Do you like soft, muted colours? If you do, you’re bound to like this week’s colour schemes, all inspired by a picture of rhododendron flowers.
Nature is a bold artist, and combines deep, vibrant colours in a wonderful way. However, it’s one thing to love bright colours in a flower, and quite another to see the same hues painted on the walls of a room, especially a small one…
Personal taste varies, of course, but in general I prefer using rich, saturated colours as accents. A sofa in bright pure red, for example, might look stunning against a white or grey background, but imagine a whole room decorated in the same hue…I don’t know about you, but to me that’s a recipe for a sure headache…
Muted colours, on the other hand, give a relaxed, elegant mood to any interior and are generally very easy to live with.
Have a look at the same picture, and see how decreasing the colour saturation (i.e. toning down the colours) creates a soft, sophisticated look.
Using paint chips from the Farrow and Ball range, I created 6 colour schemes for you, taking inspiration from the desaturated photo:
All these colour schemes are elegant and relaxed; the first two use two shades of green and a very pale lavender to create a natural, fresh palette.
The third and fourth colour schemes are dreamy and feminine; the fifth creates a rustic, country mood while the last one is more earthy, with a vintage feel.
If you’d like me to create a particular colour scheme for your house or room, just leave a comment and let me know. Happy Weekend!
I love hearing from you, so please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts about this post, and if you like the post share the link with others. To receive your free updates and make sure you don’t miss any post, subscribe to Positively Beauty here.
You’ll also receive a free copy of my e-book “Sweet Delights – 21 recipes for mouthwatering handmade gifts”. Thank you!
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 16 comments }
Very pretty! Since you offered, I am looking for a new duvet or quilt for my bedroom. The walls are a soft sage-y gray green, carpet is light tan, and this is the main piece of wall art: http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/8/888/C4VJ000Z/posters/wood-michael-f-far-away.jpg It’s a small personal bedroom, and I am drawn to blues and greens. Thoughts or suggestions? I’m willing to do lighter colors for the quilt, but I do have a dark gray cat!
Jennifer recently posted..How to sabotage your cause
Ah, the beauty of cat’s hair! I have two cats, one is a grey & white tabby and the other a dark brown & black tabby – so I have a nice range of shades for the hair that sticks to my furniture and clothes
It’s hard to visualise a room without photos, but let’s say that:
- a dark colour would give a dramatic look – think indigo, dark grey-blue, dark grey-green, or purple.
- a light colour would make the room airy and luminous – you could go for a silvery grey, light blue-grey, lavender (very feminine) or sage green, and then add a few cushions in darker shades, or even in off-whites with a warm undertone (yellow or red) to warm up the scheme.
- you could also choose an aqua shade, if you want to achieve a beach mood.
Hope this helps!
I love how many different “looks” you created all inspired by one nature photo. I am definitely going to try something like this the next time we have to re-do a room.
Mama Kelly aka Jia recently posted..Aloo Matar – Indian Curried Potatoes and Peas
Great Jia, I’m happy to hear that you find this helpful
Cristina,
I love the combination of green and purple. In the house I sold recently I had a soft pale green on the walls of my bedroom and pale purple accents on the bedspread and pillows. It was my favorite room in the house!
Angela Artemis recently posted..The Miracle That is Sahaja Yoga Meditation
I love green and purple too, and not just in the house: most of my clothes & accessories are either purple, green or blue
Cristina, when you come up with a palette like this how do you proportion the use of the three colors, in a room, for example?
Alison Kerr | Loving Nature’s Garden recently posted..A simple guide to strawberry planters
Great question Alison – I usually stick to the 60-30-10 rule, because as much as I hate rules, this one works
Basically, you use one colour for 60% of the room, one for 30%, and one for 10% (your accents).
So for example you could have 3 walls in one colour, a feature wall (or a wainscot panelling, or your doors…) in the second colour, and then use the third for accents (trimmings, small alcoves or shelving niches…).
Hope this helps
Thanks Cristina, that’s the information I was wanting
Alison Kerr | Loving Nature’s Garden recently posted..How to mulch every area of your garden- and why
Great Alison, you’re welcome.
Thanks for your post. those colour schemes are very good choices. I’d also like to thank the others for their comments.
Naomi – Vacances Thalasso recently posted..Madere Quinta das Vistas 5
Thanks Naomi
What a great lesson! Helpful as I think about what I want my new header to look like, too. Thank you!
Patti Foy | Lightspirited Being recently posted..Are You Mistaken About What Channeling Is
You’re welcome Patti! Drop me an email if you’d like some advice on the header
Love your website and have just made your lovely shortbread. You might be just the person to help me in my search for the perfect oystery beigey “dirty” pink colour for my new bedroom. I’d love to hear your thoughts. How clever are you at putting together colour schemes!
Chris, all my paint chips are packed in boxes and I won’t get them back for a few weeks…I’m sooo busy with the move right now, so I’m afraid I’ll have to get back to you on that…sorry! I hope you can wait some more time.