Color Her Colonial

Does that sound familiar? That was the title of the article about our home in Country Sampler. I was very pleased with both the title and article. I am not 100% sure how they came up with that title but I have my suspicions! It could be because I like color in our home and it could be the result of the interview I had with the writer, Leslie Mann. Prior to the interview, she sent me a list of questions. Some of them seemed strange to me at the time, but later made sense when I read the article. One of the questions was about my favorite song and Color My World by Chicago

is the answer I gave. That was our wedding song. Every year on our anniversary we dance to it. And when asked to name my style, of course I said colonial inspired. So given all that, the name makes perfect sense to me.

Some people think that colonial decor was dark and drab. However, it was anything but that. Pieces surviving from that period are faded and worn so naturally they look drab, and paints of the time didn’t have the preservatives that modern paints do. But it is now known that early settlers used as much color as they could in their otherwise drab lives. Bright greens and golds, and reds and blue were prized and sought after. It was a luxury to have bright colored fabrics or to be able to afford real paint. The only lighting they had was by candle light or fire or a bit later, oil and kerosene type lamps so the inside of their homes was drab. And all those things let off soot and over time that darkened everything – another reason why anything surviving from that time doesn’t show the color of the day.

I enjoy color in my home. I love warm mustards and reds and use those mainly with the neutral tans and black.

I love my dark red chair and mustard dry sink in the living room.

The mustard and barn red flame stitch sofa helps tie the colors together. This is classic flamestitch by Johnston Benchworks.

I think everyone know how much I love my red stepback hutch! and my mustard bucket bench in the dining room.

And in our master bedroom the night stands ..

and glove box mirror are dark red,

while the chimney cupboard is mustard.

I used the same dark red (Barn Red – Old Century Paints) on the medicine cabinet in

our bathroom…

and on the TV cupboard in hubby’s office/den.

The glove box mirror, medicine cabinet and TV stand were all 1970’s era dark pine pieces from Yield House. They were classic pieces and have stood the test of time. A little paint was all they needed

Of course my office is full of color!! From the dark red panel at the top of the walls, (Cabin Red on top, Caramel on the bottom - Eddie Bauer Signature series premium paint by Lowes – wonderful paint!)

to the prim portraits on the wall and the layered linens on the day bed. They all make me smile.

And shouldn’t our homes do that?

You may have noticed that this post looks very different. This is my first try using Windows Live Writer to make my post. I saw a link on someone’s blog and decided to try it out. So far it has proven to be fun – but I am definitely still learning! It seems easier to figure out the spacing issues and you can tilt pictures, decide where you wan the text and watermark each photo after you insert it into the post. It was a cinch to embed that video in the post. By the way, that was filmed in 1977 – two years after we got married.

Sorry, I don’t have the link to the Windows Live Writer program so you will have to Google it.

I spent some time Thursday, Friday and earlier today tweaking and moving things, so I took a lot of new pictures. And I am having fun experimenting with them in this post.

This is another option – you can insert a whole album of pictures at once! These are some new hallway pictures I took.

View Full Album

Let’s try that again! These are some new dining room photo’s in a different style album.

View Full Album

That was fun! The next time I come back, I’ll share the rest of my updated living room and bathroom photo’s.

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Speaking of Country Sampler, Sheila over at The Second Twin Sews Blog emailed me that she has decided she is no longer going to hoard her magazines. She has a copy of the September 09 issue of Country Sampler that she will be happy to pass on to the first responder over at her blog. Just click on the blog name to get there. Sheila is going to do more magazine sharing when she goes through more of her stash. Head up to you quilters - you might want to keep your eye on her blog for some of those! By making that link to Sheila’s blog in Live Writer, I had the option to make the link open in another window so you won’t loose your place here if you want to go to her blog. Another cool feature!
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Of course my world is now brightly colored because of the addition of our sweet little Liliana. On Thursday, she and her mommy came over along with Jen, my sister Chris and my nieces Hannah and Rachel and my mom, and we had a delightful evening. Liliana was awake for awhile when she first got here and I even got a huge smile out of her. My heart melted! She ate when we ate and then she slept soundly while the girls and my mom each had a chance to snuggle with her. Here is yet another album style you can choose! How cool is this! The large photo from left to right – standing is my niece Rachel, at the back her mom and my sister Chris, on the right, Hannah and seated is my mom and our precious Liliana being oh so cooperative!

View Full Album

Well I hope I have your colored your world a bit today. You color my world each and every time you stop by. Thank you for making my blog part of your routine.

Until next time - Hugs, Linda