Question: I am down to the wire trying to pick a house exterior and trim color.

It’s a two-story colonial (shown at right) with a five-inch wide board trim around bright white Pella window sashes.

I have a red door — love it and want to keep it (Williamsburg Palace Arms Red).  I also have the rather large “frieze” boards that run parallel along top and finish off the upper window board trim. The roof is Driftwood shingled asphalt (brownish-grey). There is not too much brick showing on front — some on side. It is the old, antique variegated brick — with a putty-color mortar.

I live in a really wooded lot with fairly conservative homes adjacent. Can you please make some suggestions for siding color and trim? Thanks so much!

–R.R., Pittsburgh PA

Cheryl: Thank-you for your question. First of all, I love the red door and am happy to hear that you are going to keep it the same color. Red (in Feng Shui) symbolizes the mouth and is the point of entry where energy and opportunity find us. Think of it as “X” marks the spot.

I understand that you want to tone down the bright white Pella window sashes and that would be done best by choosing a trim color that is similar to the white window sashes, therefore creating less contrast.  With the current palette there is a high contrast which makes the sashes stand out like a sore thumb.

To tone it down, I suggest you choose for the trim an off-white color like Divine Whip or Divine Ash.  Take a look at the entire Divine palette of Pebbles and Creams and see what you like.

The sashes and trim are like eyebrows to the window which are considered the eyes of the home. White and off-white combinations of the two will also give it a fresh look.

As far as the body color goes, you have many choices and as always I recommend going with a color you absolutely love. Specifically, what I suggest here is a beautiful green for the body to compliment the red door and also harmonize with the front green grass and the woods surrounding the home.

A few different shades of green you might look at are Benjamin Moore Grasshopper AF-415 (for a brighter feel), and Bejamin Moore Elemental AF-400 (for a more mature look). I suggest you purchase a sample to see clearly how the color will come out and please note that the images online are different than what is shown on the paper palette.

My last piece of advise, don’t stress over what colors to choose. Instead, listen to your intuition and let that be your guide. Enjoy the process. Your home is beautiful and your color choices will be fabulous.

Please send us an “after” photo along with the names of your color choices.

Good luck and have fun!

–Cheryl

A popular re-post that might just put a smile on your face.

Oh beautiful cow, let’s use your poo to generate power.

Okay, so cow poo may never actually make it into the New York eco-chic couture circles, but here on Planet Pink n’ Green, you cows get our vote. Here’s the eco-news..

Inhabitat reported California PG&E’s recently adopted system to create natural gas from a vat of liquid-cow poo. Yes, you heard me right…. Okay, so it doesn’t smell of lavender fields, but, more importantly, it is helping to heal the planet. Manure when left to decompose, produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, dozens of times more damaging than CO2.

As Inhabitat suggests: “Of course, encouraging less meat-eating might be a more obvious and easy solution to this problem, but of course, since it seems impossible to wean all Americans off hamburgers, this scheme might just be the next greatest thing.” We agree…

This falls under the category of recycling in creative ways.

Cows of the world, unite.

This used to be a spot for a billboard ad in Sao Paulo Brazil. Not anymore.

I remember back in the early 90’s when I traveled to Brazil and other parts of South America, just being bombarded with billboard coca cola ads, one after the other. It wasn’t pleasant and made my eyes squint.

Imagine my delight after learning about this interesting piece of international news. Last year, the mayor of the Brazilian city Sao Paulo (11 million inhabitants) passed a ‘clean city law’ in which the city stripped its advertising. No Posters. No flyers. No ads on buses. No ads on trains. :: Source: Business Week.

Nothing feeding our brains except our own minds.

Check out this blank billboard at the top of this building and the one in front of it.

According to many of the city’s inhabitants, these blank slates (so to speak) are much calmer on the eye. When recently asked how the city was doing, many people responded with words like ’serene’ and ‘relaxed.’

What a great way to stop subliminal advertising which can feed us messages we may not be asking for. That’s a refreshing idea and very healing to humans. May it spread to the rest of the world.

Here’s a re-post of an important fund-raising event. Keep it going. Cheers! Cheryl

Ahh, check out the detail on the above Rajasthani wall hanging work of art hand made by women in Pakistan.

What’s this all about?

I’m here to spread the word about Portland, Oregon’s Kush Carpets important fund raising event going on through the month of December!

Purchase any of these gorgeous works of art -  hand-made from colorful, sequined and embroidered remnants from saris and ceremonial garments and other materials - and support women in South Asia who suffer abuse and need your help.

Kush Carpet owners Rebecca Lurie and Brian Robins were moved to give 50% of sales proceeds to the organization Progressive Women’s Association in Pakistan after reading an article in the New York Times Nicholas Kristof last Sunday, about an awful attack against a Pakistani real estate agent.

PWA provides shelter, medical care, legal assistance and counseling to women victims of abuse in the region.  Learn more about the group by visiting their website at www.pwaisbd.org.

These striking pieces make a fabulous wall hanging, an elegant tablecloth or baby blanket, and the perfect gift for the holidays.

There are 50 pieces available through this program, and the cost is $120 each.  When all are sold (last year they sold out fast!) Kush will send $3000 to the assistance of women in South Asia; that’s a serious contribution and will go a long way in supporting our sisters.

Look at what’s available for purchase by visiting the website here: www.kushcarpets.com, and get the whole story on their blog.

If you are local to Portland, stop by Kush Carpets located at 900 S.E Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214 and take in the beauty of these pieces in person.

It’s not just another day at the offices of Pants to Poverty - a company whose mission it is to eradicate poverty and stop global warming by selling their own fair trade and organic underwear line, and raise global consciousness.

On this day, November 13, 2008, the company staged a record attempt of the largest gathering of people wearing underpants at the iconic London St. Pancras International train station, in celebration of the annual Guinness World Records Day, and got short listed for inclusion in next year’s best-selling book.  The event included totaled 116 Pants to Poverty underpants-loving participants.

Congratulations to Pants to Poverty. Pretty impressive publicity stunt to get the world to notice.

I can honestly say that had I been in London on that day, I too would’ve been in my underpants meeting new friends and having a blast. Philip?

For more info on Pants to Poverty, visit the website: www.pantstopoverty.com.