inspo+convo
How often do you see a combination of colors that you love so much that you want to bring it to life in your home? Maybe it is a fabric or other decor item. It could be a picture or a flower. It could be a combination of colors that you see in nature or in a grouping of objects in a store window. Sometimes the struggle comes in making that inspiration a reality. How do you dissect what you love about it and turn it into a workable direction? In our inspo+convo blogs we are going to take some examples and show you how to do it.
For this post we are taking our inspiration from nature with this beautiful bouquet of flowers. Start with the colors that speak to you and pull them out. Go ahead and select color chips that match almost exactly because it is this combination that is working for you. Next you will look at the room you are working on and decide exactly how much color to use and where. Most of us don't start with a blank slate. If your room is being renovated or newly built, (yeah you!) the sky is the limit! Most likely, though, you will have flooring to work with and even furnishing that have to stay. Think about the mood you want the room to have. The colors in our example are fresh and cheery and clean. If this is what excites you then let's make it happen. Here are some examples of rooms using variations of our colors in different ways. First think about how much of the color you want to embrace.
Domino magazine
This room has fresh, white walls and our happy colors are introduced through the furnishings. Inexpensive purchases of fabric, pillows, rugs and artwork are one way to bring in the colors. You don't have to spend a ton of money. You can DIY the art or sew up some pillows or buy a can of paint to spruce up a tired piece of furniture.
Now we are talking COLOR in this example of a home office. The green is fresh and lively and makes a statement.
Pink is the star here in this office. It's a cooler shade of pink and the room has just a dash of green with lots of white. Wood flooring grounds the space and contrasts the pastels with a little toughness. Pretty.
Maybe pattern is how you want to bring in the color. This next living room is bold but keeps that fresh feeling.
Domino magazine
Notice how our green and pink are working with the neutral gray sofa, the natural wood table and sisal rug colors? Often we think of neutrals as colors that work with anything but that is not necessarily true. You do have to check that when you hold your bright colors next to the neutral that there isn't an undertone to the neutral that clashes. For example, if your floor is carpeted in a neutral that doesn't seem right, you will want to adjust your green/pink shades to work with that neutral. If you have other colors in your room that are competing for attention, they may have to go to another room in the house or be camouflaged.
Remember that we started with some pretty bold, clean selections of color. Take a look at those first choices of color swatches in your room, under your existing lighting, both day and evening. You may want to tone the colors down a notch if you are painting the whole room with one of your selections. A whole wall or walls of bright green is going to appear much stronger compared to how it looks on the small swatch. If you are using the color on a pillow, accessory, curtain etc., you may be fine. This is where you are ready to Try it On. As discussed in a previous post, the absolute best way to confidently select your paint color is to purchase some samples in the various shades of your chosen hue and apply them to the wall to view at various times of the day and evening.
I plan to continue this series using different sources of inspiration and having a conversation about how to bring them to life in your home. Let me know your thoughts and questions!
