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{Foundational Color Scheme} Inspired By Blue

by | Oct 11, 2012 | Color, Decorating Inspiration, Fall Nesting Series 2012

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{Foundational Color Scheme} Inspired By Blue

1. Turquoise Dragon Pot 2. Pillow 3. Hickory Stick Candles 4. KitchenAid Mixer

5. Splashed Glazed Barrel Canister 6. Dash and Albert Rug 7. The Kitchn

I have been feeling a little blue around my house lately.

Or, maybe even feeling a lot blue.

Oh, no, I’m not depressed, don’t worry. I’m fine! I mean blue as in, the color blue!

Remember how my house and furniture talks to me and tells me what color it wants to be {Crazy lady alert!}?

Well, this house wanted to be filled with shades of blue, like the varieties of blue in the blue inspiration board above. In fact, creating Pinterest boards or other types of inspiration boards can really help you discover what color palettes really inspire you.

Now, you might wonder why a cozy Fall loving girl like me is now living in a house with shades of blue and even grays.

Good question.

I’m finding that when warmed up by the grain in my wood floors and balanced by all the other textures and variations of color and patterns in my home, the blues surprisingly don’t feel cold and the grays don’t feel depressing at all to me. The layers bring all the warmth I need to feel relaxed and peaceful and cozy … like I’m snug as a bug in a rug of a beach house on the NW coast.

Once I figured out what my foundational color scheme would be and got it firmly established through my paint colors or other key elements around my home (more details on my exact paint colors in upcoming posts!), decorating has become much more enjoyable! No more agonizing over too many options for colors and accessories or styles. Less mistakes in purchasing things that just aren’t right for this house.

Now if something new goes with the foundational color scheme I’ve established, it gets a green light to stay. If it fights or distracts from the house’s vibe as a whole, off it goes! I’m using a variety of colors as accents, which is fun for someone like me who loves many colors, but the foundational shades of blue and gray are like the glue that holds my palette together!

It may not be rocket science, but establishing a foundational color scheme has really helped me make progress in decorating my home!

I’ll show you some of the newest blue additions to my home in the next post, as Fall Nesting month continues!

Do you have a good foundational color palette established in your home?
What colors are inspiring you right now? 

I’m a writer for My Colortopia, which is part of Glidden. Right now you can join in the fun of being inspired by color through the Glidden #MyColorfulLife Project. You can upload colorful photos that inspire you to the project Facebook page or tag your photos on Pinterest with the hashtag #mycolorfullife, and Glidden will compile the images into a large mosaic. You can find out more about the Glidden #MyColorfulLife Project at Glidden.com and watch a video on YouTube!

I have partnered with Glidden/ Akzo Nobel Paints to participate in the My Colortopia program but as always, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

25 Comments

  1. Kelly - Talk of the House

    I love your blue..in fact I was thinking how good your blue door looked even for fall! Foundation color…hmmm…everything here works off of a khaki background. I can use red as a major color in many rooms and yellow in others. I did branch into green with it in the playroom. Thinking about orange though lately (of course with all the fall things out.)

    Reply
  2. Alison

    You can never go wrong with blue : )

    Reply
  3. Leslie Stewart

    Love your blue inspirations! Love the Peacock pillow and the blue cabinets in the kitchen. Thx for sharing!
    Leslie

    Reply
  4. Jenny BC

    Oh, the BLUE! Love it. I find myself wanting a more neutral color pallette throughout the house. What I find though is that it makes the pretty things (like the blue!) in a room pop. I can see them and enjoy them more and yet the overall effect is less visually cluttered and pleasing to my eye. Love the idea of looking at your foundation colors. For years, I used lots of color in the house. While it all came together throughout the house with fabrics, I am in a season of wanting a little calmer space. Great post!

    Reply
  5. Suzi Dia (The Pillow Studio)

    Yes, I am always blue too! (I am a Pisces afterall.) And, I also just popped in some orange ikat pillows to warm it up for the fall. I love it!

    Reply
  6. Donnamae

    Yeah, I’m a blue person too! And, when paired with lots of natural wood, is like you said, very warm! It’s so easy to pair so many different colored accessories with blue. And the different shades within blue, seem to be endless! Can you tell I’m a fan? ;)

    Reply
  7. Janet

    I love blue decor when I see it. I don’t decorate my own home with it, as I grew up in a blue home, I have a “blue home” Pinterest board that I live vicariously through. . My current decor is orange and red, which must be kept to a minimum or it doesn’t work.

    Reply
    • Kate Davis

      Love them all! For me, my favorite color it’s purple and I use it in a lot of items in my house, but as you said we can’t abuse or it doesn’t work the way we want.
      Kate
      http://bocadolobo.com

      Reply
  8. Linda

    I love blue and it show up a lot in my home. I have a page ripped out from BHG magazine with a couple blues on it that I love and someday want to use. One I would like to use in my husband’s home office is SW6214 Underseas and it reminds me of the blue in that peacock pillow.

    Reply
  9. Mary Alice Patterson

    Blue has always been a foundational color in my home everywhere we’ve lived. I never tire of it, and I find that everything looks good with blue. Love it!
    Mary Alice

    Reply
  10. Cheryl Thornton

    Melissa…I love the blues – I am in the process of painting my living room/dining room in CIL Canadian Sky (blue grey) and CIL Smoke turquoise in the kitchen…I use blue, brown and green throughout my whole house, that way things can be moved from one room to another easily…I am getting rid of my carpeting and putting in a warm wood tone floor called autumn oak and I have started my own blog thecreativemeandmymcg.blogspot.ca – I would love it if you checked it out!

    Reply
  11. Lisa K

    I’m also loving the new shades of blues, grays & greens! I just painted my family room BM Greyhound. It looks great with our medium wood toned furniture & white wood work & fireplace. The room now feels so cozy & relaxing; we love it!

    Reply
  12. Sallie

    Our house’s color scheme is basically green and brown (because we’ve got several trees–and we love trees) with blue (because we’re on a lake). The blue is mostly in the kitchen, which has a view of the lake, and the brown/green is mostly upstairs (in the tree tops). Our house prefers to blend in with its surroundings. It’s kinda shy that way.

    Reply
  13. Diane

    I’m so glad you explained how you arrived at all the gray and blue. It makes so much sense…and explains why your photos exude a feeling of peace Maybe there was a blessing the long wait. I love how everything is coming together so beautifully.
    To answer your question….I do have a bit of a foundational theme for my main rooms. But, I got a little wild when it came to my studio. And my kitchen has wallpaper and I’m guessing that it was put up like the border in the hallway which required countless hours of scraping. So…I am choosing to live with it…not liking it…but making the best of it. :D

    Reply
  14. Danette Dillon

    I have to agree with you. It is so important to find the foundational color scheme. Personally, I don’t have a favorite color, but I have a favorite color scheme or range. Oh, and I love the blue pillow. I think I may have to buy that.

    Reply
  15. Joanne B.

    Can’t wait to see your list of favorite blue paints! My home has alot of neutrals- khaki, creams, green, black- alot of warmth for south Florida and recently I have been thinking about paint my foyer a shade of gray blue as an accent. I SO think blue could be considered a neutral too- think the sky!- and work nicely with the khaki-ish colors. The perfect color would pick up a pale blue gray in the print on the fabric sofa in my adjoining living room and I think add some coolness to the whole Florida thing would be nice. Love all the gray tones out there that are popular now. BUT I am “scared”! I know it’s only paint, but I want the perfect shade and I am lost as to what that is, exactly! How can I get up the courage to ‘just do it’? I welcome your inspiration.

    Reply
  16. Christie

    The wood floors add such a natural element and give such a good balance to blue, like the earth is the ground to the sky. ;) I think anything looks good with wood floors!

    Reply
  17. the farmer's wife

    That peacock pillow is the perfect inspiration I’ve been looking for for my bedroom. I would like that pillow and then paint my bedroom either the base color from the pillow or the peacock’s body color…. Thanks for this post!

    Reply
  18. JoAnne

    I have loved blue for a very long time although the shades of blue that I am most drawn towards have changed over time (remember the country blue of the 80’s – yikes)! I am really loving it with shades of cream, brown and a little sage green these days. Can’t wait to see more of the blue you have chosen for your wonderful home, Melissa!

    Reply
  19. Elizabeth

    I am a blues girl too. Blues have always made me happy even when I just catch a glimpse of it. Lots of neutrals in our home but always blues (and with 3 guys they never complain about blue.)

    Reply
  20. Maria

    I just love blue when used in decorating. :-) There’s something so serene about walking into a room full of blue accents that makes me smile.

    Reply
  21. Susan

    Blue used to say country-style, but no more…blue has become a classy foundation for other colors. In fact, I have that Dash & Albert rug…it’s a small size, just under my coffee table but it breaks up the wood and looks charming.

    Reply
  22. Richella at Imparting Grace

    No doubt that blue is a huge inspiration for me, as evidenced by my French blue dining room. I find myself this fall adding touches of aqua more and more places, too. And of course I’ll always love blue and white porcelain. Now, grey? I’m not so much of a grey person when it comes to interior design, although I know it’s hugely popular. But I’ll go for blue all day long. :)

    Reply
  23. Caoimhe

    I’ve just decorated my bedroom with dove grey printed wallpaper & painted the fireplace in a dark chalky grey. I find grey really calming & soothing. Blue is my favourite colour so I’m always drawn to it, I think it’s because I love the sea.

    Reply

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