The Color You Need Now ... Turquoise

by Rebecca Sowell Hawkins
Photos by Tria Giovan (room) and Howard L. Puckett (product)

Fashionable and stylish throughout the year, this smart and flexible spectrum can promote subtle drama or tropical zest, all with a healthy dose of good design karma

· Turquoise has cooling effects, figuratively lowering a room's temperature.

· It's a fashion staple. Always in style, turquoise has recently influenced interior designers with its opaque quality and ability to create impact -- even in small doses.

· Turquoise has good karma. American Indians have long praised the mineral for its spiritual and healing properties.

· It works year-round. Add a shot of hot pink, lemon, or chartreuse, and the look is tropical-chic. In velvet or paired with brown or ocher, it's dramatic.

PAINT SELECTIONS

1. Safe Harbor by Olympic, 2. Maui by Martin Senour, 3. Belize by Sherwin-Williams.

FABRIC SELECTIONS

1. Paradise Background by Quadrille, 2. Jambalaya by Scalamandré, 3. Tarbana from Coromandel by Designers Guild, 4. Cap Ferrat by Alan Campbell.

RESOURCES: Interior design in room photo by Suzanne Kasler Interiors, suzannekasler.com; Olympic through Lowe's (R), lowes.com; Martin Senour (M), martinsenour.com; Sherwin-Williams (M), sherwin-williams.com. Quadrille (T), quadrillefabrics.com; Scalamandré (T), scalamandre.com; Designers Guild through Osborne & Little (T), osborneandlittle.com; Alan Campbell through Quadrille (T), quadrillefabrics.com.

( http://southernaccents.com/accents/homes/decorating/article/0,14743,1088037,00.html )