Paint Project Ahead…

I am so excited to tell you about National Painting Week starting next week, Monday April 15th.   To help people jump-start their colorful room makeovers, Sherwin-Williams is celebrating!  Each day, NationalPaintingWeek.com (launching Monday the 15th) will feature color inspiration, painting ideas, expert tips, product information and one-of-a-kind projects from 14 top design bloggers.

And I am SO flattered and excited to be a part of it!  Justin and I have been working non stop on a special project for it that we will reveal to you all  next Tuesday.  Technically I have been wanting to create this particular project for 3 years, and we FINALLY did it!  And I painted it in my current favorite color for my home- which you will just have to come back to see!    And all this work has got me thinking about color.

The colors we choose for our homes are so personal!   They change from season to season and year to year. Color effects us emotional, they can make us happy, energized, or leave us feeling calm and peaceful.  We have memories associated with certain colors, good and bad.  Some color combos make us think if a particular holiday.   There is a whole science to color that I know very little about!   And while I am not a color psychologist (is there such a person?) I can TOTALLY tell you that color effects me daily.  And I know you are the same because with every color post we have shown you we have had such positive responses to each and every color.  How can it be that so many people love so many different colors (and thank heaven for that!)?

Yes, we all have our favorites!  Mine right now has to be a mix of vibrant spring colors.  Yours might be  bright red kitchen cabinets, or an emerald green painted dresser.  What about an all white living room?  Even the lack of a specific color can become a favorite.  So lets just look at some colorful rooms using painted accent furniture (or even colorless rooms) and talk about them a bit…

This room, featured on Apartment Therapy seems very colorful, with the bright pillows and accents pieces it seems very vibrant.  But did you notice that there is a WALL of black– I DID!  I love me some black paint (like when I used it here and here), and the other walls are just white?  Besides the obvious punch of color with that wall papered art panel behind the sofa, the paint for the room is actually designed around very simple color choices!

SQUEAL!  Don’t worry, that wasn’t a pig running amuck, that was just me squealing with delight over the loveliness of the yellow doors above.  OH MY GOODNESS!   I featured this image in one of my yellow round up posts, and I STILL love it.

From the same home as the yellow chairs (featured on Apartment Therapy) look how just a simple accent of turquoise on those chairs and a pop in the art work next to it makes such an impressions. I love this example because it shows how even if you live in an apartment with white walls (that you can’t paint), you can introduce color in very important ways with just a few key pieces. 

These red chairs make me giddy with happiness.   I could easily live in this room, could you?  It is bright and airy!  and that punch of red is like a shot of energy.  Red is such a strong, bold color and I don’t usually think of it as so happy as this room, but it just goes to show that you can use any color and create a happy welcoming home.

I personally don’t think of purple as a color I would use in my home.  But Hello purple door, it is So nice to meet you!!  This purple door featured on Martha Stewart’s site is LOVELY!  It is rich and striking, all the characteristics you want in an entry door.

The orange, mismatched chairs in this white room are lovely!  And goes to show that with paint you can bring together visually items that were not meant to be together and yet, now they are meant to be together always!

This green kitchen, which I can’t find a real source for is AMAZING!  The color pops off the white walls and is grounded with simple black accents!  It doesn’t feel too loud, but it certainly feels happy and makes me think that I’ve gotten lucky and struck gold!

I’ve always loved the all white interiors over at Life in the Fun Lane, although her taste is changing a bit.  She really has a way of making things work.  Notice all the painted accent furniture all in slightly different shades of white, this adds layers of texture to an otherwise simple room, it is so beautiful and works so well to create a calm peaceful interior.

Okay, I didn’t really mean there to be a theme with these pictures, but it just sort of happened.  Did you notice all white walls and painted accent furniture… but the color was undeniable!  It may or may not be similar to what I’ve done with my national painting week project.  But either way I hope it makes you hopeful that you too can have a beautiful home by using paint to add the pops of color that we crave!