I've got the blues...

Benjamin Moore
Hale Navy

Benjamin Moore
New Providence Navy

No silly, not the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese kind, the kind that has me loving these shades of blue paint! The darker the better! Today I made a quick trip with a pal to the local Benjamin Moore Paint Store. While there I collected every shade of blue they had on display with swings into the green and gray families just to be sure I had my bases covered. Upon arriving at home I sprawled out each swatch of color on every square inch of the rug and guess what? Not a singled darned one of them did ANYTHING to compliment the rug. I turned the overhead light on and off, table lamps on and off, adjacent room lights on and off and NADDA...not a stitch of love for any color combinations. During this process it dawned on me that the primary reason for starting in this room was because it was too dark with the hooker red walls and here I am having a great love affair with the new providence navy and hale navy swatches under foot which I don't exactly think fit into the categor of 'lighter paint colors'. I realize my problem in hunting for the perfect complimentary shade of blue is that the rug colors are so well intertwined that they change with each change in lighting (natural and man made). As the sun started setting the livelier shades began to turn dark and mysterious...still beautiful, ,don't get me wrong. Something just doesn't feel right about considering blue now that it was getting dark outside and my rug was giving off a charcoal gray vibe not to mention those shades of olive green just completely changed to brown. Hmm..I'm really in love with the idea of a blue denim finish on the walls but does denim have to be blue? For those of you who remember Captain Kangaroo I bet you'll agree, Mr. Green Jeans would answer that question with an emphatic NO! Is it the color blue and the thought of my favorite pair/s of jeans that evoke that pleasant at peace and happy feeling within me?  Maybe its the earthy organic textured component that is beneath this heated desire for denim. You know, I get the same way about linen. Although I must admit that I don't own much because I hate to iron and the 'no-iron' linens just never look the same. And you know what...the technique used to create a linen look on your walls isn't that far off from the technique I would have been using for denim....

I think I've got it!

By pulling the wheat and vanilla colors from the rug in lieu of the blues AND giving the walls a linen finish instead of  denim I think I'll hit 2 birds with 1 stone (speaking of birds, you'll see them in an upcoming post soon enough). Lighter color on the walls while still staying complimentary with the colors in the rug. Notice I did not say 'matching' the colors in the rug...don't care much for the matchy matchy look but also not looking to take this into the realm of Punky Brewster (sorry for those of you who missed out on the 80's). Yes, I do realize most faux paint techniques are passe and someone out there is screaming for me to get with the times but the only alternative I can think of to bring the look of texture to the walls is wallpaper..has that come back into style yet? If so someone break the news to my poor parents who've spent countless hours taking wallpaper down in too many rooms to count the last few years! I hate seams so even if it's back in fashion I'm not likely to go down that path without a pro.

Considering a linen finish should also bring back in a little formal vibe to what is, in most houses, a formal space. This bit of formal will not overrule my overall style which is about the farthest thing from formal you can imagine. I think this finish will bring in the depth, interest and texture I'm craving.

Are you keeping up with me yet?I'm actually having a hard time myself. With the injection of the new rug into my space all things color related are being revisited including the color for the behemoth - which by the way did get the first round of primer over the weekend (photos will come soon). It's getting late and I'm rambling... I'll do a quick check in over the weekend to let you know how things are progressing. Stay tuned....