Monday, July 30, 2018

Color Coincidences

I guess I probably knew this, but maybe not on a front-and-center awareness-type level, and recently I've seen a couple of great examples of it, so of course I had to share it with you.  I think I can safely say that we tend to surround ourselves with what we love, color-wise, even if it's not always intentional.  But while I do branch out, I find that most things I buy fall into a certain color palette.  Given the choice, I end up with a lot of blue and green items, although I love other colors and have pops of them throughout my house.  This was brought home to me recently, when the first of our two new couches arrived and I took a picture to send to some friends:
This room is still a work in progress, which is why I haven't shown it in a renovation reveal yet.

The new couch is a navy blue, and when we brought it in, I realized that the throw pillows that I purchased about three years ago looked great with the couch.  And after I took the picture, I saw the Fiestaware canisters in the background, on the kitchen counter - I've had these for a couple of years now.  They are in the same shades of blue and green that are in the throw pillows, which I never noticed before.  I had to laugh, because the house decor is coming together like I planned it, which I didn't.  But I guess if you buy what you like, it all ends up working.

Another instance of this was when I was helping Sam with his move.  His house has a nice screened patio, but he didn't have any patio furniture.  Because we wanted to sit out there and enjoy it, Jeff and I made him pick out a couple of plastic Adirondack chairs at Home Depot one day.  And about a week later, Sam found a nice side table for a steal at Crate and Barrel, so he bought it.  Later on, we were working outside and would take water breaks on the patio, so I brought out a pitcher of ice water and some plastic glasses, and once again, the colors all came together even though it wasn't intentional:
Blues and whites - it's like we meant to do this!

The only time I try to make colors go together is when I'm buying clothes; this house stuff was interesting to me mostly because I wasn't trying to make it happen.  I tend to be more of an "oooh, that's pretty" shopper than someone with a plan, but apparently it works in the end.

I sure miss that screened patio - it was so nice to be able to sit outside and not be attacked by mosquitoes and other insects.  Plus, the weather was cool in the mornings and evenings, so I made a point to spend time out there every chance I got as I knew I'd be coming home to the stupid hot Texas summer.  This was my view:
Ahhhhh.  Tall trees.  Blue skies.  It was so nice.

So now I'm curious - do you plan your color schemes with your home decor, or does it just magically fall into place?  Let me know in the comments, and tell me what your predominant colors are.

22 comments:

  1. Oh no I definitely plan it! There are certain colors that I would like to have but I have to take my dog into consideration. For example, I love your navy blue couch but that would never fly at my house cus I have a yellow dog that sheds. I know that she will be on the couch at some point so we bought a cream colored one for that reason...haha

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    1. It's funny, we were looking to get a lighter gray couch because of Paco's fur, but when we brought fabric samples home, they looked washed out with our flooring and wall color, so I just decided that I'd be vacuuming the darker couches more often...oh well.

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  2. Oooh I love the new couch! And those colored Adirondack chairs are fun too! I've seen them at specialty garden shops (read: expensive) but didn't realize Home Depot had them too! We have a little back patio now so I've been waiting for summer stuff to go on clearance to get some furniture :)

    When I was first living on my own, I was obsessed with the idea of a red kitchen, largely because my ex-roommate left me these cute red curtains from Ikea. I still have some red serving dishes and textiles, but have added more colors in. That's the only time I was ever really intentional with decor. Otherwise, like you said, things seem to fall into place if you buy what you want, especially when I started mixing my tastes with Terry's.

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    1. Those chairs are under $20 at the big box stores! We found a couch that Sam liked for his patio but it was "on clearance" for $398, which wasn't much of a clearance from the original $450 price tag, so he didn't get it. I wonder if it'll still be around and get marked down even more soon...patio furniture is really expensive (for something that is going to get weather-beaten).

      I think a red kitchen is so fun, but I couldn't resist the siren song of Fiestaware in ALL THE COLORS so my dishes are a rainbow.

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  3. I always seem to go with shades of blue and grey, or if I do what Mr. Helen likes it's browns and beiges. And it literally can be any shade in those colors. We have a living room and a family room so one is done in blue/grey and the other in brown/beige neutrals.

    I love your navy - and that's what I have in my bedroom. Honestly though, I've often wondered if I were alone if I might not accessorize with some hot pink, which is probably my favorite color and I think would look really good with my grey sofas.

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    1. I could not do browns and beiges. I need more color! That's good of you to give Mr. Helen one room in his color preferences. I do love shades of gray (see my walls for evidence, LOL) and so many colors play off of it nicely. I have a tiny bit of pink accents in my laundry room and it's really pretty.

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  4. I love how your things are just naturally coming together.

    I'm having fun putting our new home together. I started out with a plan and so far it's working. A lot of red is showing up even though I didn't realize that I liked it so much.

    Photos of the house coming as soon as I get a few more things together. In the mean time.... I'm loving the deck.

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    1. See, that's interesting - you have a plan and yet you're noticing a certain color that keeps showing up! Love it; can't wait to see your new house pictures!

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  5. My favorite color is red, but in my house, I seem to go with yellows and greens. I do have red accents, so there's that...

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    1. Interesting - I'd love to see some pictures of the yellows and greens together. I am using yellow a lot in one of the hall bathrooms, but it's coupled with, you guessed it, blue.

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  6. I have no plan and things do not come together naturally for me. I am so bad at decorating - I just never know what to buy or what I should buy or what color scheme I like...it gets overwhelming so I do nothing. :/

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    1. If it makes you feel any better, I was REALLY flummoxed by choosing an area rug for the living room. Jeff pointed out that when we watch Fixer Upper, even Joanna will bring tons of items for decorating and then change her mind when it doesn't look right, so that made me feel better about not having to get it right the first time. I bet if you just started with something that you really liked, you would feel more comfortable with decorating.

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    2. That's a good idea...maybe I'll start with some throw pillows!

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  7. Blue used to be my favorite color and I still like it, but pink is my favorite color now. I do have some pinkish chairs in my living room. When I re-do it, I'm pretty sure it'll still be pink! I love your new couch, and I really love the coffee table and side table!!

    Just noticed Paco eyeing the couch. He's saying "she put dose pillows up dere just for me :)"

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    1. I remember when you did your bathroom in shades of pink and it turned out so pretty! The new couch(es) are really nice and I can't wait to get the rest of the room pulled together so I can post more pictures. :)

      You are so right about Paco's thoughts, and I was looking for more throw pillows last week - found a couple, but they were a little pricey and I thought, nope, I would be so mad when I saw Paco scrunching them up with his paws to make the perfect spot to lay on. Ahh, pets.

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  8. Not much of a plan - neutrals with pops of purple. Ooo, I love that screened in porch. Paco!!!!!!

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    1. Ahhh, purple. I love it. For several years the wall where our fireplace is was painted deep purple and it was so pretty - really made that huge fork painting pop.

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  9. I think I'd have more coordinated color palettes if I were a more patient shopper and had a bit bigger budget. Too often I want something RIGHT NOW, and will get whatever is on sale and just make it work. Luckily for me, DH is a bit color blind, so he doesn't really notice or care. The only exception is my main bathroom. For some reason, maybe because it's a smaller space, I enjoy coordinating colors in there. It was pink with white and brown accents for a number of years (like those Brach's Neapolitan coconut candies, yum!), then brown with white, and now it's a light teal with darker teal and champagne accents. I love seeing how your colors match up even though the pieces were purchased randomly and years apart - you do have a good eye!

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    1. OOH, teal with champagne accents sounds so pretty! And I can get behind that Neapolitan theme, too. :)

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  10. I have found that I buy a fresh org or something because the ‘color is awesome’ only to get hone and find that I already have one (or more) in the same color in my drawer!!!! I buy what I like and it works!!!

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  11. Like you said, if you buy what you like then it falls into place. My style is fairly eclectic and I like color pops. So, you will find those all over the house. When we were working on our house, the paint colors were the hardest thing as that kind is where I base my decor from.

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  12. Ooo, that screened in porch sounds fab!!!

    You are so good with color! I am not surprised it falls in to place with you. Our old decor was earth tones which I am so over, and we want to go more modern, but we still have so much warm stuff, it will be years before we can (afford it all and redo some stained floors etc.)!

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