You know, the one that says if you use a colour once in your room, you should use it at least three times?
Do any of you do this? And how?
And then there's this: I've been reading a stack of decorating books lately and there's this concept called "flow." Basically it's taking this "rule of three" and applying it to every room--so if the living room is brown (BM decatur buff, let's say ;) and the dining room oh, let's pick BM raspeberry truffle, (a gorgeous red) and the kitchen (a Martha Stewart palette of green and yellow, for example) --how on EARTH do you introduce these other colours into each room?
For example, the living room "needs" shots of yellow and red.
The dining room "needs" dollops of brown and yellow
and the kitchen "needs" brown and red. (blech). (And a different yellow).
I'm beginning to understand why professional's advise us to "stick with neutrals"--I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it, lol!
And suggestions? The only thing that is permanent and can't be painted is my couch. (a green that just blends into the walls of the decatur buff which is why I picked it, lol!)
Thanks!
Thoughts?
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sounds like you have been on a mission and are ready to pull out the machine and go. Your place will look very different with new curtains and the other things you got.
I've had some LR and DR curtains ready to sew for months but just haven't done them yet. I have to make them longer and even though it's easy they still sit waiting to go.
I've been shopping!
I got a "champagne" coloured throw for the couch (in the brown room, not exactly what I wanted but for $20!! what do I want anyway??)
Two red boxes from Ikea. They're gorgeous. I've got them on the (still) white shelves in the living room and they look good.
I'm going to sew my darn curtain panels up soon. They are in a goldy/green, a checked gold/yellow (almost orange) and cream.....need a coordinating fabric to sew along the bottom of each....
AND I bought a pair of absolutely beautiful mirrored candle wall sconces. They were supposed to go in the living room but look smashing in the hallway. The mirror is framed in a dull green/bronze and they were just meant to be in the hallway----I will take a pic for sure 'cause they need something in between them! (and now I REALLY need that hall table, lol!)
Other than the fabric for the curtains--and maybe a couple more pillows--I think I'll slow down on the buying frenzy!
Though there are two big ticket items I NEED for the living room: a small scale reading chair and a working fireplace! (and a mantle and surround, lol!)
I don't know what Edmonton has, but here that pretty much desimates the fabric store options and leaves only Fabricland (which isn't quite the same in quality) and a few higher end independents. That's not a lot of selection anymore with those huge stores gone. Bummer.
I think it's all gone by now.....but you could always phone! The saleslady I spoke with said the last one to close in Edmonton will be the one in WEM.
Is that right? Are they still open? Are they having a sale?
I don't get the paper so haven't heard anything about this but would be over there in a shot if they were clearing things out so do tell please.
She's the one with the same colour in her living room (or something) too, isn't she?
I have serious budget constraints, unfortunately. This morning I toured Winners, Pier One, Stokes, Micheals, Urban barn, Bombay Co (just for fun. They had a gorgeous red porcelin based lamp on their site for sale for $67.00 but not in the store I went to) --all in 1 1/2 hours. I was in Superstore yesterday......Fanny's is going into receivership......
(I can sew a straight seam, so taking large napkins and making them into pillows and such is OK for me, lol!) I may wind up finding some canvas and painting it, lol! Doubt it, though. My project list is backed up......
Has anyone seen anything like the throw or pillows I've described?
i hate this new format! i didn't see your more recent post before posting my last reply. i think you're headed down the right path. it sucks when your local retailers don't want to cooperate! lol!
where have you looked for your stuff? have you considered having some pillows made? a trip to calgary? damn, i wish dreamer were back...she could maybe point you in the right direction...she knows all the great haunts in edmonton.
before painting out major pieces, have you thought about introducing accessories and fabrics to create some flow between your rooms? throw pillows that have subtle bits of the colors of your adjacent/adjoining rooms. or artwork, rugs or vases, etc. i'm worried that if you paint too many major pieces of furniture in the opposing colors, that your eye will just stop at those pieces. this will break up the flow and also make your space seem smaller.
whaddya think? :rolleyes:
I love the look of browns and blues--and I tried to work it in. Teal would be an ideal "accent" colour--enough green to blend with the brown--blue for the red....but I find it's just not working for me: I think it's because I'd have to throw out all my schtuff--my place is just too cluttered, lol!
But I can now envision red, brown and a soft goldy yellow stripe on cream for cushions....and a soft goldy yellow and cream large check chenille throw for the couch.....and this is my usual problem: I can "see" the perfect thing in my head and can't find it anywhere!
I have pics of the dining room--but not the living room yet. I went shopping for yellow/gold straw baskets for my shelving and couldn't find a thing! Seriously. Are baskets on their way out?
You can see a pic of my fireplace "wall" under the subject heading "Photographing interiors" (It is definitely a "before" pic, lol!)
That is a much prettier colour than what teal makes me think of!!
Lovely on a front door!
Hmmm
Would F&B Black Blue qualify?
Lore
To have a lot less camel and a smattering of teal and persimmon throughout!
Lore - TEAL - grayed.. imagine a darker version of Steamship White.. Think Grayed peacock.. very muted. Lake Ontario on a cloudy day comes to mind. Definitely not Moroccan or Bridesmaid...
Your F&B Wallpaper I recall is teal.
I took some of the kitchen this morning. I'll have them developed soon!
The dining and living room maybe in a couple of days.
But what colours do you have repeating in your home newbie girl?
I love color...any chance we could see some pics..I have a hard time envisioning things without a reference.
good one....i have not used the same color in three rooms, however unless an L shaped living and dining count, this time we did paint the living, dining and hall the same color and kitchen in different which i think ties in....for me whats more important is, if i was to use different colors they would have to compliment one another or the hallway for example the lighter shade then the living room on that same paint swatch...i guess im not daring lol
smiles
janetc
The pinky or bluish undertones in RT don't mesh with the green undertones to the decatur buff/ or shall we just say it, baby poop brown! I like your idea of keeping the introductions "subtle" as in metals and so on.....
Gives me hope!
I have an old white "army" type trunk currently serving as an (undersized) coffee table (it's about 10" too short) that needs a fresh coat of paint. It is in the brown room. Should I paint it red? Or would it steal the show?
I also have melamine bookcases flanking the wall of the (dead) fireplace. I was thinking of simply painting them in melamine cloud white--but perhaps a yellow would be better? (or whatever colour I go for in the kitchen?)
You can see the dining room from the living room and vice versa. They are separated by a naroow hallway painted 1/2 strength Timothy Straw--a yellow green. Lovely colour, now that I'm used to it! The kitchen is behind the dining room--through a door in the corner--not much visual overlap.
I'm going to start another thread and ask about colours for my kitchen......
Thanks. All ideas welcome!
for the great info, red!! very informative.
I've love some clarification on the teal idea. I think I've been thinking the wrong colour (a morroccan blue).
Is the teal you have been suggesting for exterior doors, for example - dark, rich close to black, but clearly deep blue? Is that how you would describe it?
Lore
is based on the Golden Mean... Golden Triangle it is also called. I am always teased for my preference for odd numbers and asymetrical groupings.. they just feeeeel better!
As for using it with a colour scheme - on the main floor of your house, if you are using three colours you want to vary the ratio of your three colours. So for example if you have a pinky red such as RT and your colours in another room are yellow and green then you could use these as accents in the RT room. The yellow could be a yellow metal such as gold or brass. Hopefully it would be antiqued as shiney gold would look a little garish in an RT room. Then you could use RT as an accent in the Yellow and Green room. It could be as simple as say using Red Mahogany stained wood.. or it could be in a floral - very subtle.
And for the record - this designer NEVER says that decorating with neutrals is easier or the way to go. There is WAYYYYYYY too much beige in the world! Some carefully disguise it as CAMEL... ehhmmmm Newbie? LOL!
Neutrals and monochromatic colour schemes are actually harder to work with in a design as the colours have to be a dead match or they can start to look dirty or bleck... Texture is incredibly important in this type of design. Neutrals often have significant undertones that are also manipulated by the direction of the light in the room - so you can end up making a mistake much easier.. ie; pink taupe in a western exposure = pepto bismal/bubble gum before you know it.
Complimentary Colour Schemes are the easiet to create - red/green blue/orange (also known as PERSIMMON & TEAL!) purple/yellow. Now these are primary and secondary.. the tertiary are much more interesting!
That would be so hard to accomplish, I would think. I guess neutrals are the best bet and just to accessorize and accent with color maybe? I am definitely painting my dining room some sort of dramatic red because I have always wanted that. I love darker warm colors too.
What is the rooms are seperate, for instance, you cannot see the dining room from the livingroom. Do you still have to pull in colors if you would not be able to see the color of the dining room? Seem like a lot of work. :)