In case you missed it, our lovely kitchen was profiled in the Washington Post!
Read the article HERE.
Things are hopping over here at the chateau, floors are being patched and refurbished, tile is going in, doors are being installed...it is very exciting! Which means it is time for the color conversation.
For those of you who have been with me for the whole process, I will jump right in. For those who might have missed the previous posts on paint and color choices, I refer to back to THIS and THIS.
Once again we are working with the amazing team at Sherwin-Williams. As we did before, we looked to their current Colormix 2017 for inspiration, and they did not disappoint. They spend the whole year looking into color trends and ideas, and while we aren't looking necessarily to do the "new best thing", since we are hoping for something timeless in this house, we have always found that the way they think about color can be really exciting and take us in unexpected directions.
As always, we look at the floor as a whole, and how it integrates into the rest of the house. The third floor is different. It is our sanctuary, our getaway, our oasis. There is not a single "public" space on the third level, so the color choices here are less about how they work with the rest of the house and more about how they just work for the two of us. From the moment you begin to ascend the stairs to the third floor, you are entering a very different space. This has actually been somewhat freeing, since we don't have to think about guests and how they will interact with the spaces, but rather, just about the two of us.
As I have mentioned before, the functions of these spaces are pretty basic. The master bedroom for sleeping, obviously, but also has a reading nook and a small area with a television. We each have our own dressing room, which we are VERY excited about. Charming Suitor is looking forward to not tripping over my endless shoes when he is getting dressed. The commode room has the main toilet and a sink, and will also serve as my vanity space for hair and makeup. The master bathroom has his and hers sinks, a lovely soaking tub, and a large two-person shower. The laundry room also has tons of storage and folding space, there is a small hall closet, and then CS's office and office bathroom.
We sat down with the Colormix brochure and took a look at what direction they think color is headed right now.
The first inspiration was NOIR. Sherwin-Williams describes it this way:
It’s among our most precious commodities: night. We’re craving a refuge from urban streetlights and glowing screens, space to turn our gaze inward and recharge the spirit. Mindful melancholy is fueling a new romanticism marked by medieval patterns, revived customs and bittersweet beauty. The Dutch masters knew the secret: dark hues set a dramatic stage for sensuous luster. This palette is rich with vineripe fruits, Nordic blues, moody neutrals and golden yellows.
We were very drawn to the soothing cool pale blue-gray called Icelandic that was part of this collection, and chose it for the master bedroom. We wanted to keep the light airy feel in this large space, and a color that would be Zen-like and calming. The furniture in this room will pull from taupes, straw colors, pale grays and silvers, with wood and metal accents, and the pale blue-gray will really allow all those other things to blend beautifully. It was a bit nerve-wracking, since CS is not a fan of pale blue, so it was essential that the color have enough gray in it. We ended up with a slightly different shade, called North Star, and it changes colors gorgeously throughout the day. In the morning it is very light blue-gray, by midday it deepens a bit, at disk it goes more blue, sort of matching the sky, and at night it reads more gray. CS really loves it, whew!
The second inspiration was HOLISTIC. Sherwin-Williams says:
Sustainable design and radical transparency are the new standards. As our daily transactions move further into the cloud, acquiring experiences is becoming preferable to buying more things. “Doing good” is the new looking good, and it’s taking the form of “voluntourism,” healing retreats and eco-travel. We’re in pursuit of an elusive ideal: a fair luxury. The roads of this journey are lined with arctic neutrals, blush rose and wild browns.
We loved the ideas behind this collection, as well as the palette. We pulled the pale gray Stardew as our inspiration for the master bathroom, and the Deep Forest brown for both Charming Suitor's dressing room and the laundry room. CS's dressing room will be very masculine, so it felt like a terrific choice. And the laundry room has all white cabinets and white washer/dryer, so the deep chocolately brown will make for a nice backdrop. And we have used that sort of deep brown in other spaces in the house and really love the way it looks.
The third inspiration was INTREPID. From Sherwin-Williams:
The virtual and the real are blurring in the form of seamless commerce and “office anywhere” collaboration. Impatient for social and political change, we’re reinventing ourselves first. Identity has never been more fluid. “You do you” is the mantra of a generation primed for self-expression, cheered on by their own #squad and tossing aside old categories. There’s a feisty energy to our present moment, arriving in fiery tones and vibrant, kimono colors.
I really loved the energy of this group of colors. I know you have all been with me long enough to know that I'm not afraid of color, and love to be surrounded by rich vibrant color where it works...hence the deep blue guest room, the peacock teal bathroom, and the bright orange ovens in the kitchen! While we wanted the third-floor suite to be our soothing spa-like getaway, we didn't want that to be bland and boring. After all, when you go to a spa, it can be very energizing as well as relaxing. So we really thought about the various spaces and what happens in them when looking at color. The bedroom, naturally, needed to be calming since that is a place of sleep and quiet. The master bath as well lent itself to that soothing feeling of light and cool. But my dressing room? That is a place I want to be fun and vibrant, and the Kimono Violet spoke to me. I have purple hair, it should not be a surprise that I loved this one! When we tested that particular color in the space, it didn't work very well with the light that is in that room, it made it muddy instead of luxuriously bright, so I ended up picking a color called Dynamo, which worked much better but still had that magenta/violet feel I was looking for. Same was true for the commode room, which is where I will have my vanity for hair and makeup and the like. I loved the Citronella color from this palette, the deep lichen green felt bright but also luxurious but it went a little too mustard yellow in the space, so we ended up picking a similar color called Grandiose, which was perfect.
The last inspiration was UNBOUNDED. Sherwin-Williams describes it as:
Global immigration is redefining borderlands, national identity and our sense of coexistence. We’re all citizens of the world now. Brands are becoming more purpose-driven, communities more connected. Design is adapting to more diverse populations. Overconsumption is, well, over. We’re more likely to invest in the best we can afford — crafted and customized — and then keep it forever. Global consciousness is a mural painted in earthy mustards, ocean blues, corals and mud.
Charming Suitor really responded to this palette and immediately chose the deep green Saguaro for his office. It will be a great backdrop to some of his artwork, and I think it brings out the green in his eyes!
As we have recommended before, we are unifying the space with all white on ceilings, hallway walls, as well as trim and doors, which allows us to use the various colors without making the spaces look like fruit salad.
We also chose white for the small bathroom off of CS's office, since it has a lot going on in a small space, so we wanted to keep it clean and bright.
So, here is the palette we ended up with :
You can see how all the colors work together. I've got them laid out in my Sherwin-Williams portfolio, which I use to keep track of all of the colors for the whole house in case I need to reference it. (Yes, I continue to be a terrible photographer, so the deep magenta of my dressing room is coming out weirdly red in this picture, but wait till you see it on the walls!)
As soon as the spaces are painted I will post the updated pics!
Much more coming soon....
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
Sherwin-Williams has provided discounted product for this project, but all opinions are, as always, my own.
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