Colorless Colors

I can't believe it's already a year since I last looked at paint colors! Remember the guest room makeover, changing bland to French? Linen ~ oatmeal ~ cream. The colors on the top paint strip below were the front runners. These warm cream shades were the ones I chose, following much trepidation. Happy to say they worked well and I still love them, and the guest room.

Notes from a very French book might tell one how to find the right shade of grey.....if one knew on which page to look. I just bet the French had already perfected grey even in the 19th century.

One of a set of three French 1865 illustrated journals.

Or, put the alternative plan into action. Look, sigh, pick, choose, then exit that paint store armed with miniature sample jars, mixed quart paint cans, paint chip strips, lots of wood stirrers, a long cash register receipt, and buckets of frustration.

Look sideways at a blank canvas for inspiration. Those 'Linen White' walls. The 'White Sneakers' paint color on the dresser. Try to see them in gentle shades of French Grey.

Remove a few large mirrors and the framed tulip prints from the walls. Important, place a drop cloth, or your dish towel, on the floor. Take an old paintbrush, the one you save for testing colors, hues and shades. Slap, oops, too messy that way. I mean, gently brush a strip of each color in the vacant spaces ~ you can hide them later by rehanging everything until you're ready for the big day. Glance at them in sunshine, through cloud cover, under chandelier light, candlelight.......and definitely moonlight. They will never look the same. Now you're back at square one again.......but vow you will not return to the paint shop to start over.

Didn't you always envy people who get to pick the cute names for lipsticks and nail polish? What a fun job. How about naming paint while watching it dry!

Some thought provoking grey names..................

Polar Star

Calm

Stony Ground

Gravity

Metropolis

Elephant's Breath

Stormy Monday

My final choice doesn't have a fancy name. It's just good old 'Classic Gray' ~ the lightest shade on the right on the wall above. I'm hoping that test strip isn't playing with my mind. Please let it be the right one. You'll know in a couple of days.

What to do with those sample pots and quart cans? Buy some new, shiny, empty cans. Start pouring, mixing, and stirring those grey grays and blue greys together. Maybe I'll invent the perfect darker shade of French Grey...............I'm going to paint the dresser next!

Shades of Grey/Gray

Last month I told you about my dining room redecoration plan here.
I'm amazed that it's been almost eight years since I painted the dining room. After some quick changes from gold to red and then back to linen white - I've lived happily with this until now. The change is imminent - we're turning grey! French Grey of course. Subtle French Country grey, not too dark, not too blue. The French seem to have a knack for mixing and blending the most beautiful greys for those historic village houses and magnificent chateaux.


Packing up the china is a full time job. Small boxes are the secret for easy lifting.

The wallpaper border will come down. Curtain pole may stay this color - grey blends well with cream, ivory and gold touches, all neutrals.

Have you ever had to choose grey paint? You enter the paint store. You stand ready for action at the display.....to make the perfect choice.....to pick your French Grey. Hesitation creeps in, you breathe heavily as you pick one little card with several greys in a line. You stick it back in the display, too blue? You pull out another, much too dark. This one looks good until you hold it next to white....this grey turns beige. Do you know that paint chips slowly evolve from stark white through what seems like another thousand shades of white before you hit the greys or grays. Then you are faced with warm greys and cool greys. Blue greys and green greys.

In your mind's eye you know exactly the shade you are seeking - finding it is harder than you expected.

Come back tomorrow.................perhaps by then I'll have found the right color!

Restoration for the soul....and dining room

Shades of grey ~ Appartement Chanvre ~ La Madone, Provence.

It's that time of year again. The cottage needs a little TLC here and there. My dh held his breathe and sighed while I trotted joyfully to the paint chip displays in the big box DIY store. Now they are stuck in the door moldings and window frames so the colors can be viewed in the changing light of day and night. These may not be my final choice but they are a start.

Since staying at La Madone in Provence last October, the peaceful shades of grey, the palest hint of blue edged in white have interrupted my sleep and invaded my dreams. Don't get me wrong, I love the warm neutrals of cream, linen, oatmeal too, but as my dining room is a South facing sunny space, I think I can safely try these French shades to change the look of the room without it feeling cold.

I have a great painter who will do this job because it's more than just slapping on a coat of pure color. The 1980's popcorn ceiling has to go ~ big messy job! There is a large crack in the corner wall beyond the hutch requiring attention ~ guess the cottage has settled a bit in her old age ~ and the wallpaper border will have to be removed. There is a chair rail in this room. Several years ago I wallpapered below with a heavy embossed paper similar to Lincrusta which is used a lot in England to hide flaws in old construction. I love this look and have repainted the paper a couple of times. I'm thinking of painting above the chair rail in a very pale grey with just a hint of blue, and the paper below in a shade just a tad deeper. I'm not going for a blue room, just the palest blue grey.

Can my Welsh Dresser change its nationality and become French? After packing away the china for a while, I'm thinking of repainting it French grey which will be a fresh background for my white and cream china. This dresser is in two pieces and the last time I painted it I was able to lay the top section flat on the dining room table making it a much simpler job........I think!

Appartement Chanvre dining area at La Madone, Provence.

The plan is still only in my head right now and I'll let you know when things start moving.

Do you have any redecorating projects in mind for this year?