For the first time ever, PANTONE, the industry authority on color, has named two colors for their annual Color of the Year. Rose Quartz and Serenity offer a softer take on color. Striking a balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and a cooler tranquil blue, this year’s Color of the Year is Rose Quartz and Serenity.

The right blend of color, texture and pattern in fabrics and wallpaper can create a stunning scheme. LuLu Belles Fabrics is stocked with thousands of yards of the most current fabrics and trims to help pull together the right looks for your home. Punch up a room with the perfect pillow, drapery, bedding or furniture fabric.

Kat Kissick painting is a roar of color that wakes you up and draws you in. Vibrant acrylic paints and markers are layered on wooden panels – and, sometimes, skate board decks – then carefully edited away in a process Kissick calls “create and destroy.” Her subjects aren’t so much painted as they are revealed, with stories that pivot from whimsical to wary. The occasional white line lends contrast, but Kissick is clear that she doesn’t work with neutrals: “My art is for people who understand color and let it speak to them,” Kissick says.

Built in 1923, long derelict and often the target of vandalism, this multi-unit apartment building in Tower Grove had been an eyesore for many years. In spite of calls to raze the structure, a courageous developer undertook its rehabilitation in the early 2000s, with plans to convert the building into four three-story single-family residences. Then the housing market crashed, and construction halted. 

“When people walk into the room, I see them glance around and smile, and they say it’s really a happy room. And, it is,” says homeowner Nanette Stevenson. Manche has done nearly every room in the Stevensons' house, and the homeowners have followed even his boldest ideas. “Tom is very creative, and I trust him — a lot,” Nanette adds. When Manche decided Tarkay paintings from a nearby living room would set the newly built family room’s palette, he knew bright fuchsia and orange hues wouldn’t be an issue.