Home Office ~ Colour Dilemma ~

My office needs a makeover. And I am feeling lost. This is a room full of paper and stuff and proof of life, so I'm struggling with how to pull together a coherent "look" for it while still letting it be an easy unfussy space.

Today I painted some sample boards and thought about painting the whole thing a nice soft beige to replace the medium blue walls:

Above: Skimming Stone sample by Farrow & Ball

But don't get too excited. I decided against the beige and took down all my samples.

I still like the blue walls and the natural linen skirt on the work table:

A while ago, I painted my odd furniture (bookcase and little dresser) a soft blue, which I also like (although the blue walls and lighter blue furniture together have always bothered me). And don't worry, we are painting the trimwork white throughout the house, so this will be done too (eventually replacing it all). The armchair will also be reupholstered when all is said and done:

So...here is the dilemma. I have colour schemes racing through my head!

Option #1: My first plan was to paint the walls a warm white like most of the house. Nice and classic and foundational. This also works with the brown drapes I adore (Restoration Hardware's "Fog" linen drapes, which are a grey-brown, almost identical to the ones below). I think they look great with a white wall. And I could keep the furniture soft blue, like the accent in this photo. The chair would be reupholstered in a complementary brown, like the drapes.

I really like this combination:

Option #2: I keep the blue walls and do a white or natural linen-coloured drape.

This saves painting (yay!) and still looks soft and inviting:

This would give me a look similar(-ish) to the ones below:

The blue wall with white/natural linen curtain option would be quick and painless. A soft brown natural linen drape would coordinate with the linen skirt I have on my computer table. And I could reupholster the chair in a nice natural linen. But white linen drapes would be nice with the blue walls and crisp white painted trim too. And I could use all white accents. So even if I do the blue walls, what colour drape?

Thoughts? Some days I love my blue walls and other days I want those brown drapes, which I think would look better with a white wall.

I am torn between two loves...help!

Soft Brown Love

I am hopelessly in love with this soft, medium brown colour. The feeling has been with me for months and isn't going away.

I just bought this little Christmas wreath from Ballard:

I almost bought this pillow from mysparrow but chickened out because I can't figure out my bedding right now and what I really need to go with what. I still covet it:

These soft blankets from Garnet Hill make me happy (especially the bunny brown one):

The new Anthropologie catalog made my heart sing with this classical collection, with all its varied blessed shades of brown:

This relaxed corduroy coat (from the book "French Country Style at Home") reminds me of the past and the future, as it holds a little of something I want to possess (ease):

I have been waiting for this brown chair (thank you Rachel Whiting):

And who can resist this simplicity? I know I want it:

Or this?:

...both from Garnet Hill.

Home Again & A Fine Find

Hello all, I am home again from my whirlwind trip to the east coast for Canadian Thanksgiving. I had such a great time visiting my Mom and extended family and we even had an early birthday supper for my Mom. The weather was cool and delicious and I loved sleeping in my old bed under the eaves under a giant duvet. It was hard to come back to reality!

When I was home, I found this brown antique transferware plate that I forgot to bring home last time. It is from my grandmother's house and I salvaged it before she went to the nursing home. She didn't have many fancy things but did have some odd china pieces that no one else wanted:

Before I left for vacation I moved some things around at home. I switched the art to new locations, moving two of my etchings from Paris to the sideboard wall. The seascape paintings have been relocated to another wall (you can see them reflected in the mirror)...

And if you're interested, here are some autumnal shots from right out in front of my mother's house. She lives in the deep country on a quiet road and it is gorgeous there this time of year (unfortunately there are also bears enjoying her apple trees at night...)

Her house faces the river which is obscured by trees now:

This is her neighbour's house, which I've always loved:

And the back yard, full of birch trees (to which I am allergic!)

Happy Autumn!

New Decorating Crush: Brown!

The other day, I posted about this new brown lampshade:  

When I came home with it, I couldn't figure out how my usual overpowering need for white and otherwise light, airy colours was displaced by the need for something...brown.  

Brown, after all, is not my favorite colour.  And moreover, since it's spring (well, not in Canada anyway), you'd think I would have yellow or pink on my mind instead of dusty old brown.  But somehow, brown had worked its ubiquitous brown self into my head and I was seeing it everywhere!

If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said that yes, I like brown, but in the form of pale linen browns, milky cafe au lait browns and dark brown furniture.  Period.  And other than those light shades, it would not have figured in my decor.

So I came home and looked through my files and realized that I had quietly developed a brown fixation in the last two weeks while looking at the rooms of James Michael Howard (see my previous post here).  His rooms feature some very serious browns (usually combined with white or light-coloured rooms), and I had fallen for this image specifically, with its elegant brown and white platters:

And then there was the brown and cream rug in this photo (below), which caught my eye for its elegant pattern and perfect brown-ness (I like these medium browns best).  And it looks so great with all the blue and white (my two favorite colours) and really grounds all that airiness. 

Then, there was the simple photo (below) that Catherine posted on her beautiful blog Simply Natural a short while ago.  I saved this picture and clearly the decorating part of my brain processed this image while the rest of me was asleep, because I did not consciously notice this brown lampshade until tonight!  I had liked the image simply because it reminded me of the colouring of Jim Howard's rooms and possessed the same quiet grace and inviting quality.

Photo:  Australian Home Beautiful

Then today at the office, I started daydreaming about the exquisite Gien earthenware I'd seen at Printemps in Paris (and have regretted not buying ever since).  I fell in love with the country images and the pretty browns and whites.  From their website, it appears they deliver!  I was mad about the tureen but cannot justify the price! 

And then I went through my files and found many brown and white rooms, proving that my unconscious mind has been way ahead of me for a while.  

The following two photos are from House to Home:  

I now notice the brown and white pillows but saved the photo originally for the linen curtains, white walls, and rustic styling!

Then this week Michele at My Notting Hill posted some exquisite photos of a Paris apartment (from this site) and I was smitten with the brown and white pillows on the bed (below).  These gentle brown and white pillows, combined with the white walls and blue bed are heavenly!

I think the combination of brown and white is the best way to use brown...

And here is another brown and white room, in a photo from OKA Direct, who have stunning rooms in their catalogue:
And then there are these two wonderful sofas from Restoration Hardware.  Note the conspicuously brown colour that my all-white-obsessed brain had deceptively admired.

Another perfect example of brown and white together, in this Shoot Factory picture:

The Lesson:

I've realized that not everything in a light and airy room needs to be light-coloured. Dark colours like brown, when used as accents, help to ground the rooms and actually highlight the light colours.  I can't believe it took me this long to learn this simple and obvious lesson!  I won't be painting my walls brown any time soon, but you can be sure I'll be bringing a few more brown accessories into my home!

I guess the Buddhists are right when they say that happiness (or is that enlightenment?) lies within.  All you need to do is pay attention.  The browns were there all along - I just wasn't seeing them with my heart. 

 ******

And if you still need proof, this room from Traditional Home proves that brown can be very, very sophisticated, especially when paired with the finest creams and white!