Tag: colorful rooms

Pick a Color, Any Color–Except Beige

I hope my colorful home series has inspired folks to let go of their color inhibition and fear of making mistakes and pick up a paint roller (or two) and a few gallons of paint and add splashes of color to their spaces. For more inspiration on adding color to your home pick up a copy of one of my favorite books, The Comfort of Color by Susan Sargent. It’s a fabulous source of inspiration that’s packed with gorgeous photos, unique color schemes, and tips to help you get started.

Want to add color to your home? What are you waiting for? Just pick a color, any color–except beige–and get started.

Inverting the Palette–Kitchen Makeover

You’ve seen glimpses of my kitchen makeover in previous posts, but here are additional shots from different angles. Before the makeover, the walls were painted a more saturated green called Pear by Benjamin Moore. Still committed to my green color scheme, I repainted the walls with a quieter, more serene shade of green called Pale Sea Mist by Benjamin Moore Paints. Once again, I left the ceiling color alone (Windmill Wings also by Benjamin Moore) because I can’t get enough of that color and it’s a royal pain in the neck to paint ceilings. I replaced the black iron table and chairs with the white set from the dining room and installed pale laminate flooring (a necessity when you have five dogs) to create a light and airy feel.

The accessories (colorful bowls, condiment set, red and white stripped pitcher, green colander, black and white salt and pepper shakers) are from Pottery Barn’s Colorful Serve collection. The white ceramic pig cookie jar is an antique from my great grandmother’s house. The lovely bird prints hanging over the sink and in the morning room–and seen in photos of all the rooms in my home–are watercolors painted by my friend, Geninne Zlatkis. She’s an amazing artist, crafter, and interior designer. Visit her blog at www.geninne.com to view her work plus photos of her amazing studio and gorgeous home.

I love this kitchen makeover–the simplicity of the design, the quietness of the colors, and spareness of the room. It’s not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on a kitchen makeover and purchase high-end appliances and finishes. All that’s needed to freshen up a kitchen is color, clean lines, practicing the art of restraint by keeping accessories and clutter to a minimum, and a super clean space. I wouldn’t trade this delightfully fresh, simple kitchen for a high-end kitchen. Keeping things simple is the golden rule in design.

This concludes the tour for now. Coming up soon will be photos of two bedroom makeovers. Work will begin on those rooms any day. I hope that you enjoyed the tour.

That Concludes the Tour–But Wait, There’s More….

What if I kept the high-contrast color scheme that I love so much but simply inverted the palette? What kind of results would I get? What if I changed the white furniture to black and replaced the highly saturated wall colors with less saturated hues?

Oh, yes, we’re going there next. And it’s going to be another colorful ride. Stop in next week to see the results. You know you want to look….

Color Changes Everything–Chocolate Brown Bedroom Makeover

The last stop on the tour is my chocolate brown bedroom. To punch up the color scheme in this room I added aqua and white into the mix. It’s an unusual combination of colors, but I’m pleased with the results. The headboard, nightstands, quilt, and curtains are from Pottery Barn. The cute white and aqua lamp, grass bedskirt, and pillows are from Target. The paint color is Clinton Brown by Benjamin Moore Paints.

Color Changes Everything–Aqua Master Bedroom Makeover

My love affair with aqua continued into two more rooms in my house–my bedroom and a guest room. And although in the photographs this color looks like the same color I used in the family room, it’s actually a lighter shade of blue (the name escapes me at the moment, and I’m too lazy go to downstairs and look it up). The ceiling color is Windmill Wings from Benjamin Moore paints.

For those who are curious, here’s a rundown of where I purchased various items in the room. The seagrass headboard, wing chair, night stand, and bench at the foot of the bed are from Pottery Barn. The white coverlet and pillows on the wing chair and bed are from Target. The plates are Majolica (more on that later).

That’s my little dog, Piggy, in the last photo. My boy follows me everywhere, so he pops up frequently in my photos.

Tomorrow’s spotlight will be on my aqua guest room, then I’ll move on to another color–I promise. Here are a few pictures of my bedroom.


Color Changes Everything–Royal Blue Dining Room Makeover

I’m going to start the tour in the dining room because that’s where my inspiration pieces (the four colorful pots I posted about yesterday) took up residence. I’ll show you some photos and then give you a rundown on where I purchased various items and, of course, provide the name of the fabulous paint.

For this decorating project I chose a high-contrast color scheme. I love the combination of highly saturated walls offset with white furniture.

With the exception of the pots on the center of the table, I purchased everything in this room at Pottery Barn (Garrison glass cabinet, dining table, Carolina adult chairs, seagrass placemats, aluminum pots of grass, and dishware). The glass cabinet is filled with a collection of Pottery Barn Colorful Serve pottery. I couldn’t resist the fabulous colors and awesome serving pieces in that collection. I painted the walls Blue Lapis and the ceiling Windmill Wings–both colors by Benjamin Moore Paints.

Coming up next–a lime green living room. Check back tomorrow to continue the tour.

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