Single Strip of Colour: I love this method of colour blocking books because it is subtle yet bold and looks smashing in neutral and colourful interiors alike.

Unique Colour Palettes: No need to follow the idea of making a rainbow. I prefer colour blocked bookshelves that use unique colour palettes including mixing soft hues with bright ones. In most interiors, it makes the look feel less forced and helps if you happen to have books in one particular colour family.

Gallery White Spaces: Colour blocked books can look incredible in all light interiors especially when the design follows an artful, gallery sensibility. You definitely can’t get away with many ratty books in this approach!

Dark backgrounds: Black, wood or neutral grey shades can make bold backgrounds for books organized by colour. I especially like that first image as it showcases how bright coloured books can look beautifully striking when mixed with many white spines.

Bring up the topic of colour blocked bookshelves with interior design-minded friends and you will find those who adore the look and those who hate it. Design critics can be especially snarky on the topic! Personally, I love it but understand that it can go into cheesy territory fairly quickly. I’ve been searching for images for a couple months that exemplify the colour blocking styles that I love –  a single strip of colour, unique palettes, white gallery settings and dark backgrounds. I find I like the rainbow look less often then a random but organized selection of hues. I particularly like when just a row of colourful books splash into an industrial space. Colour blocked books definitely colour me happy… What about you?

(photographs via the design files, the selby, design*sponge, trendland, decor8, apartment therapy, fjeldborg, easy living, hus & hem, design*sponge, better homes and gardens, the selby, one kings lane, heart home magazine, deco my place, seventeen doors, little green notebook, hus & hem, lonny magazine, terkultura, apartment therapy, yatzer, the design files, lovenordic and chotda)

It may sound random but I have a thing for home art installations involving spools of thread. I have been enamoured with Douglas Coupland’s for quite some time (3rd image) as he made a pure white wall come alive with a tailor shop-inspired installation of industrial thread spools. I also love the old wooden sign full of small thread bundles at the home of Zoe Bissell and Bryan Buryk (top image). Last but not least, the wonderful apartment of architect Chau Truong which features a black wall of thin shelves holding vibrant spools of thread and varying lengths of thread. Truong says, “every time the door opens or closes, the motion causes these thread ends to swing uniformly like leaves in the wind.” Colourful, architectural, artful and very happy-making.

(photographs via new york times, design tripper and new york times)

I have posted about saturated walls of colour before yet my eye continues to be drawn to unique uses of colour in interior spaces. In particular, I have been fascinated by neutral rooms with ceilings that extend beyond the obvious lines and are painted a bright colour so light can bathe the room in a beautiful wash of hue. I am also fairly in love with cement or rough studio walls half painted with vibrant colour. A form of modern wainscoting perhaps? This style colours me happy and is now officially my dream look for a working studio. If all else fails, I say paint a white spotlight right onto your wall and floor. You can be on “stage” every single night…

(photographs via maria alexandra vettese, remodelista, apartment therapy, red house design, simply grove, coco+kelley, hus & hem, simply grove and french by design)

I love bright coloured paint jobs so these photos more than made my day. I love the feature wall completely saturated in one vibrant colour including coat hooks, radiator and shelving. I also love the idea of colour splashed randomly and artfully up one wall. Who says you ever have to paint your walls in a traditional fashion?

(photographs via 101 woonideeen and agent bauer)

I admit it, I am slightly Christmas bonkers. It’s hard not to be inspired and full of joy in a season bursting with colour. One of my very favourite parts of the holidays is advent calendars. They are just so full of design possibilities from the traditional windowed illustration calendars to the most contemporary parcel-a-day designs. Advent calendars make the lead-up to Christmas special and full of anticipation while also creating some fantastic design avenues to explore. I could post a hundred photos but these are a few that have caught my eye over the last few weeks. A paper forest, a watercolour spectrum, an office window showcase – advent calendars are beautiful in their traditional meaning and ability to make the holidays even more magical.

As we open the final advent calendar window/parcel, I want to wish you (each and every person who kindly reads plenty of colour!) a very happy holiday season and all the very best in 2012. I can’t believe that I started this blog exactly 11 months ago today. I am beyond grateful for the tremendous support I have received from all over the world. I started this blog because I saw a void in colour-focused design blogs and was hoping to just toss some hue-filled inspiration onto the Internet and maybe get a handful of visitors. I had no idea I would meet so many colour-loving, creative and supportive people. All of your emails, tweets and support in general has been amazing. Creating/running this blog has been a dream come true and I am so thankful for all of you who pop by for a bit of colour inspiration. Thank you. There are some changes on the horizon so expect bigger, better and more colourful things in 2012! – Chloé

(images via snug., fry dog design, inspiration overdose, snug., brigg, style cookie, anthology, griottes, a simple nest, happy mundane, house to home, the marion house book, creative review, cirkus, sheenalu, a few things from my life, country living, brigitte, ohdeedoh, french by design and the eclectic life)

I am officially obsessed with this gorgeously neon inspiration shoot on Brooklyn Bride (especially that balloon photo). The goal was to highlight how a modern wedding could use neon to accent white and neutral bases and the results are full of vivacious colours and gorgeous styling/photography. Neon is not a typical wedding hue so it is quite thrilling to see this twist on things. I’m thinking this idea, from fashion to paper goods to decor, could be used for any event or photoshoot. I already have some interior design ideas inspired by this fantastic shoot. I also think I need to buy some fluorescent painter tape and paper. Honestly, how can anyone hate neon? It is colour palette bursting with pure joy!

(spotted on hunter harmony’s pinterest; photography via brooklyn bride where you can read all the credits)

While some thought they would be left behind in the 1980′s, neon colours have been popping up everywhere lately from fashion to stationery to art installations. I’ve always loved neon hues because they are so full of light and are just plain happy-inducing! How can hot pink be anything but fun? I also love another form of neon – the sign variety. From retro signs like those that used to cover Vancouver (see the seahorse one above that is still in use) or the modern innovations sprouting up in design, it is hard to resist the glow of a neon sign. Whatever the form, how can you hate neon? Time to move on from spandex pants fear of yesteryear and let neon colour you happy!

(photographs via yumnaaa, honestly wtf, light tape, yumnaaa, the good machinery, moccasin telegraph, john roberts, reason to breathe, gavin strange, wayne stadler, victoria scholes, taviivat, 5 inch and up, sean ganann, jonathan alvarez, pamela, moccasin telegraph)

I seem to have a major embroidery fetish lately that is perhaps obvious from my posts about Jillian Tamaki and Takashi Iwasaki. In particular, I am mesmerized by embroidered and tactile typography which may have been sparked when I fell in love with the extraordinary talent of Maricor Maricar (read my post about their work here). I had some server issues when attempting to post this feature yesterday which only underlines that in an almost alarmingly digital dependant world, craftsmanship like the examples above feels even more special and vital to the world of design. Hoping you find some handmade type this weekend and it colours you happy!

(images via evelin kasikov, sandy suffield, maricor maricar, peter crawley, sandy suffield, peter crawley, chez sucre chez, maricor maricar, sarah blick, rosie geissler, laura belle hanley, sarah blick, evelin kasikov, evelin kasikov, laura belle hanley & jessica wilson)

I’ve always loved chevron and herringbone. Both designs have been used throughout history and are variations of a “v” linked pattern. Lately, chevron and herringbone have emerged as design trends which has resulted in some fabulously inspired modern twists on the traditional patterns. How gorgeous are those floors at the top of this post? If that was my bathroom and living room, I would never leave the house! The image directly above shows the slight variations between the two patterns (chevron on the left and herringbone on the right.) I’ve always liked the fact that herringbone gets its name from the structure of herring fish skeleton. You never know where inspiration will come from… Hoping you see lots of joyful patterns this weekend and they colour you happy!

(images via deco chic, anna gillar, tinsmiths, jen dundas jewellery, design log, claridges, latifah saafir, kat, twisted fork, jenhewett, courtneycourtneycourtney, synaptic impulse, quilt sandwich, robert wallace, mimi and meg, how now design & marcus design)

I’ve always felt like clotheslines were a kind of hanging colour palette where articles of clothing become swatches floating in the breeze. Also, as you can probably tell from the posts on plenty of colour thus far, I love when colour pops up in unexpected places. A line of vibrantly hued garments can definitely bring life and joy to a boring exterior (it helps if you have bright and interesting clothing!) Overall, I have just always loved clotheslines for their whimsy and colour inspiration so they became a very random topic for this week’s colour me happy!. Hoping you see a colour palette next time you pass a line of clothing dancing in the wind…

(images via yemanja79, darrell godliman, lindamade, aya_nakai, elli 19, chatursunil, ruffeloo, markus, g!l, g!l, foto blitz color, gabriela bruno, ashlee patten, elaine, sgoralnick, cozy memories)

From a layered cake to the bold lines of architecture to Parisian fashion, there are few patterns as classic and attractive as stripes. While I love when stripes are used blatantly (on a shirt for example), I find that I especially like when stripe patterns emerge unexpectedly like in stacks of books, twists of pasta, rows of planted fields or corrugated steel on the side of a building. Whatever the form, you can’t really go wrong with timeless stripes. Hope they colour you happy this Friday!

(images via red pepper quilts, katie weller, julien, zoë power, ingrid, megan walker, clatie k, little brown pen, rafael.82ml, andrea kennard, frscspd, kristian ekfors, jean-michekl, marco braun, christine gerhardt, us images, ale ramirez)

It’s the first official week of spring and signs that the season is here to stay have cropped up all over Vancouver. The trees are ready to burst with blossoms and the ground is covered in a lush carpet of crocuses and snowdrops. From the clean modern lines of a daffodil stem to the fabric-like ruffles of a peony, there are few things in life as beautiful and endlessly inspiring as the architecture of flowers and trees. Equally amazing is the limitless colour palette that nature can draw from including the dazzling purple of crocuses, the ethereal silver of pussy willows and, in Vancouver’s case, the rich blanket of cherry blossom pinks that wash over our city. I’m fairly certain that a good portion of my obsession with colour is derived from a childhood surrounded by inspiring and colourful flowers, plants and trees. The vibrancy and depth of nature’s palette is often impossible to replicate and I’m kind of thankful that is the case.

In celebration of spring and all of the eye candy it provides, I thought it would be a good topic for this week’s colour me happy. Hope you get outside this weekend and see more signs that spring has really sprung! (p.s. yet another side benefit of all those cherry trees is the way blossoms pile up against street curbs. There is something magical about having a gutter full of pink!)

(images via johan klovsjö, yvette inufio, my whimsy, chrissie28iwish, drew, tinywhitedaisies, mo westein, cielbleu, betty hankins, dotintime, decor8, pianogram, woodleywonderworks)

It is hard to believe that only a week has gone by since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan took place. With every horrifying image that emerges, it is hard to think of much else. The only positive that has come to light is not only the courage and resolve of Japan but the support issued by people all over the world. Over at poppytalk, I read about University of British Columbia students who are selling paper origami cranes to raise money for Japan aid. Cranes are a symbol of good luck and legend has it that if one folds a thousand cranes, they will be granted a wish. With a similar passionate wish for Japan’s recovery in mind, I made this week’s colour me happy theme the intricate and beautiful art of origami. Learn more about the UBC crane project and other ways to aid Japan here.

(images via bethan phillips, gregoire alexandre, christine, sipho mabona, dasa severova, andrea russo, bohemian summer, roman diaz, fumiaki kawahata, burda style, lisa occhipinti, t, style me pretty)

I was halfway into preparing this week’s colour me happy theme of water when I heard about the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Needless to say, upon viewing the devastating images, I quickly abandoned my theme.

When I was a designer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, I worked on a merchandised product that required separate editions for many different countries. Part of the product was an information booklet. To save money, the booklet was reproduced in black and white for every country except for one. I was told that Japan placed so much value on colour, their version would be the only exception. With that comment, I realized Japan might be my kindred spirit. Across architecture, textiles, stationery, food, fashion and every other avenue of design and art, there is so much innovation and astounding creativity in Japan. Watching the tragedy unfold, I feel what I am sure so many others do – totally helpless. I was thinking of that booklet project and, while I realize this post might not colour anyone in Japan happy, I hope it serves as a tribute and show of support to a nation that saturates so much of its life in vibrant, joyful colour.

(via sea of shoes, amir jina, sakura, chisato, chris meter, petit tows, karaoke, karaoke, aaron shumaker, sea of shoes, an tran, airisshuu, loren madsen, gernot, banana granola, ayahuasca, fever breaks)

A theme of chalk street art seemed to pop up in my posts this week which, while totally unplanned, does reflect a style of art I really love. Chalk is probably the cheapest and most accessible art material which is likely why it’s the medium of choice for many kids and artists. I love the powdery and richly pigmented colour chalk creates and how its non-permanent nature allows for chalk to spring up on every surface imaginable (legal or not). There are artists who use the medium in fairly serious styles of art but I find myself enjoying the more casual and random pieces of chalk art that often pop up on streets and embrace its youthful and joyful spirit. This week’s colour me happy celebrates the quirky side of chalk and of course, the vibrance of its colours. There is nothing better than the palette created by a box or pile of brilliant pieces of chalk. This summer, buy some sidewalk chalk – you will find it impossible to not be coloured happy!

(images via goro watari, essimar, steven de sousa, jill allyn stafford, padraic, daddyw, jamin hoyle, john cachero, robert stribley, mark watson, michel, alice)

Yesterday marked the official month anniversary of plenty of colour! As a result, I thought confetti should be the theme for this week’s colour me happy feature. I love confetti and how its vibrance and motion makes for fabulous photography. Tossing pieces of bright paper in the air and letting them fall where they may? That has to colour you happy. (p.s. the top photo is of Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti testers checking their product. How do you get a job like that?!)

(images via msnbc, the sweet occasion, sophie wilson, nyc, willow osborn, lolita, joshua scott, ashley dzingle, the selby, youngna park)