

p.s. we like the Ben Moore color best, but we do have pillows in a gorgeous coral velvet that looks just lovely with Miss Daisy's coloring. Our love of the woods and the ocean is behind our preference for quieter, cooler tones. Generally, we use warm, bright hues for pops of color, like wildflowers in a forest, or beach roses along the shore.

Miss Daisy © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

A color that hasn't made "news" but which we suspect is poised for popularity is Butter. We've already based the color scheme for our younger daughter's future bathroom around it. That's Sherwin Williams Tea Light, by the way. In person it's not as gray, darn those iPhone photos...

Butter © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

These buttery yellow pansies were part of our container gardens last spring.

Yellow pansy © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Here are some other colors we'll be using in our new home.

Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray

The one above will cover nearly every wall in our house, at least to begin with. It's actually a bit warmer and more khaki-ish than it appears here (or at least on our monitor). A really fabulous neutral that looks great with everything!

Sherwin Williams High Tea

The one above will be going in our master bedroom. It's got a lovely dark bronze tone in person.

Sherwin Williams Dutch Tile Blue

Our exterior shutters will be this color and we'll be bringing blue into the kitchen as well - but perhaps a lighter, slightly greener version. Not sure yet.

Quince Cottage style is where rustic and opulent rub shoulders. Gilded mirror against a plank wall, 

crystal chandeliers and antique farm tools sharing space, 

that's what we're talking about. 

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Roasted Veg, Two Ways!

Welcome! We're glad you stopped by. At Quince Cottage we believe healthy and tasty don't have to be mutually exclusive. Here's an easy recipe to help you stick to any Healthy Eating Resolutions you might be making for 2015.

Exhibit A

Roasted Vegetables © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

We like to serve Roasted Vegetables family style in one of our Mason Cash mixing bowls. 

Look at those gorgeous colors!

RECIPE: 

1 bunch asparagus
1 small butternut squash
5 carrots
1 sweet onion
1 small container mushrooms (any kind will do)
1 red bell pepper
1 eggplant
*Tip: choose the "male" eggplant, there will be fewer seeds. Males have a more rectangular spot on their bottoms, the females have a very round spot.
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Snap asparagus spears into bite-size lengths (discard the tough bottoms - your first "snap" should be at the "dirt" end and the spear will naturally break where tender part begins).
2. Peel and deseed squash, chop into bite-size chunks. Peel and chop carrots. Wipe mushrooms clean, slice off tough stem ends, Deseed and destem pepper, chop. Remove onion peel and chop the onion. Chop the eggplant into chunks, try to leave the peel on because it gives a nice flavor (and fiber), discard any pieces that are full of seeds.
3. Put faster cooking vegetables in one bowl and slower in a second bowl. Drizzle olive oil, grind salt and pepper to taste over the vegetables in each bowl, then toss to coat.
4. Line two baking sheets with foil, spray with cooking spray, spread the contents of each bowl on a sheet.
5. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-35 minutes (or until the vegetables are tender, but not burned).

Note: You can add or subtract any other vegetables you like to this recipe. Hate asparagus but love parsnips? No problem!

EASY LEFTOVERS IDEA

1. Put store-bought Butternut Bisque in a pan, add leftover vegetables. Heat and serve with crusty bread.

Exhibit B

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Quince Cottage style is where rustic and opulent rub shoulders. Think gilded mirror against a weathered plank wall, and you'll know what we mean. 

We prefer our opulent a little beat up and our recipes 

GOOF-PROOF!

Can You Believe It?

Although we just moved from Maine to North Carolina, we're moving AGAIN. Crazy, huh? What's even crazier is that we're only relocating to a (slightly) different part of our current town. This will make the process MUCH easier.
                                                                                                      
The Quince Cottage blog will keep a photo diary of our new home as it's built from the ground up.

And...here's the ground, pre-clearing. As you can see, it's a corner lot, complete with Stop sign. Our decision to have a side entry garage changed the address! At first we were disappointed because we preferred the original. But when Google informed us our street was named after a place in Yorkshire, England, we felt much better. Herriott country!

Although we asked the builder to leave as many trees as possible, well...as you can see, there are none left. This makes us sad, even though it's pretty typical of the way things are done here. Now we're researching which trees and bushes will flourish around our new home.

Feel free to tell us about your home-building experiences in the Comments section.

Quince Cottage believes a bland subdivision house can be transformed into a beautiful home that reflects the unique taste and personality of its owner. In our own place, rustic, opulent, and exotic rub shoulders. Think gilded mirror, an embroidered velvet robe from Uzbekistan, and a weathered plank wall. Stick around, and we'll not only show you what we mean, we'll also give you tips on creating your own special style. 

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Baked Ziti

There's a lot to like about this dish: easy, customizable, good-looking, and leftovers.

Let me say that again.
LEFTOVERS.

Yes, I enjoy cooking, but NOT ALL THE TIME. We ate this for Christmas dinner. Children can help with prep too. One of mine did. The other yelled from upstairs, "When is it going to be ready?" about every five minutes...

BAKED ZITI - tomato-y, creamy, cheesy, fill-yer-belly yumminess. Are you drooling yet?

Baked Ziti © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

RECIPE

1 lb. box ziti (or rotini or penne or...)
15 oz. ricotta cheese (use the part skim if you're feeling virtuous)
24 oz. jar pasta sauce (I like the kind with Parm and Romano because, CHEESE)
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded
grated Romano/Parmesan to taste
Now, you COULD add fresh basil, sauteed mushrooms, chopped spinach, ground beef, crumbled sausage, textured veggie protein, or some unique combo to make this dish totally your own.

1. Cook the pasta according to directions (choose the shorter cooking time, since this gets baked).
2. Drain the pasta and return to its pot. Then stir in at least 2/3 of the ricotta, or all if you like.
3. Stir in about 3/4 of the sauce.
4. Stir in about 3/4 of the mozzarella and about 4 TBS of grated Parm-Rom (more or less according to preference).
5. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and dump the pasta in.
6. Pour on the remaining sauce, spread evenly.
7. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top. Add more Parm-Rom if desired. Do eeet.
8. Cover with foil.
*Tip: spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray so your cheese doesn't stick to it.
9. Bake 15 min. at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake 10 min. more or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown and you simply must yank it out of the oven and DEVOUR it.

Quince Cottage believes a bland subdivision house can be transformed into a beautiful home that reflects the unique taste and personality of its owner. In our own place, rustic, opulent, and exotic rub shoulders. Think gilded mirror, an embroidered velvet robe from Uzbekistan, and a weathered plank wall. Stick around, and we'll not only show you what we mean, we'll also give you tips on creating your own special style. 

We prefer our opulent a little beat up and our recipes 

GOOF-PROOF!

Follow @Quince_Cottage