I love the big reveal that they do on the home improvement shows, don't you? There is something facinating about seeing all the different parts of the project come together at the end and be totally suprised by the result. My kids love the big reveal too. In the past I have ousted them from the house to get the big reveal effect just right. This is why I am not revealing my entire project to you up front. You have to see it piece by piece, to feel the excitment build. Are you feeling it yet? Don't answer that.
My first decorating project has been the dining room. I chose this room because it didn't seem to require too much effort. We don't have much furniture for it, it only has one window and it's a small room which opens up to the kitchen and living rooms.
My first instinct in any home project is to choose a pallet of colors for the entire house. It's actually easier to do it now at the beginning stages instead of room by room. I have just a few color samples laying around the house which I get out and covet regularly.
I am a sucker for paint chips and color sample pamphlets. I collect them and put them in plastic pages of a design idea binder that keep on hand for those moments of inspiration. I usually separate them by vendor, although sometimes it really doesn't matter. I am just looking for the colors, not necessarily the brand of paint at this point.
Some of the things to consider when choosing home pallet colors are:
What pieces that we already own must be used in this room? (for example a dark wooden dining table)
What is the inspiration for the room? (a piece of art, fabric, etc.)
What sort of sunlight does the room get at different times of day? (morning, evening)
How many coats of paint am I willing to do? (dark shades take more layers of paint)
How do the existing trim and floor colors effect the pallet?
What other rooms and furniture pieces have to coordinate?
Are there certain colors that you are drawn to, or certain colors that you dislike or make you feel uncomfortable? (I find I lean towards colors that I like to wear, deeper rich, jewel-tones in my case.)
The people that lived here before us liked pastels. I am just not a pastel girl. The dining room is currently painted a pale Pistachio green. I find that in our lives with four boys, pastel walls and furnishings aren't practical. We used to live in a house with white wood work and pastel walls, it was a ton of work to keep clean. Darker walls don't show finger prints. Textured painted walls don't show holes made with Nerf guns. Natural colored wood work doesn't show sticky finger marks. You know what I mean. Paints that are more the color of dirt work better for us. This house also has a great deal of natural light, so darker colors aren't going to make it too dark.
After much deliberation, I finally settled on a Benjamin Moore palette. I have never used this brand of paint, but I decided on it because it is readily available at our nearby Ace Hardware store.
I feel in love with the palette called Eclectic Elegance.
The colors are in the medium range, with a little bit of pizzazz here and there. This is the color chip folder that I got from the paint store. I don't know if you can tell from my photo, but the darker grey shade at the bottom doesn't quite match that in the picture. The color in the photo is more green. It's amazing how paint does that. I actually prefer the greener shade. But no worries, we can fix it. I will show you how.
I love the rich colors and the way they look with our hardwood floors. We also have a pale blue living room, and red couch in the next room, so this palette will pick up the colors in that room as well. Here's Benjamin Moore's video with more of this years color trends:
I love videos don't you? Now that we have chosen a palette, we can concentrate on how to put it to good use.
More to come!
Designer Mom
My first decorating project has been the dining room. I chose this room because it didn't seem to require too much effort. We don't have much furniture for it, it only has one window and it's a small room which opens up to the kitchen and living rooms.
My first instinct in any home project is to choose a pallet of colors for the entire house. It's actually easier to do it now at the beginning stages instead of room by room. I have just a few color samples laying around the house which I get out and covet regularly.
I am a sucker for paint chips and color sample pamphlets. I collect them and put them in plastic pages of a design idea binder that keep on hand for those moments of inspiration. I usually separate them by vendor, although sometimes it really doesn't matter. I am just looking for the colors, not necessarily the brand of paint at this point.
Some of the things to consider when choosing home pallet colors are:
What pieces that we already own must be used in this room? (for example a dark wooden dining table)
What is the inspiration for the room? (a piece of art, fabric, etc.)
What sort of sunlight does the room get at different times of day? (morning, evening)
How many coats of paint am I willing to do? (dark shades take more layers of paint)
How do the existing trim and floor colors effect the pallet?
What other rooms and furniture pieces have to coordinate?
Are there certain colors that you are drawn to, or certain colors that you dislike or make you feel uncomfortable? (I find I lean towards colors that I like to wear, deeper rich, jewel-tones in my case.)
The people that lived here before us liked pastels. I am just not a pastel girl. The dining room is currently painted a pale Pistachio green. I find that in our lives with four boys, pastel walls and furnishings aren't practical. We used to live in a house with white wood work and pastel walls, it was a ton of work to keep clean. Darker walls don't show finger prints. Textured painted walls don't show holes made with Nerf guns. Natural colored wood work doesn't show sticky finger marks. You know what I mean. Paints that are more the color of dirt work better for us. This house also has a great deal of natural light, so darker colors aren't going to make it too dark.
After much deliberation, I finally settled on a Benjamin Moore palette. I have never used this brand of paint, but I decided on it because it is readily available at our nearby Ace Hardware store.
I feel in love with the palette called Eclectic Elegance.
The colors are in the medium range, with a little bit of pizzazz here and there. This is the color chip folder that I got from the paint store. I don't know if you can tell from my photo, but the darker grey shade at the bottom doesn't quite match that in the picture. The color in the photo is more green. It's amazing how paint does that. I actually prefer the greener shade. But no worries, we can fix it. I will show you how.
I love videos don't you? Now that we have chosen a palette, we can concentrate on how to put it to good use.
More to come!
Designer Mom
No comments:
Post a Comment