January: Greenery

My original plan was to add my color of the year post for January on the 1st, but with family in town, a one and a half year old being just that, and general craziness and laziness it hasn't happened until now. So, sorry about that but here we go.

When I see Pantone's color of the year "Greenery" I find myself drifting off into a quiet countryside where the grass is green, the air is clean, and the ivy flows on abandoned rock walls with ease. It's a very vivid color so when you're trying to create a design with that color in the scheme it's important to remember that sometimes less is more. Sure, you absolutely can paint the entire room that color and bask in its greeny goodness, but in a lot of cases that may be too overpowering for your needs and eventually wind up creating a sense of imbalance in your life.

In my design I paired the boldness of "Greenery" with a neutral feminine flare and imagined it being used in a living space with a multi gray toned stone fireplace. Above the fireplace was an open and very tall wall that needed a visual implement that would add to the stone. While the pattern I've added in my photo could become a little busy on said wall I imagined it with wide lines and perhaps thin strips of a mid-toned brown lines framing the creamy lines. My idea was to create an almost trellis effect above the fireplace with "Greenery" representing spring like foliage and the creamy tones (with or without additional brown details) illustrating the illusion of a trellis allowing the foliage to climb up the fireplace.

The color "Chop Sticks" would be used as your overall room color and "Dover White" would be the trim, baseboards, and ceiling colors. To tie everything together I'd add a mid to dark brown wood floor throughout creating the impression of nature being brought in from the outdoors. I'd add an area rug that tied elements of the wall and trim colors in under a sturdy live edge wood coffee table (which coincidentally we can custom make for you right here at JL Concepts). The sofa and love seat would be a solid creamy tone and artwork showcasing countryside, flowers, and naturescapes would sprinkle the walls. Corners of the rooms would house leafy indoor houseplants that carried "Greenery" throughout the rest of the room. I'd add drapery that is just slightly darker than the wall color so that they told a story of their own but didn't blend in too deeply into the walls. For lighting we'd use natural light in the day and canned lighting at night highlighting art throughout the room, and on side tables would be reading lamps to use when necessary.

Any color can be added to any situation to create the look you're trying to achieve. Sometimes less of the color can actually make the color seem more prominent than having the color be the main focal point of the room. If you ever find yourself in a jam and would like help give us a call and I can come help you create the room of your dreams!

Until next month! Happy coloring!

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