But, in hindsight, I think I had regressed to safe thinking and planning for the eventual resale of our house, which was silly because we have no immediate plans to move. We'll be here in Nebraska for more winters - YEA! (...sarcasm intended.) Also, when I bought this beige sectional, the other option that I strongly considered was a luscious leafy green velvet. But, you guessed it, fear set in and I just couldn't commit to years of saturated color on a major upholstery piece.
You know, it didn't even occur to me until writing this post that those decisions to remove all of the cheerful and lively color from the main living spaces absolutely coincided with some of the darkest, most frightening and sad years of our life. It makes sense now that I was psychologically replacing happy hues with safe, bland ones, because much of the joy had been stripped from our life, and I was subconsciously responding to that, even in my decorating.
Whew, that got deep for a bit, didn't it? I'll switch from my therapist voice back to my designer voice now, haha. But, really, color psychology is a compelling science. Do you ever try to figure out why you are drawn to certain colors at any given time? It can be fascinating and can bring up all kinds of emotions!
Anyway, we recently refinanced our home (cha-ching!) and it looks like we'll be here for a few more years. Also, life has stabilized at least for now, and I seem to have gotten tired of living in a desert of sand-colored paint, carpet, and furnishings.
The designer in me really, REALLY wanted to do wallpaper on this long wall that connects these rooms. But practicality prevailed, and I settled for an easy and budget-friendly gallon of paint to jazz up this space. It can be seen from the kitchen and also from the front entry, so that was also a consideration.
As you may know, I've had a recent love affair with teal, as seen here and here. This summer, when my girlfriends and I were at IKEA, I went gaga over this velvet pillow cover (on the left) and decided to use it as my paint inspiration. I didn't take it to the paint store for matching, but I got pretty close by playing with swatches and using a trial-and-error approach. The color I ended up with is Behr Hunters Hollow, and I love it!
Per usual, my hubby had to tease about how much paint has been applied to our walls in the 12 years we've lived here. He says that soon our noses will touch the tv screen when we're sitting on the sectional. He's such a card...ugh.
I'm still trying to add some color to my coffee table styling but, as you can see, old habits die hard, haha. I really thought I was going out on a limb last spring when I bought a pottery bowl with its teal insides; but it has become the perfect repository for coasters, so now you can barely see the teal...oh well. This pretty glass pumpkin came from Pottery Barn. Of course, the hands are permanent fixtures in here - I never get tired of them, and it's fun to add seasonal décor to the black one. This mirrored tray is new from HomeGoods, along with the fur pillow that is peeking out from behind the others.
Abbie is enjoying a fluffy new deep teal throw and one of the green velvet pillows. I got the pair of pillows at a tag sale a few years ago for a song. She does make a pretty prop there, doesn't she?
Now that some more color has successfully been added and livened up this area of the house, the wheels are turning in my head about upcoming projects. Shhhhh...don't mention it to my other half. :)
Julie
Sharing with: Between Naps on the Porch , The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesdays, Inspire Me Mondays, Vintage Charm, French Country Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Dishing It and Digging It
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