Friday, August 17, 2012

Changes: Blonde to Comfort Gray

No, I’m not talking hair color, but big color changes coming to my home. I’m excited about the change and have my fingers crossed that it’ll work! For four years I’ve been swimming in a sea of gold. My walls are gold (Sherwin Williams Blonde), my cabinets are gold (natural maple), my floors are gold (butterscotch stained oak), my table is gold (rosewood), my carpet is gold-ish (dirty cream), and my sectional is gold. I’d show you more of the family room (behind me in this pic), but it’s more of the same.

It’s fair to say I’m gagging on gold.

Gold everything

The gold and red color scheme is lovely during the autumn but it’s very warm, and quite a contrast to my upstairs level which is shades of ocean blues and sandy beaches. I’ve discussed this dilemma before in the January post “Fabric Swatch S.O.S.”.  That is when I started searching for fabrics to meld the two color schemes together. 

Well I found the perfect fabric! The only problem, it only came on a pillow. This pillow is now my inspiration for the downstairs color scheme! It is from Pottery Barn and no, I can’t remember what it is called exactly. They no longer carry it, but do have similar embroidered pillows in stock currently.

Pottery Barn Embroidered pillow (2) (800x533)

I seriously love these pillows. I bought two of them which was a huge splurge for me, but they were perfect! They combine shades of blues, grays, golds, and red.

Pottery Barn Embroidered Pillow (533x800)

Ninety percent of my house is painted in Sherwin Williams colors and they come from the tree swatches you see below. Rainwashed is in my master bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room. Sea Salt is in my front music room, Ivoire is the dining room, and Blonde is the family room, kitchen, computer room, and powder room.

comfort gray  (800x533)

Do you see the color right below Sea Salt? It’s Comfort Gray. That is what I will painting the entire kitchen in this weekend! While looking for examples to show you, I came across The Nester’s family room. I guess I never realized she had chosen Comfort Gray, but I knew I loved it. Her sofa is even the same color as my Pottery Barn sectional. And I spy a dough bowl the same size as the one I found last week, under that coffee table too!

Comfort Gray

Nesting Place

Seeing Nester’s beautiful room was even more confirmation that I was headed in the right direction with Comfort Gray for the kitchen. It will help break up sea of gold and hopefully brighten the room a bit.

Change is good, don’t you think?

Kim

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33 comments:

  1. Hahahha... yes change is good. I too am shedding the wash of gold. Mine was a gold, sage red scheme. The walls were a gold wash throughout the 'public' areas. Now they are a calm Sherwin Williams duo ( can't remember the names ) of rich cream and ivory. The red and sage are still here, in the rugs and the lower half of the dining wall. But I am no longer in a sea of gold.
    Also adding touches of chocolate throughout...
    Agreed... Fall is conducive to the warmer colours, but with accessories, it will be just as cozy.
    Looking forward to your reveal. The pillow is luvely :-)
    Cheers, Gee

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    1. Thanks Gee! I have some sage too scattered about. The problem is by the time I finally get everything done in this house, my tastes change!

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  2. Love those pillows!!! It's gonna be gorgeous; I can't wait to see!

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  3. Laughing out loud! I'm putting finishing touches on my "slowly going gray" post! My home has been undergoing the same slow transformation from golds and beiges to grays and turquoises. Can't wait to see it!

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    1. Haha! (great minds thinking alike?) I think it's all of us finally catching up with the color trends? I'll be looking forward to your post too!

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  4. what a great choice, although the room looks great now too! Have fun painting. Can't wait to see how it looks.

    PS- i too have the same couch in my den.

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    1. Thanks Laura. The PB sectional is new but I've never shown it or written about it on the blog. It's a great sectional for a huge family like ours!

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  5. I agree, change is great... but but but, then, you'll want a white slip for the sofa and of course the kitchen cabs will need to be painted white and gently glazed or waxed and then the accessories will need to be in the softer blue tones and and and LOL.. sorry I couldnt resist.. I guess I typed what would happen if I went from khaki to gray walls:)

    have fun and do what would make your soul sing..

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    1. Haha! No white slipcovers for me... I love my new sectional! Yes, I'd love to change the cabinets too but a girl can only do (and afford) so much. That's the problem too being a home blogger... we're fickle and never content. ;)

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  6. I absolutely love the color combination! I am searching for the perfect fabric to pull red into my room.

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    1. EXACTLY!!!!! That's the problem, finding a fabric that adds just the right amount of red. If you find something fab, let me know! I've been searching for a year and I can find exactly what I want.

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  7. Can't wait to see the transformation in your kitchen! That pillow is gorgeous and, I agree, the perfect blend of your colors. Happy painting!

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  8. I think it's gonna be absolutely gorgeous. I'm looking forward to seeing the changes! I am currently working on our bathroom and painting the ceiling and walls, too. It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it!
    Jule

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    1. Oh how I'd love to my ceilings in a brighter white! That is hard work you're doing! Thanks Jule!

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  9. Oh yes, I just love it!! I had the same color cabinets and just painted most of them grey then added blue to the walls. I still have gold in the adjoining living area, but the blue definitely helped tone it down. Can't wait to see it!!

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  10. I'm usually behind on these things....last year we painted almost everything Pittsfield Buff (gold tan). But I love it. And with dove white trim, it really pops.

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  11. I love change Kim! Can't wait to see your rooms reveal!

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  12. I have the same problem, Kim! EVERYTHING is beige/tan in my house. Gradually working on changing things out - grays, white, more neutrals with pops of colors :)

    Can't wait to see what you do - need some inspiration! :)

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  13. How pretty your home is. We live along the Gulf Coast in a 1940's bungalow style house and several of our walls are made from heart pine indoor siding. Beautiful to look at in their natural state, but really they darken the rooms they're in. I've been trying to get my DH to let me paint them into a lighter color, but he's standing firm against it. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

    Today is a work on the house day for me and I'm going to begin planning a makeover for my kitchen.

    Have a wonderful weekend painting!

    Debbie...(O:
    ><>

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  14. I can't wait to see how this turns out! My colors are almost identical to yours - golds, reds, browns - in most of my downstairs but my upstairs has a lot of blues. Sometimes I look at my kitchen/family room area and just don't know where to begin! I am excited to see your transformation!
    -Shelley

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  15. Kim,
    I've been looking at different colors choices for our space, let's just say for the past year for the master bedroom, offices and master bath. Very hard for me to make a decision but I'm leaning toward a soft gray/green.
    I also have two different shades of green going on in the dining room and the music room. When I picked the colors out, loved them..that is until I put them on the walls. Nothing is really wrong with the dining room color BUT you can see a glimpse of the music room and the two colors just clash to me. So not liking it anymore. Change it good but not looking forward to all the work again.
    Just wanted to stop by and say, I love your colors choices, basically the same that I thinking about going with. Look forward to seeing how your space looks once you've completed it. Have a great weekend!

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  16. I'll be looking forward to seeing that color transformation. I'm kind of gagging on gold here too....in my living room especially.

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  17. Hi Kim. Loved seeing this! I have the EXACT same problem as you - except throw greens and reds in with the gold. I finally found a fabric that combines all these colors together, along with some blue, that I think will help. I chose all of these colors back in the late 90's when they were really popular in home decor. Sure is hard to transition to something else without spending a fortune on new furniture and having to paint the whole house!

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  18. Oh, you are going to L-O-V-E it! I'm in the process of transitioning my home from golds to shades of gray and blue, too... it's so refreshing! The pillows you found are kismet -- woo hoo!
    Heidi :)

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  19. ME TOOO!!! We've just done a major bathroom redo and as soon as the checkbook recovers I'm hitting the LR, DR and Kitchen. We have the gold, red, sage and I have the same color sofa as you. I love mixing the reds with the grays, kind of keeps it warmy. Is that a word? Thanks for the "inspiration."

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  20. Looking forward to the "after" photos =) It sounds like so many of us have the gold/beige blahs! I just love your inspiration pillow!!! Rustoleum sells a Cabinet Transformation kit, which enables you to paint over kitchen cabinets without sanding or stripping the original finish. I would love to try this, but am a bit hesitant. Do you know of anyone who has used this product?
    Happy Painting :) Jackie S

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    1. Thanks Jackie! Actually I've used the Transformation Kit myself. You can see it in my post Painted Cabinets (up in the DIY Gallery tab up top) or just click this link to see the tutorial: http://www.sandandsisal.com/2011/10/painted-cabinets.html

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  21. Thank you Kim! I just viewed your cabinet transformation noted above. They look fantastic! Have you experienced any issues with the finish, or have they been durable for you? I've never worked with deglosser before. This sounds like a winner! Thanks again, Jackie

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    1. The deglosser is pretty nice. It is like a soapy wash. The finish has held up really well, not single scratch or chip. It's an impressive product.

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  22. I'm searching for fabric to make the same type of change. LOVE your pillow fabric.

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  23. Kim- I LOVE those pillows too. Pretty much my entire downstairs color scheme is taken from similar pillows to those (PB usually has a great color combo with their floral pillows). I have a tan couch, some tan walls...and one downstairs bonus room is Comfort Gray and the Kitchen is Sea Salt...it all flows together so nicely (if I do say so myself...it's been a long time coming!)

    I painted our kitchen cabinets white (from orange-y oak) using the Rustoleum and it made a huge difference...but they aren't perfect. I've got some vanities upstairs that should be painted and I'm dreading it! The internet is surely a great resource but it's so true that it can easily make us nit pick our houses!!

    xoxo Amy @ 20 Minute Mom

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  24. wowwww amazing found! ;) Love those pillows!

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