I came across the blog post of Maria Killam from Color me Happy and saw her post on Why are some Homes Harder to Decorate than Others. It got me thinking a similar question - Why are some homes easier to choose color for than others?
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| Maria Killam's Blog |
After spending a substantial amount of time at my last color consultation last week, I was wondering why this particular consult took longer than normal. Was the home larger than the typical Waxhaw home here? No. Was the color scheme more complicated than normal? No. Was I enjoying the company of my client, well sure but that all goes into consideration when I estimate my consulting time. So why did this consult run a little longer than the usual allotted time?
The house was the usual large home with an open floor plan, which is the style of 99% of the homes here in the south Charlotte area. So when I stood in the living room, I could see the entire core of the home, the upstairs hallway, the kitchen, part of the dining room and the foyer. All those colors were picked already and the living room and kitchen were last in line.
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| Typical home style in south Charlotte |
Now oddly enough, Maria did yet another post on The Versatile Green Sofa that I just happened to recall as I was in my clients living room. There it was, the green sofa but versatile was not the word I had in mind for it.
At this point I felt like I was trapped in one of Maria's blog posts and I started to laugh - to myself of course. The living room was one of the last rooms I was choosing color for and it absolutely, positively HAD to be green. The problem was if I chose green for the living room, there would be way too much green for this room because of the sofa. I wasn't about to change the entire color scheme at this point so the only choice was to get rid of the green sofa.
Now I'm thinking what other blog post Maria had that would get me out of this situation. Did she have one about asking her clients to purchase a new dark brown leather sofa because it'll look better with the color scheme she was about to choose for them? Well since I didn't recall such a blog post from her I realized I was on my own and I went for it.
“Excuse me but would you mind purchasing a new sofa so I can choose this green for your living room? Right now the furniture you have is interfering with my design”. I didn't say it in those words but for the most part, that was my point.
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| Boyles |
I held my breath and looked the homeowners in eyes and watched their lips as they said “ok”. Wait, what? They said that they could move the green sofa into the basement and it was ok for them to purchase a new living room sofa in the color I recommend. YES! I was doing my little happy dance inside as I muttered that I thought their living will be perfect in this shade of green. It was Withered Moss by Valsar and will look ok so perfect in their living room!
As I gathered my paint decks, paper clips, notes and camera, I was happy as could be visualizing how this color would look with a new brown sofa.
So the mystery was solved. The conversation we had about the living room actually took a bit of time but I didn't realize it until I got to my office. It was well worth it and I'd do it again in a heart beat. Sometimes you have to go out on limb and suggest that your clients make a large purchase to accommodate their new color scheme. This way when the colors go on their walls, it'll look like a page out of a magazine - picture perfect!
How better to spend a morning choosing color for clients and re-reading Maria's blog posts in your mind? I wonder if her ears were ringing. Maria?
Oh, you are lucky! The "Will you buy a new sofa for my paint color?" question is not often so well received. You are right, though. Much better!
ReplyDeleteI know! It was meant to be though. The rest of the color scheme was so perfect for the home and green was a must for the LR. I'm blessed with very understanding clients that trust me 100% to make their home shine!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun post, thanks for the mention, I'll have to post it next on F & T , I love the playful way you write Donna.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading it and looking at the photo I was thinking HC-26 Monroe Bisque or Delaware Putty, and then the colour you chose was right in that same ballpark. So I'm curious since I can't see the room all that well but it looks like they don't have an area rug so you also could have suggested repeating the yellow beige in the room through the rug and cushions?
Definitely too much green as you mentioned to take it on the walls if it stayed. Great post!!
x
maria
I like your approach to this blog - linking Maria's blog (and dialogue) with yours. That green sofa is certainly a challenge (and not just because of it's colour) but that was a bold move; you either sold it well or you have the most reasonable clients in the world - probably a bit of both.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like the layering of different shades of greens (forests are an excellent example of how it works) but that is a lot of wall colour there and so, perhaps a complete change of scheme is necessary? Luckily you have a fantastic amount of light, so there's a lot to play with.
Looking forward to seeing the results!
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ReplyDelete@Hi Maria • the yellow/beige is actually the color I chose for the open foyer & hallways similar to HC-26. This green, compared to Ben. Moore, is a cross between HC-15 & HC-18. It clearly has a green undertone.
ReplyDeleteThey will be getting new area rugs too so I'm also going to suggest bringing in some yellow/beige and an accent of clay to bring in the kitchen color.
Thanks for your help too Maria! I would have not had such a great sense of humor about this if it weren't for your blog posts! x :-)
@Heather • Yes, suggesting to purchase a new sofa was a bold move but it clearly had to be done - for many reasons other than color ;-)
So between the light and surrounding colors I chose, the green really will work well along with the brown sofa now. Whew! What a difference color makes right? Thanks H J :-)
(typo on my first comment - had to delete)
I'm going to have the same problem in my basement when I re-paint down there! the sofa is fortunately one that can be slipcovered easily!
ReplyDeleteI love the colors you chose in the living rm. It happens to be a similar color scheme I chose for my liv. rm. (brown lthr. sofa), kitchen, front sitting rm. and bed rm.(with some brick red) which brings me to this question. With the gray color scheme I keep hearing about, I'm worried my brown, green and red color scheme will look dated in a few years? What is your take?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous, you have to be careful with the brown/green combo because it has been around for a long time already. But it really depends on which green you're using paired with which brown. There are a million hues to choose from to put a new, fresh spin on it plus, you can and different accents to change it up a bit more. I'm using a clay accent.
ReplyDeleteAbout the gray, I also chose a gray office to go in this same house. You can't see the office from this LR but the colors still need to coordinate. It's a warm gray with yellow undertones just like Withered Moss has. A cool gray will not work.
As far as the brown/green/red looking dated in a few years … it may or may not. You can always introduce new colors in area rugs, picture frames lamps, furniture etc. to modernize the palette. Creams and yellows will really update that trio! Try it and have fun!
That was a cute story Donna. Glad it worked out..now we need to see it when done!
ReplyDeleteI love this story, too! And her blog has the best name! I'm off to visit! ♥
ReplyDeleteI really like your post. I am new to your blog. Such great information!
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