At dinner, I sat down with Shelley from House of Smiths and picked her brain about her AMAZING home transformation.
At the time, I knew I wanted to change something in my house but was afraid I was going to ruin the good things I had going in the space.
But… after 6 years of living with the same paint color, and seeing my personal style changing.
I was ready for a change.
So when I got home I put a plan into action.
At first, I thought I knew the direction I wanted to go, but soon discovered that the idea of the space I wanted versus the and reality of living in that space were 2 very different things!
My first project was the kitchen, I covered the red paint with primer, and then set off to find a New color.
Here was the kitchen before…
My original plan was to get rid of ALL the red and exchange it out for blue.
I painted most of my kitchen with this color, but stopped half way through. I wasn’t 100% sure how I felt about it, and had to think about it for a week or so.
I finally decided that this blue was NOT the right blue so I moved on to a Warmer hue of blue “Comfort Grey-Shermin Williams.”
Here is the kitchen with blue attempt #2
I have to say this room is VERY pretty, In all honesty…
I had nothing to complain about.
BUT… (there is always a “But” isn’t there? 🙂
I REALLY liked the color, BUT deep down it just wasn’t sitting right with me. The more I moved forward, the More things started getting kind of CRAZY.
By painting my kitchen blue, it opened up Pandora’s box so to speak.
When I changed the kitchen, I then had to change the front room, laundry room, hall and entry. I knew I would have to change things, but never realized to what degree.
Night after night, I lost sleep over trying to come up with ideas for a NEW plan of how I was going to make the blue work. But nothing seemed to easily fall into place. I am a firm believer that if things don’t fall into place and it feels like you are pulling teeth to make it happen, it’s your gut telling you “STOP” and regroup/rethink. THANK GOODNESS that I listened!!!
Then winter set in and the snow started to fall . . . for some reason, the idea of blue in my kitchen now became gloomy for me. (remember I was coming from a warm red kitchen)
DON’T get me wrong. I am a HUGE lover of blue. The walls of my nursery, play room and Megan’s room are blue. But for me, loving blue and trying to incorporate it in my main living space are two very different things.
Idaho is pretty much cold 9 months of the year, and for me I wanted to garnish the main living areas of our home with warmth because of the constant blizzards outside.
I have FINALLY come to a decision.
I AM BRINGING BACK THE
RED,GOLD and GREEN
and lets not forget Black and
Lots and Lots of WHITE!!! AKA…Trim work 🙂
I know, I know…it might not be EXCITING and NEW compared to the soft greys and blues that are so popular these days.
But..this is who I am, and these colors screams “HOME” for me!
I have ALWAYS loved these colors!
So I am going forward with the old colors and attempting a NEW look while still being TRUE to myself!
I am in the process of painting my house (including my kitchen)
a warm yellowy gold color called
“Gold 3” -Laura Ashely (found at Lowe’s)
My cute friend who’s home I have adored for years has this color on her walls, during the middle of my paint search I had forgotten about this warm inviting color.
Until one night when it hit me!
I KNEW it was the RIGHT color! Since that decision, EVERYTHING has fallen into place and I have never looked back!
I have learned that red is GOOD in small doses:)
Here are just a few things in my collection that I am happy, once again, to have as part of my home!
#3 I didn’t have the budget to completely change EVERYTHING in my home. And in truth I would have had to change A LOT if I had stayed with the blue!
Ahhhh Heidi – I am so GLAD someone finally wants to stick with warm tons! I had this same discussion with Jared's sister last month. Though I love the trendy blues and greys that everyone is using right now, it is taking a lot of warmth from rooms. Aren't warm, cozy and inviting spaces what we are all striving for? Cool colors have a place and can really create a calm and peaceful area, but in the places that we "gather" as family warm colors are so welcoming. As always, you are brilliant!
Good for you Heidi!! You are awesome! I love your style no matter what. Red is so you. It makes you happy and get movin'. Can't wait to see what you do.
Thank you for this post!!! This is exactly what is happening to me! I have lost sooo much sleep over the past 8 weeks. I have over 18 samples of gray on every wall in my house right now that I am about to go crazy! I just walk in and out of every room looking, pondering and putting my other furnishings by it and NOTHING looks right! My husband has actually FORBID me to even say the word paint for at least a couple weeks….he feels I need a break from it all to regroup (I think he just wants his sane wife back :)!! You are so right about a simple paint color turning into a million other projects. We too built our house 6 years ago and I have loved everything about it until that awful PINTEREST was introduced to me 🙂 I am now replacing all the flooring, even my bathroom tile and redoing just about EVERTHING! Best of Luck to you and I can't wait to see all your wonderful projects. Your home is gorgeous!
Also I had gold Ashley number four in one of my houses. So many of my friends used the same color on their walls because they loved it on mine
I feel the same way. I can't do the grays and gray blues. I live in Ohio we don't see sun for 6 monthsof the year. I tend to be attracted to green undertones in paint colors.
I can not wait to see what you decided! I am with you! I think the beauty and simplicity of the new blues/greens are very appealing but when I try to incorporate it into my home & style it just doesn't work either!
I love love love the reds golds and greens! They are the same colors I keep using in my own home. I'm so excited to see what you do with them! So warm and inviting!
You have perfectly articulated here in this post, all of MY own anxiety of late! I too, love the warm colors, but have been feeling the need for a change in my home. And, while I really love how the blues, greens, and grays look in everyone's updated homes these days, I know these colors won't work for me in mine. I too, have been tossing and turning at night, trying to come up with the ultimate transformation game plan, to no avail.
Love that you are stepping up and being true to yourself, instead of being trendy. I really believe that being true to yourself will always be in style!
GREAT post! A million thanks. Thought I was the only one…
Have a fabulous weekend.
xo
-Lisa
Wow, it's good to see I'm not alone in the blues/grays issue. I think all the homes with these colors look so nice and new, but when it comes to putting it in my own home, it just doesn't feel like ME. It feels like I'm trying to fit a mold that is trendy. I still love the look, but it's just not right for my house. Thanks for posting this. It really does make me feel better 🙂
To thine own self be true!!! I love your reds and your home is beautiful no matter what you do, it really is!!! I love that ultimately good style does not have to be dictated by what's trendy now. I love a classic look that surpasses styles that come and go!
Glad to see you found something that you love. I can't wait to see what you do. Sometimes it is better to do what you love, and not follow the trend. My designer friend always tells me to fill my house with things I love.
Some houses are meant for cool colors, others are meant for warm. YOURS is definitely meant for warm. The hutch in the hallway is AH-MAZING and no shade of blue or gray would do it justice. Be true to how you live and what you love, not what's trendy. I'm glad to see your decision is allowing you to move forward with joy and excitement. Your Mr. Wonderful must be pleased you can now sleep at night! Can't wait to see the reveal.
Good for you! I can't wait to see the total transformation !!
Oh Heidi! I have gone back and worth with this blue gray thing for some time now. I am a red girl too! I like to think of it like choosing clothes I don't look good in orange but some women look great in it.. It's the same for our homes sometimes it just doesn't suit us the way it does someone else and that's ok!! It's hard though when you see it all around you via blogs and pinterest, it looks so pretty in homes but in the end we have to do what makes us happy! Good for you!! Your home is amazing and it's going to look beautiful when it's done!
Funny you should post this (GLAD you did!) because we've had our house for nearly 5 years……it's the LONGEST we've ever lived in the same place. I'm tired/bored with our paint colors/furnishings etc…..we don't plan to sell or move anytime soon with the crazy market etc…so I've been wanting to change up colors etc, get a fresh 'new' look. But with all the trendy greys- blues- taupes- bones…..etc I haven't been able to decide on anything that I could do & be comfortable with…..I TOO want a warm looking & inviting home, so yes, you definitely have to be true to yourself & realize how you will 'feel' in a space when you live there, regardless of how pretty & fun all the new trendy stuff looks in pictures.
Now hurry up and get it done so we can SEE all the pics!! 😉
I'm with you, while I love the blues and greens, I need a punch of red in my home! I loved the original room, but I think the warm yellow is gorgeous and really accents the pieces you have. Great choice!!! As others have said, looking forward to the reveal! 🙂
Thank you so much for this post. I too love the look of all the blue and gray that is going on right now, but after painting the dining room 4 different shades I found I could not live with it either! Home decor is like fashion; everything is cyclical and warm colors will return. You are just ahead of the curve! You have a beautiful home; stay true to who you are and what makes you happy.
Yay!! I love all the blues and softer colors that are popping up but I will never give up my red. You know, reds and golds just have a completely different feeling! Energy. 🙂
I think that's great! I too wanted to change my living room from the major color being red to more blue. (although my walls are a light beige) I couldn't give up the red either and was constantly confused! I finally decided to choose a rug that had reds, blues, and greens in it. It took a while, but I finally found exactly what I wanted! So now I have my red (in small doses) and blues and greens as well! 🙂
I can't wait to see your finished product! I absolutely LOVE your home! It's a great source of inspiration for me! God bless!
You are so brave to stick with what you feel and need for your own home! I would be a chicken and just stay with the first color change I made even if I didn't like it! Your home is amazingly beautiful and feels so warm and inviting. I can't wait to see how things all come together!
I totally agree! I am drawn to the blues and whites and grays in design, but when choosing colors for my own house, I always go with the warm colors! And I live in Texas so its not near as cold as long here. Can't wait to see what you do!
First time commenter, just wanted to say YAY!!!!! So glad that you are going against the trends and doing what you love and making it beautiful! Who says that red is out of style?!? Style is what you make of it! Can't wait to see it all come back together!
I think you are making a wonderful choice…I love warm colors also! I live in Texas and I don't really care about what everyone else thinks…Ha! It's gotta feel like home to me! 🙂 Can you share where you got your kitchen lighting from? I'm loving it!