What happened to color?

[GracieRed]

:) Hi! I'm new here, and it's nice to see that there is a forum to put my "two-cents" on.
I LOVE color, and I certainly haven't seen much of it in this magazine since I began subscribing. I've never even been "into" neutrals to say that I'm "over" them! The article "I Decorated With My Garden in Mind" was just too much for me. "Go all gray"?----no way!!! I'm a retired RN, and that whole house looked positively institutional. The "bath" looked like a hospital restroom---BEFORE the light is turned on.
I'd rather see a home decorated in all white than all gray, if the theme is monochromatic. Yes, one can use color "accents", but don't be afraid to be generous with them!
The recipe section of this issue has some good recipes, and the gardens featured are beautiful. Now just bring some of that garden color inside!
GracieRed :)

[ChapterTwo]

Hi GracieRed, and WELCOME!

I'm not a big fan of "blah" decorating either. While I'm not entirely brave (yet) in picking wall colors, I do like color splashes around the house.

As many of us discuss here often, there are many different types of cottage decorating - it's certainly not a "one size fits all" style - we each decorate to our individual taste and we all respect each other's choices.

Since you mentioned recipes, you might like to look at the recipe I posted for vegetarian tortilla pie in the food section - it is SO simple, and you can add chicken, if you'd like. I just finished up the last of it tonight, and it tasted even better, heated up. :)

[Memmey]

Gracie I think it is always gonna be hard for the magazine to fit each of us perfectly but they are so kind to us here and we feel are real bond to CL for this wonderful forum.
I live in a house painted BRIGHT red on the exterior but for the interior I love white. You know how some colors affect your mood. White for me has always had a real calming affect on me. I don't care if it goes out of style, I had to make my own style so I would feel comfortable. I guess that is the best mantra for any of us, just make your home feel comfortable to you.
We LOVE pictures:) , feel free to post any you might want to share. You will find the nicest group here and open to ALL cottage styles.
Do you like really bold colors?

[cheapdiva]

Gracie- WELCOME!!! You share my granddaughter's name and one of my favorite colors!!!

I LOVE color and live with a lot of it . . . pumpkin in the kitchen, greens in the dining room, yellow, red and green in the living, sunflower in the sunroom. Every now and then I think about going more neutral but just can't bring myself to do it! I work from home (sunroom is the office) and I adore the color in here (from the cover of CL December '04 issue) - it makes the grey, glooming, frozen winters here a little more tolerable.

I have moved - a lot - and lived in a lot of homes that I was always worried about painting anything too drastic because of resale. But you know what, it's only paint!!! I'm past that now - don't know how long we'll live here (3 1/2 years so far) but I now do what makes ME happy. If/when we get ready to sell, I'll worry about it then.

While I thought that monochromatic home was interesting - it certainly wasn't my style. It really didn't look like it was lived in. There is a difference between clutter and not having anything that personalizes a home. Felt like a model apartment or hotel room to me. ;)

Oh, you need to check out Mem's house - the most "colorful" white house you'll ever see. I just love it!

[dedavis]

I think conversations about color are as interesting as conversations about food!

The various houses I've lived in have all had a different approach to color. I've always thought the house tells you what color it wants to be. My last living room wanted to be a warm yellow ochre. My current living room wants to be off white, with colorful furnishings. We've had lots of discussions around here about region and climate dictating colors, as well as architectural style. Emphasis is on what works for you!

The colors I garden with are different than colors I choose for the house or clothing. I love pink flowers, but would never wear a pink sweater. These days I find myself gravitating to clear bright colors.

Welcome, Gracie.

[Lisa S]

Gracie ~ Welcome!

Deb ~ I completely agree that a house dictates the color. I painted my living room and dining room 3 times before I got it right. I finally realized that because my house sit in the middle of a lot of everygreen trees, the color I chose needed to compliment the green and the dappled light. I've got a more neutral color on the walls than I've ever picked before, but it's right for this room.

[vivian8]

Well, it's nice to see different colors in the garden. It can brighten up the day!

[Chyna]

I read in my Old House Interiors mag that Americans as a whole are far more staid in our color choices. Unfortunately beige rules here, not in my house for sure but all and all that is what is on the walls. they explained that we are a far more mobile country, we rarely buy a house to live in forever but change/move alot more often then say Europe who stay put therefore they would have less of a fear of color.

My entire house was blah white when I bought it except for the upstairs bedroom. Which room do you think I painted first? The colored room. :lol: Go figure.

[GracieRed]

Hi, everyone!
Thank you for your responses to my posting! I enjoyed the individuality in your color choices, and your experiences in decorating.
I've tried many different themes over the years---pastels, bolds, monos, and I came to realize that I just like color---period! About the only theme I have not yet tried is all-white. I'd LOVE to try this, but I share a tiny townhouse with 2 cats, 2 dogs and three adult males, and I'd probably have to put an air mattress in the laundry room and live there, as I'd be washing those slip covers 24/7! :() I live in southern CA, which is basically reclaimed desert. EVERYTHING here is beige, including the air!
Do any of you have pets? Any suggestions for furniture/decor care with critters in the house?

GracieRed

[Lisa S]

I live with 3 kids, one husband, 2 dogs, 3 cats. Our house is in the middle of a forest. We have an unpaved driveway and non stop rains for months on end. We fondly refer to it as the lake. My floors and furniture are always a battle. I lean towards slip covers in earth tones and a good vac. Oh, and two huge Oriental rugs with lots of pattern. They hide a lot of sins.

[Chyna]

Do any of us have pets? That's funny. :lol: I think it would really depend on the breed and size of the animal on what to do or not do unless a glutton for punishment. For me the only thing that of annoyance is the cats sleeping on my velvet chair, the dogs aren't a concern there since they are hairless. ;) And since the dogs are smaller (for the most part) them laying on the furniture isn't going to harm anything. About the only thing you really need to watch for around my place is a dog curled up under a blanket or in the folded up blanket. Again toe nails aren't a problem around my house except for the cats. And they are worse about stretching and clawing things. Leather or faux leather is a pretty good deterent on that one.

Alot of my crestie friends swear by tiled floors, around here I think that is just a recipe for a cold floor. All and all I think that surfaces that are easily cleaned are the way to go, even though my monsters don't shed they do barf on ocassion. No matter what size an animal or human is you've got to wash that! :eek:

[RoseMary]

We have two cats in the house and cat hair is a problem. They get it on the furniture and curtains and my vacuum is old and doesn't do such a good job--so I mostly use Duct Tape. It works pretty well:lol:!

As for dirt, we reside on a dirt road so dust and mud are just something that we live with. My floors are pine planks, so plenty sifts down between them and has to be vacuumed out.

Chyna--are you saying that cats don't like to scratch leather? I don't have anything leather, so I'm just wondering.

[cheapdiva]

Lucy, our dog is allowed on the furniture - and I have NEVER allowed an animal on the furniture. But - we have a slipcovered sofa (pale yellow) and slipcovered chairs in the living room. I am planning on making new cushion covers for the sofa and chairs to change with the seasons. I will look for patterned fabric because it hides dirt.

Check out my new blog and you'll see that I live with a lot of rugs . . . some not even shown on the blog!!!

I think it might be a CL law that you have to have at least one animal to belong to this group!!!!:D

[GracieRed]

I'm happy to hear that this group is pet-friendly! We do allow our dogs on the living room sofa and chair, but the major problem we have is with my son's cat. Even though we provide scratching posts for our cats, Korben must get up after everyone is in bed to misbehave. Leather is no barrier to him---he has severely damaged our leather sofa. He has also torn a hole in the undercovering of my antique chaise lounge. He is a real problem child. Wow, Chyna has cresties? I love those little guys! We have a deer Chihuahua and a Pekingese.

Gracie

[SassyKat Baskets]

The article title made it sound like there was going to be a lot of looking out into the garden, but none of the pics really showed that aspect of the home. I'm not sure how having an utterly minimal interior is designed for the garden. The only thing I liked was the baskets in the picture on page 103 - the only warmth in the whole house.

I do like the magazine enough that I subscribed today!

katie