Decorated Chaos: A New Year and Exploring New Colors for the House

Happy New Year everyone!

I felt like the best way to kick off the new year is with some new color.

Painting is one of the easiest ways to update your space, and we all know the power of paint can have in your room!

Now, as you are looking through these colors, I should note that these are NOT the newest colors on the scene, but they ARE new to ME.

I recently spent an hour and a half sitting at the table with a color expert at Sherwin Williams and after looking through several color decks I pulled out several colors that I was drawn to.

I started off by simply grabbing swatches of color that I liked and threw them in a pile without giving them a second look.

Once I was done, I laid them all out on a table and grouped them by color family (beiges, greens, grays, etc.) and it became evident of what my style is.

I also noticed that I was not drawn to the really light colors at the top of the swatches or the really dark, rich colors at the bottom, I tend to go for the mid tones two or three colors down.

Two colors I would like to try somewhere in my home are Comfort Gray and Escape Gray.

Escape Gray (the one on the far right) is a bit dark compared to what I normally pick, but its a beautiful color and nothing to be afraid of.

Both shades have green undertones and I think would look great in a bedroom or dining room, and these two colors can also give your room a coastal look if paired with the right accessories.

(which is just my style!)

In the picture below, the color on the far left is

Collonade Gray.

I love this color because its a nice warm gray. You may remember some time ago when we made over our master bedroom and changed out the color from green to gray.
The gray we chose was Collonade Gray.

Its such a warm gray and in the paint can it actually looked beige, but once it goes on the wall you will see the beautiful shade of gray that this color offers.

It also looks good with wood or white trim, so

if you are new to grays I highly recommend this shade.

Now, here is the lineup of my favorite "beige" picks. I'm not normally a "beige" person, but over the years I have learned about all the different shades of beige and I have become interested in them.

They don't have to be boring if used correctly in the space.

In fact, I actually fell in love with Canvas Tan

(third one down) and used it in my mudroom makeover.

Despite how light it is, Canvas tan looks great against white trim and actually makes the room warm and inviting.

I am now leaning towards Accessible Beige, Naturel, or Urban Putty for my next attempt at trying another beige.

I have always used yellow as my "neutral" rather than a beige color, and I have been looking for a new neutral to replace the yellow just to do something different. I'm torn between a "new" yellow hue or going with a beige color.

These colors below have yellow undertones and are very popular neutrals.