Name: Abbe
Location: Mattoon, IL
Why I use color:
"I use color to trigger memories of the people, experiences and things that make or have made my life rich – the red and yellow my father loved, the green comforter on the first bed I shared with my husband, the large amethyst my grandmother wore on her perfectly manicured finger, the orange and pink flowers in the swingy pants I always got compliments on when I wore them out at night as an undergrad. I also use color for cohesion, to tie together the disparate items in my home."
Color Tips:
"1. Collect objects and furniture that you love, regardless of whether they’re from the same period or of the same monetary value, then tie them together will color.
2. Use color to better know yourself. Check out the Luscher Color Test for entertainment (and maybe some truth?).
3. Don’t rush to choose color or fill your space with color, or you could end up looking to “catalogue matchy, matchy.”"
Color Resources:
"1. Catalogs – You choose which one, depending on your personal style. (In an effort to simplify, I have stopped getting many of them, but the most recent that comes to mind is Anthropologie.) They use color to persuade us to buy, so they often use color effectively.
2. www.storypeople.com - Brian’s work and use of color always engages me."
Color as memory trigger--what a nice approach.
I just keep going back to this room and smiling. The large blocks of seemingly unrelated solid colors on the walls and curtains are actually an authentic 1920s Colonial Revival look -- it works so well because the colors are picked up in the furnishings.
OMG I love it. Delicate, yet strong. Very personal.
This is gorgeous! And I love the concept.
I really like your room!!! I feel like I could just plop down and read for the afternoon there (I say as I sit under flourescent lights in my office...)
Gorgeous - looks like the home has been carefully collected over time - which truly reflects the owner(s). Very inviting...I love color also!
Beautiful. There is color everywhere but it is not overwhelming. Everything just works!
What color blue is on your walls? I love it.
Christine, we do spend a lot of time reading in this room when we're not playing with our two children in it. The large wicket baskets are full of toys and the couch and chair cushions are usually put together into some kind of fort with blankets! :) Suzanne, the color is "Hot Springs," a Martha Stewart color from Sherwin Williams made with the no VOC "Harmony" paint. Thanks for the compliments all. My husband and I agreed that the pictures didn't really do the room justice, though maybe that thought is more a reflection of what's inside us and what we have done in the room. We are at a very happy time in our lives... Still, it's time for a new digital camera with better lighting control and higher definition!
Very pleasing colors.
My favorite so far! Finally, an entry that is NOT primarily obsessed with a single color. A beautiful room - well done!
I think this one's my favorite also.
Wonderful, wonderful blue! Well done!
I love this room. What color of blue is on the wall?
I love this!
It's... it's... it's not orange.
I really like this. It doesn't feel "designed" or themed, but it does feel selective, in a sort of Japanese minimalist way. (That is, the concept, not the style. It gives me the feeling that you've discarded a lot of things and ideas and kept the very best and most apt for this area.) The lack of clutter makes the mixture of many colors work. There is "stuff" in this room, but it all looks like it has a reason for being there, like it belongs and shouldn't be removed.
('cept maybe that small wooden chair by the fireplace. In-laws gave us something similar lately, and it's sitting at Fiance's house waiting to be repainted.)