Skip to main content

Colour Challenge

There are times when too much colour co-ordination is too much of a good thing. Over the years I grew tired of seeing lovely colour combinations and knowing that there was no way I could introduce them into my home without it becoming a mix-up. When it was time to change our bathroom and kitchen recently, it was my cue to put my plan for a home with a neutral base into action, ready for all the colour I could bring in to liven it all up. Well, that was the idea we signed up to. Now we have less of a neutral base and more of a blank canvas. We have left pale blue and yellow bedrooms (they were pretty at the time) and honey pine furniture behind to get to this:




 
Yes, now after coat after coat of primer and paint we are all white - even the furniture (for I couldn't decide what neutral shade would work out best) with natural oak flooring. I love it. It is very calming. It is clearly also missing something.

There are spots of colour here and there. Depending on how you look at it, my Shetland Shade Card blanket can be enough colour at times. We have an oil painting we bought from a street artist in Sorrento because it captured the amazing view of the harbours and dramatic coastline. Mum was given the embroidered cushion by our Ukrainian neighbour almost 30 years ago when we lived in England. She carried the patterns in her head and worked from the picture she had in her mind. The colours are so full of energy and vivid:



I have a newly designated creative place (it used to be our 'work at home' office space). I am not sure what it says about my current creative energy:





Despite this I struggle to choose colour properly. In my mind's eye I think I know how I would like the rooms to look, but despite that I shy away from adding in colour in case I get it wrong.  I know I am at risk of overthinking and should just get on with it, so I have sought literary advice. Hopefully I will be informed and motivated by these super books - all very different but equally inspiring. I will post what I learn and how I put it into practice as I try to be less colour challenged!



Do you have any advice? What has worked for you? Should I embrace the neutral or step out into the colour?

Have a lovely Easter!

Comments

Beata said…
Hi Pauline,
just found you through byw.
I understand what you are going through. When we moved here and I had to decide about colours I picked 2 and started to decorate with those. (lime and brown) When I was ready I looked around and didn't like it. But it took me a few years to get brave and change it. I think what you could do, have a look at those beautiful books, pinterest, blogs, etc, and find some photos you like. And try to imagine those colours in the photos, how they would look in your home. : )
Beata x
Thanks for featuring my blog on Blog Boss. I hope you liked Holly's course.
Have a lovely weekend!
Ingrid

Popular posts from this blog

My Mathilde blouse

For a while now I have been thinking about taking up sewing again. I say again as I loved GCSE Textiles which I chose over Home Economics. I think over the years our home economy has benefited more from what I knew about fabric than what I might have known about food, but that's for another day. I had a fantastic teacher. Mrs Plummer was a designer and an artist and motivated us all to do our best and to develop an understanding and love for fabric, for cutting it up and sewing it all back together. As a result, there were several years when at least one item of clothing I wore every day was handmade. Believe it or not we still exchange Christmas cards and she sends me photos of her latest artwork. I love hearing about what she has been doing - it's 24 years since I was in her class! In the years since, I have sewn less and less clothing and more and more curtains and then, when there are only so many curtains you can hang, my trusty machine was retired for a while. Recentl

Is there such a thing as 'Investment Knitting'?

Following my knitting revival came a succession of plans and lists of items that were to be produced - some sooner than others. One of the first Rowan patterns I completed was 'Lisette' by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan 36. Boy, was I a proud girl when this was finished! It was my first experience of knitting with a Rowan yarn, and nothing has yet shifted 4-ply Soft from the top of my list of the best yarns for drape and finish. It has virtually no 'bloom', washes brilliantly and wears as new. The colour is aptly called 'Beetroot' and is a bit darker than the picture below. The pattern was straightforward to knit, and as a result I think I will forever be partial to a Kim Hargreaves pattern. The edging was knitted separately and sewn on, which was a challenge for me as I am not too confident of my hand sewing skills when it comes to knitted fabric! I have learnt many things since I knitted this a couple of years ago. One of them is never to carry 'live' stitc

All's well that casts off (with enough yarn)

This wasn't a good time of year to start blogging, I think. I have a growing pile of assignments to mark and lots of preparation for summer teaching to get underway (no long break for us nursing lecturers, unfortunately!). Yet I still want to knit and talk about knitting in preference to working. I need some discipline. I have just finished knitting Birch from Rowan 34. It started when I needed to buy an extra ball of Kidsilk Night to cast off about 100 stitches of the Froth scarf that was the free gift pattern from Rowan a few months ago. I was knitting it a second time for a gift. I was left with almost a full ball and thought it would be a good idea to buy 2 more and cast on for Birch (which I had always fancied knitting). After getting one third of the way through the shawl I had only one ball left: So off I went to buy another ball of yarn to complete the last few pattern repeats. Now I have about 3/4 of a ball left. Am I the only one who would find that frustrating? After all