Last month I wrote about Cottage Magpie’s green challenge but this month I decided I would play along and share some of the yellow things in my home.
I have lots of yellow kitchenware from the 40’s and 50’s. I started collecting Harlequin dishes and Hall pitchers when I was in college and still enjoy them.
The Harlequin teapots are my absolute favorite and I have them in 9 or ten colors. I just love the pointed handles and bright colors.
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Today’s color dilemma…
I have more of a question than a comment. I have an open floor plan with all white walls that are making me crazy. I NEED color!
I want the rooms to flow, but be distinct. The front room gets a lot of sun and has oak colored bookcases, and a little darker piano. I would like to do a sage(ish) green, pale yellowish and raspberry-reddish colors. It flows into the kitchen with one wall that connects via a vaulted ceiling. The kitchen has med. wood cabinets, black countertops, and stainless steel appliances.
The current decor is sort of country(ish) with black, red and goldish yellow. The living room shares the same wall as the front room and kitchen, and currently has a reddish leather couch that will have to stay and is sporting and “Americana theme” which could stay or go.
Most Pictures that will stay as part of the decor are framed in black. All rooms receive a good amount of natural light Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance! -Mindi
Barbara suggests…
Your preference is for sage green, pale yellow and raspberry-red colors, although you did not indicate where you would like these colors to be used. However, colors of the type you mention that could do well together, depending on their location, combination and proportion. I’m going to propose a couple of ways to do this:
From Benjamin Moore: (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
I’m looking for help with natural oak trim and wood floors. Pretty good light and great artisan wood side tables and hutch. Anything but yellow? Anything bolder? What about something in a green?
2nd question– I’m interested in some ideas for color for living room and dining room with beautiful natural oak trim and molding. There is no way we are going to paint this wood, but we would like ideas for a natural match. Help!!!! –Eileen
Kate suggests…
Green would be great choice with your oak floors and trim.
When I read your question I immediately thought of Edgewood Green from Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paint. This is a (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
Thanks for finally addressing the bricks…The front of my home has partial red brick and the rest is stucco. I am in Florida on a small lake.
The house was painted beige with the mauve trim, plenty of trim includes the garage. The house next to me had the mauve color shot and painted their house in it. The color is ok but not fantastic. It is midtone. What color can I use. Should I color shot the mauve ( from the 70s) and tweek it a little?
I like colorful; One house on the lake is a violet periwinkle and is pretty. Also 2 yellow houses on the lake. The house on my other side is white with lt. blue trim. Can you please show your color chip selections I just love that! — Criztina
Kate suggests…
I’m imagining that your mauve tends towards red if it goes well with your brick and if you are happy with that color than certainly tweaking it a bit is an option but it seems that you might be ready for a change.
Yellow and creamy tan are colors often used on homes that have red brick combined with stucco but with two other homes close by already using yellow I don’t think it would be best to have your home in this range of colors.
I like the idea of (more…)
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Unless you live on a large piece of land or deep on a wooded lot you need to consider the colors of the homes that surround your home.
You will want to select an exterior color that is different but works with the other homes in the neighborhood. You can pick a color that blends in or one that stands out but not one that clashes with (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
Hello, color mavens! Enjoyed the article in the Post. I wanted to ask a quick question - we are getting ready to paint the exterior of our house, and have been working on colors. We don’t have that much siding to paint, our house is mostly brick dominated in the front sadly by a protruding brick garage. Any suggestions for colors that would bring attention away from the garage while bringing some warmth to the house? Thanks, DG
Kate suggests…
Having a garage is great but having one that dominates the front of your home can be a design challenge.
The biggest mistake homeowners make is drawing attention to standard or unattractive garage doors. I’m glad you recognize that this is not the way to go.
Let me start by giving a few very general DO’s and DON’Ts for painting garage doors:
- DO paint the garage doors in the same color as the house itself and not the trim color or white (unless white is your house color). Painting the garage doors the same colors as the body of the house will make your home appear larger.
- DO paint the trim around the doors either to match the door or to match the trim on the rest of your home.
- DON’T paint the garage doors in the same accent color they chose for their front door or shutters. This draws too much attention to the doors and chops up the facade of the home.
- DON’T highlight the details of a standard garage door by painting the door in more than one color. There are historic or special doors where this may be appropriate but for the majority of garage doors this would not be the way to go.
In your case rather than find a color that is very close to that of the body of your home (brick) you may want to identify the color cast of the brick and use that as a guide for selecting a paint color.
The bricks in your home may basically be red but will have a cast of another color such as beige or gold or gray. Your best bet is to find a close color match to the cast color.
For example if your bricks have a beige cast paint the siding and garage doors in a shade of beige. This guarantees that the siding and garage door colors will harmonize with the rest of the home and give you nice curb appeal.
This will begin to make your home feel warm and inviting but you will want to continue to draw the focus away from the garage and to the entrance of your home by selecting a beautiful color for the front door.
You can also draw attention to you entry with lighting, colorful plants and flowers, or an interesting bench or other tasteful element near the door.
Resources:
- Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.
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About two months ago I started following along as Newell Turner, Style Director of House Beautiful magazine blogs about the renovation of his farmhouse in Upstate New York.
Newell selected the colors some time ago but I hadn’t gone back and read many of his older posts until now which is why I am just now taking a closer look as his color palette.
Here’s what he selected (more…)
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Once again for Fall 2008 Pottery Barn has partnered with Benjamin Moore to create a palette that perfectly complements their line of furniture and home accessories.
Note the number of blues in this seasons collection. The popularity of this color continues as we make our way into fall.
More color at Pottery Barn
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Many are the clients whose biggest challenge is selecting paint colors for their wooden houses when they are “stuck” with partial brick or stone façades. In my experience, this can actually be a plus.
You see, replacing stone or brick is expensive. However, using these fixed features as your color inspiration, or seeing them as part of your overall color scheme, can help narrow down your color choices.
For example, if the majority of your house is shingle and/or clapboard and the entry area is brick, start by identifying
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11th Feb. '08
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Design & Decorating Resources
, Living Spaces
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Tags: blue, color-schemes, cream, full-spectrum-paint, green, interior, neutrals, orange, paint, purple, red, yellow
Authored by Ellen Kennon
The designers, architects and color consultants who have given me such support and inspiration over the years have inspired me to put together my new Full Spectrum “Designer’s Palette”.















I created these new colors with some of the countries most talented designers, architects and color consultants. The Designer’s Palette includes (more…)
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