Monday, February 6, 2012

Decisions, Decisions...

I've managed to make some small progress in our living room, but I'm still struggling to pull the trigger on any of the major pieces.  I think a lot of this has to do with not being 100% positive about my previous selections. So, I did some more shopping and browsing this weekend to explore my options. 

As the main color palette inspiration, I have finally decided on the P. Kaufmann leaf fabric for the curtains.  Here's a picture of the pattern in a computer simulated curtain panel:

  

I really like the colors in this fabric. It has a light blue background similar to the walls in our living room and kitchen, gray vines like the color in our dining room, but also brings in creams, beiges and light green.  My original plan for the room was to have these curtains as color inspiration, neutral furniture with accent pillows, and green walls.  However, I might be reconsidering that now.

Fabric with Shagreen by Sherwin Williams

Over the weekend, I got a paint sample of the color green that I picked out to match the curtains. I chose Shagreen by Sherwin Williams. I painted large squares of the green paint on our walls to see how we liked the paint color.


However, I wasn't too thrilled with how it looked. And, to make it worse, I'm not exactly sure why! I love green, but part of me feels like this green is too harsh with the rest of our color palette in the house. When the natural window light comes in the windows, it feels almost neon! So, I have a dilemma. I need to decide if I want something bold or more neutral...  One good thing going for the green paint is that I plan to have a big wall of white bookshelves on the main wall across from the door and by the time I have all of the other accents up on the wall, the green probably won't be as overwhelming.

Fabric with Mindful Gray by Sherwin Williams

I was curious, so I put the swatch of fabric up against the walls in the dining room, and I think it looks pretty good. The thing is, it's just a different style, more neutral colors and makes the fabric more subdued. This way, it brings out the blue a lot more, which I'm not sure if I want that... we already have a ton of blue in the house.

I'm also trying to make some furniture decisions at the same time as the wall color selection. I found a cream velvet sofa that I really like, but it's a little more modern (or maybe retro) than my usual style. I think that's a good thing and will lead to more of an eclectic look in the room, but I'm not sure.  Here are two pictures of the sofa, what do you think?

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If I do buy this sofa, I will probably go with two simple arm chairs that are linen or beige. I haven't found the perfect ones of these yet, so I'm still searching. I did take a picture of the curtain fabric up against a khaki/beige fabric this weekend, I think this will tie in the colors nicely.



While out shopping on Saturday, I did find some cute accent fabrics for pillows at JoAnn Fabrics!  Here's a picture of the curtain fabric with two others that coordinated nicely.

Robert Allen Home-Square Pegs in Mist (L) & Annie Selke-Pearls in Citrus (R)

So, what are your thoughts on these different options? Do you like the green paint (or maybe another shade of green) or should I go with a neutral paint color like the Mindful Gray? Like the sofa or color palette? Any thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

3 comments:

  1. I think a neutral grey color would be better suited in this room. The green color was a little distracting. I love the sofa and the fabrics as well. Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

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  2. Thanks for the comment! I agree about Shagreen, it's too intense and not right. We actually have BM Smoke in our living room and kitchen, it's pretty similar to Blue Hubbard, but I think I want something a little bit different for this room. I also looked at Rainwashed at SW with the fabric and it didn't work. But, I think I'm going to Benjamin Moore today to see if there's anything else that works better! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep trying. :)

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  3. Love the fabric you chose, very nice! I personally like the swatch against the gray or a light beige color. I play it safe a lot though, so not sure how much my opinion counts! ha! It just depends on what you want the focal point to be really, do you want to walk in the room and see one color in particular? The drapes are going to pop against a neutral wall, but you could also have some throw pillows in coordinating fabric for more color(like you saw at JoAnns). It seems like you really want the walls to be a green'ish color so just keep looking if you aren't sure. I know whatever you choose will be nice!

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