Interior Painting

Paint Chips to Decide on New Colors

WARNING:  What I'm about to share with you could prove to be a HUGE Time Suck.  But...trust me...you want me to share this with you. I have had too much fun with this.  But I will sleep better knowing that I did warn you. 
Before I share the magic that I discovered today, let me tell you what I've been focused on for this post.  I have been taking photos of some of the rooms of my house to show some of the transformations that I'm most happy with. Color and clutter free are the two words that describe the things I love about this house the most.

When Hubby and I moved into the house, we set about "making it ours". It was time for the interior paint to be refreshed, so we decided to use this opportunity to add/change color. At first we were overwhelmed with choices and I was paralyzed to begin choosing. Above are the paint chips that we arranged and rearranged to try to choose. (As you can see, we are partial to blues and greens.)

When we made our decisions on color, we made some bold choices. I chose some of the boldest moves: Red Kitchen, Black Fireplace Mantel, Navy Bathroom and Black Staircase Banisters. Hubs chose a bright blue for the dining room and we repeated it on several accent walls. It was with fear and trembling that we instructed our painters to purchase the paint we had chosen. Today, I planned to publish a few more photos of our house, but, alas, these photos will have to wait.  (You can see some of my "in progress photos" in the Kitchen Makeover Post.)

Over the last several years I've been quite the HGTV addict.  --Though, lately, I feel like they are cheating us by relying on their House Hunters show when what we really want is more designs from Candice or Sarah Richardson.   I'm also a fan of Jane Lockhart of Colour Confidential.  (Aside: I don't understand what is different about this "new" show and her prior show "Get Color", but I digress.)


Young House Love.Com

Along with the HGTV obsession, I've found an obsession with Design Blogs. I've really been enjoying the blog: Young House Love. You can check it out with the link below their Magazine Cover below.  (Check it out after you've read my blog. .)  --This is one of the blogs I show My Blog List on the sidebar.

If you have checked out this blog or any of the other fun blogs on my list, you'll see that they are quite good. The writing is good as well as the photos and layout. --So good, that I'm a bit intimidated when I decide to share photos and thoughts on design in my blog. --I mean, their blogs are so good. These are examples of what I thing of as Blogazines.  And you already know how I like magazines.  (See "My Life in Magazines). These blogs are very entertaining and very glossy and well done. These bloggers know how to put together a good "show and tell", a good "read and see".
  

Color Assistant's Neutral Americana Room: BEFORE

As I was researching something (for another future post), I came upon this fantastically fun Color-Assistant App. This application is part of the "My Home Ideas" website which is part of Time Inc.'s Lifestyle Group that features their Design Magazines (They call them "brands".). The brands featured as part of this site include: Sunset, Southern Living, Real Simple and This Old House.

Color Assistant lets you be Jane Lockhart of Color Confidential. The application lets you try paint color combinations by using their room samples. Benjamin Moore Paints is a partner to this application. 

Kimberly's Virtual AFTER

If you are thinking of painting and want to experiment with color before you actually have to buy paint, this application may be what you are looking for. The application also allows you to save your virtual projects and email the results as well. The email results also spell out the colors you used, in case you decide you want to actually buy paint.

Perfectly Frank's BEFORE

Perfectly Frank's AFTER

Nature Room BEFORE

Nature Room AFTER

I hope you enjoy this app as much as I did/do. Share your results / comments if you'd like.
Happy Virtual Painting!