Wednesday, June 17, 2009

W.I.P.(Work In Progress) Wednesday Color Dilemma

I love color! Why I can't seem to pull color together for my home is the big question of the day. I am in a rut and am looking for advise and direction from all of you wonderful decorators out there!

I have now lived in this beautiful home for one year. I still can't believe it has been a whole year already! Time flies - doesn't it? We still have some rooms in our home that we haven't put pictures up in yet. I have been in a state of indecision and because I tend to be a perfectionist - it has been easier to just put it off. Enough is enough - I NEED to get my house finished and I need your expert advise.

When we moved here, our dining room walls were painted a lovely hunter green color. They look so nice against the white wainscoting that I haven't been able to paint it another color. I tend to love the color blue. I have it in almost every room of my house so I really have been fighting the urge to use it once again in THIS room.

Heres my dilemma:
I have this beautiful wall quilt that means so much to me - I finally decided to have my husband put it up on the wall in our dining room.



Those of you who have read my blog for awhile, know how sentimental I am! I purchased this quilt a few years ago after we had a memorial service for my mom on a beautiful beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. During our family gathering - when we were putting Lei's out in the water, a giant sea turtle swam through right at that moment. It was such a special moment to me that when we saw this beautiful quilt in one of the stores in Hawaii, I knew I had to have it! As you can see - there are
sea turtles everywhere on this quilt!



Here is a different angle so you can get an idea of the wall space I have to work with. I am thinking about adding some white plates/platters on the two sides to try to balance it all out. What do you think?

We were going to use reds in this room - we purchased a table and chair set from a wonderful store here in Atlanta called the Classy Flea. I have written about this wonderful store in several of my past posts and if you are familiar with Susan - she has written some great posts that she calls "Flea Fridays" about terrific finds that you can get at this store. She is the reason that I stopped in one day - I am now officially hooked and you will find many beautiful things in my house that I have purchased from The Classy Flea.

Here is another picture of the hutch that I purchased from there and as you can see sitting on the top - is a NEW item - my cute little bird cage that I just found during a visit last weekend!

Look at those bare walls! ~oops!~ I am digressing again ...

We purchased this table and plan to refinish it - (don't look too closely at the dust) my hubby likes the look of the striped red in the seat covers so I have been on the look out at the fabric store for something that will work to recover them with. I can't seem to settle on this color though - because in MY mind - everything will clash. We bought this rug at a garage sale. It will have to do until I can find something better. It clashes with the red and now my quilt does too! Should I just give up and go with blues in here again?

I have this fabric bolt that I was going to make curtains out of at my old house and now my hubby isn't too keen on using it in this home. I love toile - but I already have alot of it in my kitchen - do I want to use it in yet another room?





Should I use it to recover these ugly chairs?


I can also use it for curtains.....
UGH! I wish this came easier for me - I marvel at how you talented ladies are able to effortlessly add color to your homes and they just seem to flow!

This is why I have such a hard time deciding on colors for a quilt that I want to make - my color choices never seem to look right to me so I get stuck in indecision.
I love the rich colors of the blues and the green in this room - just don't know how to tie it all together with other colors. HELP!
On a DIFFERENT note...
Not too much happening on my WIP crafts....



Finished up this block - finally! Beginning to cut out fabric for the February block - (slightly behind- but who cares?)

Working on my Grandmothers Flower Garden hexagons in the evenings...




Handwork that I do while sitting with my honey watching television in the evenings! It is so relaxing to me and even though the process is slow - every little bit counts and brings me closer to finishing this quilt! I keep the paper pieces in to help stabilize it until I am ready to put it all together.

Blessings on your creative day,
Kymber

9 comments:

Lois Christensen said...

I think red walls would be beautiful, especially with that pretty quilt! Use the toile on the chairs, but maybe not curtains. Keep us informed and please pictures!!! I'm sure whatever you decide will be beautiful! You have lovely furniture! Enjoy your day!

Kathy said...

Reds are so tricky. Finding the right shade is a bear, and so it also leaves me in the world of indecision as well in my own home. I have to tell you I have had up to 8 different swatches painted on my walls before I decided.

When we redid a townhouse I bought several 2x2 sheets of drywall from a supply store, painted then with my various choices-ACE Hardware always had tons of samples of paint, varying bramds. Then I would take those drywall boards I had painted from room to room checking on lighting etc, etc. i finally found one that looked great in every room (as that was our goal). Prayer works well too!

Beginner said...

I have never been accused of, or credited with, knowing anything about decorating.

If your DH will go along, I think the toile you already have would make beautiful seat coverings. The seats would match very well with your gorgeous wall hanging. Have you thought about a soft dove gray for a wall color.

Red would be a very stimulating color in this room, but I tend toward the blander (vanilla) side of life. That is one reason I lack the imagination to be a decorator.

My DH doesn't like to put holes in the walls and I don't either. Some of the pictures we had on the walls in our previous home are still packed in a box in the storage building, after eleven years.

We have a good many items hanging on 3M Command Hooks to facilitate easy removal, if I change my mind about where I want something displayed.

Anonymous said...

I think you have good instincts. Go with them. I've always heard that if you put everything in your house that you really love it will look good. I love that quilt you bought in Hawaii and the meaning it has for you. I also really like the quilt you are making. Isn't it fun to be creative?
Happy planning.
Charlotte

The Muse said...

As a designer, I say this...I hear you asking for affirmation of things you like...SO, as a friend and a designer... my advice... is the same as Charlotte's!

Go with your heart~if the room makes you happy, it is(or becomes) a perfectly decorated space.

And paint is the number one biggest bang for your buck design tool!

Have fun!!!

kymber said...

Beginner,
Thanks for the great ideas!
Funny that you should mention gray - I hadn't even thought about using that color. I was visiting a blog and she happenened to mention a neat website where you can upload a picture of your problem area and they will give you color swatches in the coordinating color groups for that room. I was surprised to see they had suggested a lot of different grays too!

The suggested colors tended to be darker - where I am trying to lighten the room up, but they were very lovely.

I appreciate your ideas - I will put up the pictures of the finished results when I get brave enough to put it all together :-)
Blessings,
Kymber

BECKY said...

Hi Kymber, I came over from Walking on Sunshine. I LOVE your quilt and the wall color together. I think the white plates/platters would definitely set it off and the blue toile would tie it all in. I, too have found that I have to love it or it just isn't worth the effort. It's just figuring out what combinations that you love that can make us crazy!!

You could also lighten it up with some other white accessories, making use of the wall color and the toile you already have.

Have fun with it, gal!! I'm a perfectionist, too, and when I try a few things, one always stands out as my fave.

It's nice to meet you!! We share a love for good Biblical teachers. I saw that in the list of books you like!!

Have a joyful weekend!
Blessings,
Becky

BECKY said...

I forgot to say that I love your little snowman quilt square, too!

AND some nice flowy white sheers would help lighten up that room maybe with some bamboo shades??

:o)
Becky

Karen said...

The sea turtle quilt is beautiful! I love your A Tisket, A Tasket Basket and Grandmother's Garden.