I LOVE COLOR
AND THE WALLS OF MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE HAVE REFLECTED MY SEARCH…NOT FOR THE PERFECT COLOR..BUT THE PERFECT BALANCE OF COLOR. THEY HAVE ALSO FOLLOWED OUR FAMILY THROUGHOUT THE MANY PASSAGES. FROM LITTLE GIRL PINKS AND BABY BOY BLUES TO A MORE SUBTLE BACKDROP TO ALL OF THE COLOR IN MY ARTWORK AND OUR FURNISHINGS.
ONE YEAR AGO..THESE WERE THE COLORS..
IRONICALLY…OR PERHAPS SURPRISING BASED ON THIS PALATE…MY HOUSE CONTAINS MORE COLOR THAN EVER..JUST NOT ON THE WALLS BUT INSTEAD THE FURNISHINGS. IT FEELS MORE CALM AND ALIVE AT THE SAME TIME. LETS TAKE A LOOK….
NO COLOR HAS SWEPT ME AWAY QUICKER OR MORE COMPLETELY THAN SHERWINN WILLIAMS “STEAMED MILK”. FROM ACROSS THE CROWDED SOUTHERN LIVING SHOWHOUSE OUR EYES MET…..(I am being silly) I DISCOVERED this BEAUTIFUL AND VERSATILE COLOR THE 2015 SOUTHERN LIVING IDEA HOUSE. DECORATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE, BUNNY WILLIAMS, EMPLOYED IT THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE, STUNNING AND ALLOWING THE WALLS TO ACT AS A QUIET BACKDROP TO THE BEAUTIFUL FURNISHINGS
AND I HAVE USED IT IN MY HALLWAYS….
THE LIVING ROOM…
THE DINING ROOM…
OH MY GOODNESS…I FORGOT THE SHERWINN WILLIAMS SEA SALT IN THE OTHER “HALF” OF THE LIVING ROOM..CONNECTED MY POCKET DOOR!!!
THE MASTER BEDROOM AT THE SOUTHERN LIVING SHOWHOUSE
THE WALLS OF PHOEBE’S BEDROOM AND ALL OF THE TRIM IN THE HOUSE EXPEPT THE KITCHEN IS BENJAMIN MOORE CHANTILLY LACE…
COOPER’S BEDROOM WENT FROM A DEEP BLUE TO BENJAMIN MOORE HORIZON..A VERY PALE WARM GRAY..AND CHANTILLY LACE TRIM..
THE KIDS BATHROOM IS OCEAN AIR WITH ACCENTS OF “CORAL GABLES”
THE LAUNDRY ROOM IS IN STRIPES OF OCEAN AIR AND MOUNTAIN PEAK WHITE…
THE MASTER BATHROOM IS PALLADIAN BLUE…
THE KITCHEN IS MOUNTAIN PEAK WHITE WITH THE SMALL AMOUNTS OF WALL PEEKING OUT NOW PAINTED…YOU GUESSED IT..STEAMED MILK!
I REMEMBER THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING A “RIGHT” WHITE FOR THE KITCHEN AS AN INTENSE, CONFUSING AND OFTEN OVERWHELMING PROCESS. FINALLY, I CONSULTED THE TRUE COLOR EXPERT – MARIA KILLAM – WHO SUGGESTED “MOUNTAIN PEAK WHITE” AS BEING A WHITE WHICH LOOKS GREAT NEXT TO STANDARD WHITE SUBWAY TILE. I KNEW I WOULD HAVE ALOT OF SUBWAY TILE IN THE ROOMS (KITCHEN AND BATHROOMS) WHERE THE WHITE WOULD BE AND THAT WAS THE TIPPING POINT. I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK!!!!!
FINALLY…AFTER 140 YEARS OF BEING UNPAINTED AND EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS…WE HAD THE EXTERIOR OF OUR HOUSE PAINTED SIMPLY WHITE. WHO KNEW IT WOULD BE THE 2016 BENJAMIN MOORE COLOR OF THE YEAR!!!! SIMPLY WHITE IS A GREAT COLOR…WITH AN EVER SO SLIGHT TOUCH OF YELLOW..BUT NOT A CREAMY WHITE IN ANY WAY…A GREAT COLOR AND PERFECT FOR A HOUSE EXTERIOR!
THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE ARE ACCENTS OF ALMOST EVERY COLOR…LOTS AND LOTS OF PINK!!!!
YELLOW…
GREEN….
TURQUOISE….
LIKE I SAID…I LOVE COLOR!
THANK YOU VISITING MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE..HAVE FUN PLAYING WITH COLOR AND MAKE SURE TO SHARE YOUR COLOR QUANDRIES WITH ME!!!
Do you kmow what Benjamin Moore color is similar to steamed milk? Also, I now realize that I have incorporated several of your colors in my own home. Not consciously, but I think I see your photos and the name gets imprinted in my brain, and later I end up choosing them, thinking it’s my own idea. 🙂
Kathy…I am sure there is a color similar in the Benjamin Moore collection but I have not found t yet..that inability to match it up is why I just went ahead and got the SW steamed milk!
Love your house colors and style. I look forward to reading your emails/blog! I feel confirmation in my color & design choices after seeing your house!
Thank you Karen!
[…] next link is My Old Country House blog. It gives you ALL the colors listed by each color category. Scroll to bottom right of main page […]
Hi! The master bedroom and the dinning room, tge walls are “steamed milk” but I would like to know which color you put on the trims? Simply white? Thank you!
I use 3 white in our house, and when we move…I will use these again and again because after years of trial and error..THEY WORK!
The trim color throughout is “Chantilly Lace” a Benjamin Moore color.
The exterior of our House in Simply White
The kitchen is BM Mountain Peak White
What is the color peeking through the pocket doors? It looks pink and Divine!
Hi there – yes, It is a Benjamin Moore Color called Pink Cloud. The room is no longer pink but I have a hankering to paint it pink again!