PEACH AND GRAY PALETTE

About 17 years ago my father passed away.  He's the handsome guy on the left in this late 40's photograph.
That's a real dimple in his chin, and the hat tipped a little rakishly over his eyes was a signature style, too.

That beautiful woman on the right is my sweet mother, Afton.  She was devoted to him for over 60 years.  

We lost her yesterday.

Afton was nearly 98 years old and mother to 9.  

Mom and Dad were married in the depression era, she just shy of her 17th birthday and he a robust 22 year old.  They married young in those days...

They also sewed clothing, made quilts, canned fruit, baked bread, ironed clothing, milked cows, gathered eggs and shot the occasional pheasant out the back door for dinner.  The depression and a large family made her thrifty and clever.   She had a great capacity to love, a thirst for knowledge, an appreciation of beauty and a talent for needlework and homemaking.  She gave home perms to her girls, and sewed all their clothing.  She became so good at it that she won ribbons at the county fair for her skills. 

I look at my stainless steel appliances, my gas dryer, store bought clothing and zippy little car that takes me wherever I need to go and wonder how she did it all.

When I was a teenager, she added 'teacher' to the mix .  She taught English and Social Studies at a school in Pesega, Western Samoa; just one of the many countries in which we lived.  She loved the South Pacific. She could sit all day and watch and listen to the ocean. 

 She loved to travel.  I was astonished to discover she climbed the Eiffel Tower at age 91.  

    In her last years she had begun to depart from us.  Her memory retreated to the past and we weren't always recognized.  Sweet Afton, we will miss you, but are so happy you can be reunited with Daddy, and brother Boyd who left us 7 years ago.  You live on forever in memory.  I love you Mom.

Sincere, heartfelt thanks to all of my wonderful friends, readers and family who have reached out with love, hugs, prayers and kindness.  I am touched beyond words.  

QUESTION FROM A READER:

Hi Claudine -

My husband and I are in the process of a closing on our very first home.  The main level of the home is a peachy cream color and the basement is a mint green.  At this time, we can only spare enough cash to paint one level and I chose the basement b/c it's just so horrible.  I feel like I can live with the peachiness of the main level, but I'm having the hardest time deciding on a furniture color/color scheme to match the walls. My dream would be to start over and paint the entire house in a silvery grey with some darker grey rooms/accent walls splashed in, but we can't afford that right now. 

I have attached a couple pictures of the living room and adjoining breakfast area/kitchen to get your thoughts.  The pictures are from the listing so none of the furniture/décor will remain....thank goodness! :)  I was considering a heather grey or very light taupe color living room set, but I just don't know that it would work...maybe with an area rug with a splash of peach? 

ANY help/suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated!!!  

Thank you.

Julie

Hi Julie,
You said your dream would be to repaint in a silvery gray palette, and I would definitely work towards that goal as you add rugs and furnishings to this area.   Try not to get stuck in the peach zone.  These rooms above are far too warm - the walls are warm, the rug is warm, the fabrics are warm the woods are warm. Results are an overheated color scheme.  Peach tones will work nicely with a medium to dark gray sofa, and you can pretty much ignore the whole peach color scheme, as it will become a neutral and a background as you add more of your gray tones and your accent colors.  When you can eventually repaint with the colors you prefer, you won't have to redecorate again.  Find a rug that has colors you love but that will also look nice with the wall color - Here's an example of what I'm trying to explain...

House Tweaking

Grays are a natural with peach and coral tones...  The cool grays look great against the warm peach and coral tones.

Be Colorful

 You can even accent with deeper coral.  It looks amazing with gray.

Find a rug you love that will look nice with the wall color,

 and the color you want to live with in the future...

Be Colorful

 Gray and peach really play nicely together...

Decoist

Escorial Design

Home Ideas

Interior Home Decor

 Peach and coral are making a huge comeback right now - mainly because grays go so well with them and it doesn't have to look like the 90's anymore...

Nieseology

 Coral and peach are always flattering to a woman's skin tones....

something else to consider...

Sally Jensen

So, you might fall in love with an 'updated' peach and gray color scheme.  I kind of love this combination!  Add some dark woods, painted finishes and deeper shades of peach (coral and russet) to the gray and you have a completely updated look.  

Good Luck!

BEAUTIFUL BEDROOM DIY (PART 2)

This post was getting a little long ... so I am continuing here...

Part Two  of creating a room like our inspiration photo.  

[See Part 1 here.]

So I received a note from a reader who fell in love with this bedroom vignette, but feared she'd never have the budget to create it in her home.  I decided to list the steps to creating this room, in a budget-wise fashion, and included links to find the elements needed to create a similar room.  We continue with a key element - the chandelier...

9. CHANDELIER

Do I even need to say it....?  The chandelier is a key part of this room.  The reflection in the mirror, the sparkle it adds, the romance and the luxury it reflects... It is a very important element, and one that can demand a sizable price tag.  The size should be large enough to make a statement, and small enough not to take over the room.  It should be installed over the bed so that it reflects in the mirror, so try to arrange your room to allow for that.  You can hire an electrician to hardwire it into the ceiling, or purchase a plug-in model.  I often shop flea markets, ebay, and Craigslist for chandeliers because bargains can be found there...but patience is needed, right?  So lets find a bargain if we can thats available right now.  

rakuten (149.00)

Gallery (125.00)

here (195.00)

Destination Lighting (130.00)

Overstock (241.00)

You can spend more.  You can spend a lot more.  You don't have to, but you can.  Most importantly, buy the one you love... you want to fall in love with it every time you walk into your room...

10. BEDSIDE TABLES

INSPIRATION PHOTO

The bedside tables in this room are a little vintage looking.  The paint is distressed, and if you want to copy this exactly, there are plenty of white cottage looking bedside tables out there - and lots of vintage ones that can be painted that you can probably pick up for a song.  I like bedside tables to be a little generous in size so that they can accommodate a lamp and the other things that accumulate on a nightstand.  A lot of styles and types of bedside tables would work here - dark wood, painted gray, glass and metal... the important part is that they are symmetrical - need to be matching for this look.  Try Target, Ikea, Craigslist, Joss and Main, Overstock.... You may find a bargain... never know until you try....

Here are a couple that I found:

Home Decorators 119.00

AFA Stores  282.00

AFA Stores  370.00

Home Furniture Mart  336.00

Beyond Stores  311.00

11. ROUND TABLE WITH TRAY (OR HOW ABOUT A BENCH?) 

INSPIRATION PHOTO

At the foot of the bed there is a round table with some decorative items.  I like a bench at the end of my bed - so I would use a bench with a tray.  The table has the advantage of height.   You decide what works for you.  Here are a few sweet tables...

Rakuten  (195.00)

Pier 1 (170.00)

Wayfair (218.00)

and if you are like me, some benches:

Ballard Designs  (329.00)

World Market (199.00)

Ballard Designs  (259.00)

12. TRAY WITH SILVER FOOTED BOWL AND WHITE TUREEN

inspiration photo

On the table is a white ceramic tureen and a footed silver bowl.  The tray looks to be mirrored.  The bowl is filled with coral.  You can pick up silver-plate bowls, footed bowls, cachepots etc. at flea markets, swap meets, Etsy and Ebay.  Try HomeGoods or TaiPan Trading (TPT Home) for mirrored trays, and here are a few white tureens, since they appear to be a little harder to çome by... 


pier1 (45.00)
Etsy (55.00)
Etsy (24.00)
CORAL is a different matter.  I find mine at antique shows and swap meets and I've never paid more than $30.00.  There are probably some online shops that sell nothing but shells and coral.  Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware featured faux coral for their summer merchandise.  The faux looks pretty real, too.



Etsy (65.00)
Etsy (85.00)
Faux Coral:
POTTERY BARN  (32.00 sale)
Another resource for faux coral is a pet store or somewhere that sells aquarium supplies.  They sometimes come in colorful hues, but I've seen blogs where they were successfully spray painted.   

PET DEPOT (14.00)

here (15.00)
Pet Mountain (23.00)

inspiration photo

13. BEDSIDE LAMPS

The coral embellished lamps add to the beach theme.  I personally love that look, and would definitely look for the same type of lamp.  However, you could substitute another style lamp here and still have the basic feel of this room.
NY Fifth (177.00)

Bellacor (157.00)

14. OCEAN THEMED ARTWORK

Its difficult to see much of the artwork from this photo, but the two poster sized prints over each night table feel beachy in their colors even though they appear abstract.  The colors blend with the rest of the vignette.  Look for large poster sized art, or plan on two prints on each side - the overall effect needs to be that the art is tall over the nightstands.  Shades of blue, white, gray... - with thin silver or gold frames.  For the art, try Art.com and try IKEA for the frames, once you know the size you will need.   For the rest you are on your own because art is very personal - and you need to love it.

APPROXIMATE TOTAL:  $2,600.00

The cost was done by averaging, so your total may be less or more, depending on your choices.  There are other costs for this room - for example a white bedskirt, sheets, and the other furniture in the room - depending on your room size -perhaps a rug under the bed.  

I hope this helps you - no matter what your budget you can create this room 

with an overall room plan to help you and the steps laid out as we have done 

here.  Little by little, over a little time, you can make it happen.

Best,

Claudine