Color Considerations

Color is what gives a home personality... just like our wardrobes do.  The common denominator between the two is you should start with a color family you love and pick hues that work together.  Here are three tips to consider when choosing color. 

1. Get Inspired

Start with a photo that interests you, a piece of artwork you love, or a striking fabric design, and center your palette around it.  If you have a large patterned piece in a room (Oriental rug, upholstered furniture, etc.), use it to guide you when creating your color scheme.

Nowadays, there are many color scheme creators available on the web that will generate a harmonious palette for you.  Degraeve is an online service that creates a color scheme inspired from an uploaded image.

Design Seeds and Photo Card Boutique are two other favorite sites of mine when I need color inspiration.  Both offer pre-created color palettes you can select from.

2. Create a Mood

Let's take a moment and talk about feelings.  Color definitely influences how you feel.  When making color choices, consider the purpose of the room and how you want yourself and others to feel when they enter it.  Peaceful, energized, warm?  Blues (and colors with blue undertones) typically evoke a feeling of relaxation.

On the other hand, yellows exude positivity and energy.

However, overly bright shades may cause some to feel anxious or overstimulated.  Breaking up the room below with a neutral wall helps eliminate eye fatigue (seriously).

Good news is it's your home, so your feelings toward a color win out!  Unless, of course, you plan on selling your home in the near future; if that's the case, pick a hue that is pleasing for most.  Your safest bet is to stick with neutrals.

3. Build Relationships

Colors should not be considered in isolation.  The same color can look totally different when paired with two different colors.  For example, lets consider this one:  a tride and true blue.

If we combine this color with whites, creams, browns, and golds, we get a very sophisticated color palette....

Now, if we take the same navy blue (and Greek Key "ish" embroidered pillows), but add a little lime green, we get a much more playful look...

The point is, color is relative to the colors it is grouped with.  When planning a color palette for your home, start with a color family you like.  Let's say you like grey.  Select 2 or 3 greys that interest you, but make sure they are all either "warm" or "cool."

Warm colors have undertones from the red end of the color wheel, while cool colors have blue undertones.

After selecting 2 or 3 greys, then select a neutral white or off-white that works with all of them.  Pay attention to undertones!  Whites ARE warm or cool as well.  This color will mainly be used for trim, doors, closets, cabinets, etc.

Lastly, select a few accent colors to intermingle in various rooms in your home.  This will simply create harmony as you move from room to room.  For example, let's say this was your bedroom... grey with muted blue accents.

Create harmony by using complimentary blues and greys in the adjoining bathroom.  Think about it, if you walked into this bathroom and it was hot pink, you'd be surprised (maybe shocked).  Even if you liked the color pink, it would not provide continuity with the adjacent room.

I hope you feel a little more equipped and encouraged about making color choices.  I'll leave you with just  a little more "color inspiration" today:

{Photo Credits: Google Images, Degraeve, Design Seeds, Photo Card Boutique, Brock Design Group, Country Living, Home-Designing, Decorpad, Quadrille Fabrics, Herblog, Pinterest}

Kitchen Color

If you have visited my cooking blog season | cook,  you know I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  But recently, I've spent many hours in my kitchen not just cooking and/or baking... but rather painting.  After recently getting married and moving in with my husband, it was officially time for the jarring yellow walls to go. 

NOTE:  This post is about updating a space simply with color.  This is not a major kitchen renovation.  In fact, this project cost less than $40 (and a little DIY patience).  Still interested? Keep reading!

I wanted a much more neutral palette... something that would blend with the grey counter tops and black appliances, both of which I would love to replace, but will have to settle with for the time being.

Fortunately, we had already replaced the linoleum flooring (which was also a yellowish shade but totally clashed with the yellow walls).  We put in tile, and I was very happy with it.  We chose an overall light beige tile with very subtle tones of grey to blend with the counters as well as lighter, creamy hues to coordinate with the white cabinetry and trim.  The new flooring really anchored the room and lended to the very neutral palette I was going...  Here's the palette of colors already in the kitchen prior to making a paint choice...

Now for the wall color... I wanted a hue from the beige family, but it had to have grey undertones to work with the black and grey already in the room.  I ended up going with Bleeker Beige HC-80 from Benjamin Moore...

.... which gave me this palette... nice and neutral but in need a little punch.

Simple solution: bring in an accent color.  I decided to incorporate the color of my every day china into the mix of kitchen decor so when the table is set, everything coordinates.

So here is the final color scheme...

And here is how it looks in my kitchen...

I love how soft the Bleeker Beige turned out, but it still provides a nice contrast with the white trim.

NOTE:  Test a section of your wall BEFORE painting the whole room.  Wait a day (or two) and view the painted section in all lighting throughout the day.  Depending on the lighting in the room, the paint may take on a different hue than expected.  Beiges especially have a tendency to appear pink or yellow in certain lighting conditions.  Test first to find the beige that works in your space.

Accessorizing with an accent color really finishes the space (plus, it's the fun part)...
1. Keep a fruit bowl on the counter or table that complements your color scheme.
2. A pitcher or other accent piece on a nearby shelf provides another subtle suggestion of the accent color.
3. I think every kitchen needs at least one piece of artwork.  This pair of paintingss blends perfectly with my palette.

4. Fill an oil dispenser with pretty colored detergents to blend with your color scheme.
5. Use a coordinating pitcher to hold utensils.
6. Dish towels are an easy way to accessorize in a kitchen.  Keep a pretty coordinating one in view.  Store other non-matching towels underneath the counter.

Choosing colors for your home is a very personal, yet important, decision... especially in your kitchen.  It is important to pick a palette that energizes you each morning and comforts you when you come home in the evenings.  Next time, I'll share some ideas for choosing colors that work for you!