Friday 21 January 2011

Step 3: Choosing a Colour Scheme


Hello my lovely Friday. I'm so pleased to see you again.

You are my absolute favourite day of the week.


Oh, I'm so excited. Yesterday, I noticed our daffodils pushing up from their winter rest.

And the snowdrops are in bud.

Real proper buds. Ready to reveal their beautiful dropping heads. And it feels as though it's just for me.

Come on, Spring....you can do it. We're rooting for you.

Rooting? Geddit?


Now then, in this Kitchen Series we've completed Step 1 (Kitchen Foraging) and Step 2 (Narrowing Choices) so we can venture onto.....

 Step 3: Choosing a Colour Scheme.

I have to tell you that choosing colours is my absolute favourite part of the whole process of renovation.

I am Mrs Colour Chart and Mrs Sample Pot all rolled into one gloopy delight.


This is what I do to begin choosing my colour scheme:

I scour lots and lots of pictures and save my 9 out of 10 choices. Ring any bells here? Yup, this is Step 1 again but altered to cater for colour instead of style.


Some of my 9 out of 10 pictures aren't necessarily in my style pile (oooh, Style Pile.....that rhymes). But I'm not looking for that here. I've already narrowed my choices style-wise in Step 2.

Once I've collated a colour inspiration pile (Collated....doesn't that sound a grown-up word to you? Yup, I can collate now, real adult that I am), I leave it for a week or two and then go through it again, making sure my choices are still 9 out of 10s.


Then I take a careful look through. One colour almost always dominates my pile.

And, with a bit of tweaking, that's the main colour I choose.

Yup, easy as that.

For me, the colour that stands out in my choices is a gorgeous grey-blue-green colour. Yum, my favourite colour in the world.

Glaucous loveliness.
  

Have you checked out Swoon Worthy? She's just beginning on sharing her kitchen inspiration........gorgeous, Missus. 

Check out the way she followed Step 1 here.

If you're following along in real life with this Kitchen Series, do let me know so I can have a peek.....and then I can show you off, if you'd like, at Modern Country Style. :-)

Do you know, I can't stop thinking about the garden at the moment. I'm starting to feel it calling to me. I'm hoping to spend a bit of time out there this weekend, pottering and tidying.

Bliss...




Images from Chalon, Plain English, Fired Earth, Calgary Benjamin Moore, Shop Online 2011, Chalon

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37 comments :

Loo xx from Jumbles and Pompoms said...

Mmmmm, loving the blue in the units in the second kitchen you've shown. Must investigate our postage stamp of a garden to see if there's any signs of spring lurking therein (therein - now, that's a word).

Enjoy your w/end. xxx

Stephanie Rose said...

loving all of these pictures. I do really love these blue/gray colors. They produce an overall calming feeling when you look at them.

Unknown said...

Ahhhh love all the inspiration pictures....these are my kind of colors. And I am totally adoring that little red scale!!!!!!!! LOVE IT! The before picture is very orange. Not my kind of color either. What you've done looks gorgeous. Isn't it lovely to just walk into that room now??!!?!!?! I LOVE that feeling!!!!

michelle said...

Alright, you are just the cutest!! Great ideas and I love the color choices you have. I am IN LOVE with that first picture!! *sigh* one day maybe!!!! Have a great weekend and I hope those little flowers push their way into your world and open for you my friend! :)

Brandi said...

Choosing a color is so hard for me. Once I have a color in mind, I'll head to the store only to be confused by a million shades of the same color!!!!

I'm excited for Spring too! Hope you get some gardening in this weekend!

Connie in Hartwood said...

The color of the island in your first photo is perfect!! It's funny that you posted this today, because I have had color on my mind for a few days now. I have a corner cupboard in the dining room that needs a coat of paint, and I have been considering 'this' color and 'that' color, trying to find a sensible, timeless, (yawn) color. Last night, while picking something off the dining room carpet, I noticed the most delicious grey-turquoise in the border ... I think my color found ME! Today I'm off to the store to gather samples. I'm just not a sensible sort of girl, you understand. :)

Temperatures here this weekend may not not rise above freezing. This will make for lovely weather to stay inside, watch football, and paint.

Enjoy your bulb sprouts. Spring is just around the corner!
Connie

Erin said...

Love those pics Sarah, and I LOVE that color...That would look good somewhere in my house...now you have me thinking, uh-oh! ;)

High Street Cottage said...

I have never been a blue person, however have always loved the sort of muted blues found in kitchens such as these. They have just the right touch of grey. Beautiful photos, and such great tips Sarah! I tend to fly by the seat of my pants in decorating, but see I really need to think things out. xoxo tami
PS, I am ready for spring as well.

Unknown said...

These pictures are so cute!
Love brightness of first pic!
After days rather mild, it's cold again!
The spring still seems far away
Hugs
Mari

Unknown said...

Pretty pretty kitchens you have 'collated' in the post Sarah! A thing to bear in mind with the lovely slatey-type of darkish grey blue is how utterly it can sap light in a north-facing room. The direction the windows face make such an impact on colour - I know it sounds a bit geeky but I have learn't by experience! We had dark grey/blue units in our kitchen which is north-facing and it was like descending a coal-hole!! Eventually we changed to creamy colour units and the place is transformed, despite dark grey granite counter-tops. Just a thought. xxx

Gwen @ Gwenny Penny said...

It's snowing here again today, so no spring in sight for us. I'm sick of winter.

My dream color is always a gray/green. I haven't decided how I want to incorporate that, though... walls or cupboards or backsplash? I need to ditch my white countertop, too. Loving this series, Sarah.

quintessence said...

Loving this little series. Love all the kitchens you have been featuring and today's interesting choices. Will be very curious what color you finally decide upon!

michele said...

morning Sarah!

adore that shade of grey-blue-green as well.

this truly is a beautiful thing you're doing for readers - streamlining the process to remove some of the fear and apprehension from the equation.

i don't know anything about cameras or photography. just in love with good lighting. i use the lens that came with this olympus e520, point, and click.

have a lovely weekend!

michele

Anonymous said...

Hi Sarah Sarah!

I had to go back and count which # down the line of kitchens I liked. # 5 stands out for me. I love EVERYTHING about it. Swoon & sigh! Beautiful! We are going back and forth with the decision to paint our cabinets. They are cherry, which to me, is a nice wood. I'm not an oak person so it's really a tough decision. I love the off white cabinets (like yours) and the blue green greyish color is gorgeous!


Hope you're able to get out to your garden this weekend! Sounds nice and relaxing.

Have a great day, friend!
~Michelle
xo

Tricia said...

There is only one color kitchen that I want and that is white. A nice creamy white...ahhh...it just calls out to me.

Take a picture of those buds and flowers and show them to us, will ya? I'm dyin' here, it's 20 below today...seriously :(

Have a super weekend Sarah!! ♥ Tricia

Blondie's Journal said...

Thanks for sharing all of these beautiful kitchens, Sarah. They make me want to redo mine and it was just recently made over! I love that shade of blue and I love your method for picking a color. I am so choosy, it take forever!

I'm happy for you, seeing those little daffodils poking their heads up. I don't see mine until at least April. Maybe the ground freezes harder here. Lucky girl you are!

XO,
Jane

ChRiS said...

loving these kitchens....i went back and found yours very nice i wish i had gone with a more country style cabinet i must have had a *DUH* moment....any ways i am a new follower and look forward to catching up and reading all your new posts...have a great weekend...Chris

Valerie@chateaualamode.typepad.com said...

I love your pictures and all the color choices. My fave is the first one...loving the color of that cabinet...sort of a greenish, light blue....way pretty. Could totally cook up some great stuff in that kitchen. P.S. Friday is so my favorite day of the week. Happy Friday!

chris said...

So many dreamy color ideas. Oh, that I could start over.

Gracefully Vintage said...

Sarah, those are beautiful Pic.s just adore them so Inspirational..
LOVE Them.. Karryann
Happy to be one of your newest followers

Unknown said...

See now, I had completely made up my mind on white cabinets and now you are showing me THESE!! Absolutely stunning pics, those grey-greeny-blues just make me SWOON!

And thanks for the link my darling, I am only following your most fabulous advice and if my kitchen turns out even a QUARTER of how gorgeous yours is, I'll be ever so happy :) xxx

Unknown said...

I love that glaucous color on that island. One of my favorites. Beautiful kitchens!

Mary Ann Pickett said...

Hooray for Spring! We used a similar color for our island and the back of the glass cabinets...and then white everywhere else...you could check out my post or see it when you come over for dinner :)
Mary Ann

Vanessa said...

I so agree that Friday is heavenly! I know that technically Sunday is supposed to be heavenly but Friday holds all of the promise of the blissful days off ahead and that makes it wonderful. Ok, I know I'm off track! I love all of these inspiration photos you are sharing and it makes me miss my lighter kitchen so much. I have dreams for my current one but they aren't even near the stove let alone on the back burner! Someday...
Have a good one girlie,
Vanessa

Samantha said...

Spring is no where in sight around here. I love the dark blue color of the third kitchen with the flowers in the sink, but I love the handles on the window the most! Have a wonderful weekend, Sarah!

Luciane at HomeBunch.com said...

Hello, my pretty friend!

You know what? We need to get to know each other a little better. I'm serious! We need to exchange more emails. Deal? :-)

Look.. I am with you! Color is so important and my favorite part too! Do you paint by yourself? About 3 years ago I painted my whole house. I was proud of my very toned arms after that! lol

Anyways, I'm sure your kitchen will be FAB!

Send me an email one of these days, all right?!

Have a blessed weekend, sweetie!

xo

Luciane at HomeBunch.com


PS: It's so wonderful to see your comments, you know? :-)

Travel With Lulu said...

I am so excited about my first Spring in England, I could pee in my pants! We typically don't see Snowdrops until February where I'm from, so that is a happy surprise.

Love love all your kitchen photos - so inspiring :) XOL

alison said...

Gosh! I didn't realise there was a word to describe my favourite colours! There you go...you really do learn something new every day. My husband bought me back a kitchen reno mag from the US last night. And guess what? It was full of wonderful pics of shakers doors in my favourite colour - glaucous. Oh yes! Oh yes!

I love Fridays too and I LOVE spring. Back to snow here though, but never mind, spring is on its way (please, please).

Nothing like a good potter in the garden. Enjoy.

Alison xx

Le said...

swoon worthy kitchens to be sure .... as always you have a great sense of style ! best le xox

Magali said...

Ansolutely love the third picture... And I've been checking my garden every day after work to catch the first proof of spring... And yes! the tulips leaves are about half an inch out!!!

Dawna said...

Hi Sarah..your blog name caught my interest, as I would describe my taste in decorating similar to yours. I like the country feel of my home. I am just new to blogging, so am learning lots as i go. i can't believe the number of followers some people have...they must be professional, fulltime bloggers! We are in the middle of doing a kitchen reno, so I enjoyed looking at your kitchen pics. i can't wait for a big "reveal" on my site and your right, its so hard not to get ahead of yourself and want to have all the details and decorating of the room done!
Thanks for sharing your blog :)
Cheeers from Alberta, Canada

Anonymous said...

Okay, Jonquils, K... Kan't think of anything, Lavender. If you can think of a K flower... you win :)

Deb said...

Beautiful kitchens Sarah and I am really enjoying your kitchen series. We are just starting our kitchen reno and I have made all the decisions but the counter tops...are they next on your list? Stop by if you can...would love to hear your opinion. Thanks...Deb

Cindy said...

Hi Sarah,
Great post! I love the color that you have chosen to use, your gray will be gorgeous!
Hugs, Cindy

Anne said...

Tough choices when the color variations are so glaucously subtle! but any version will be beautiful.Of the pics you've shown, I like the first one for the cabinets,and the next to last for that incredible table...

lisaroy said...

I'm loving the blue-grey shades. It's so hard to commit to a colour isn't it? choosing for me was difficult as well - I just didn't want to regret anything later. Luckily I stuck with my gut and I'm thrilled with my choice. And don't ever let someone talk you out of something - everyone told me that choosing marble for the countertop would be a mistake because of upkeep but it was the best decision I made! :)

Whitney @ Nesting Season said...

I love your process of elimination--my tastes are so eclectic that sometimes I get caught up on all the possibilities, but I think there are some common threads.

Thanks for sharing!

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