Monday, October 4, 2010

Lilac versus lavender.



I have tried swatches of various shades of pink -- and one yellow -- on my apartment walls, and so far none of them work. 

They all say "Barbie dream house" to me, which is decidedly NOT the look I'm after.

My trusty tool Google surfaced the follow images in response to lilac and lavender.  Apparently the difference between the two is this:  lilac skews more pink, lavender skews more blue.

I think I might be inclined towards the blue, because it's warmer ... but it can't be too muddy or it's not going to brighten the place up.

These photos are a start, inspiration-wise ... a few observations:  I will be using a LOT of white to keep the contrast crisp.  I can see how these shades work in a more formal environment -- and that is lovely -- but my place is small and tends more towards cinderblock than Cinderella. 

So there's that to keep in mind :-).

Still, I want to feel at least a little Cinderella-ish in my own home.  The third photo up from the bottom is the shade I'm most inclined towards right now.















image sources:  coming soon!



3 comments:

  1. I think a very nice "periwinkle" blue...just a hint....find a white with it in it... I used Ralph Lauren I think...also if you have to cover a colour or need to prime...have them colour your primer and that will save you a coat.....I had it with white trim in my last house and I never got tired of it as it was very soothing and calming....just my humble....pink makes me nuts!

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  2. Thanks, Sandi!

    I have done (or tried to do) a blue in my living room, which has pretty much worked out disastrously, because I've never been into blues.

    BUT I think I haven't used the right blues. I went with dark Wedgewood blue, with gold/cream acccents, neither of which are truly "me", but I hoped they'd fancy the place up a bit. Hell, I even put a tasseled curtain in. It was OK for a while ... I was looking for a fresh start, as I hadn't lived alone in years ... thought "why not try something new"?

    It was good to take a risk, if dark Wedgewood blue can be called a risk.

    The floors in this apartment are all vinyl, and look like school floors, but the good thing is that they are unobtrusive shades of beige with little streaks of off white and gray. I think they're meant to hide traffic/dust between cleanings, without an interesting color on the walls their plainness just keeps gnawing away at the designer/color craver part of my brain.

    I'm so starved for pretty color that I went to Michael's yesterday and bought some faux light pink roses to throw on top of my hutch. They do look swell next to the huge Japanese peony (also pink, also faux).

    I love pink, I just think I don't have enough finesse to do it on a large scale.

    Onwards ...

    :-)

    Laurie

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  3. I love dusky shades of lavender, more on the warm side than the cool side--and by warmer, I mean browner not pinker. The brighter lavenders tend to be too much for me, but the greyed-down shades seem more elegant.

    I especially like the top image you've posted, and the second one from the bottom. Those are shades I could live with, myself.

    I totally agree with you about using lots of white to keep a crisp contrast and fresh mood in a room.

    Also, keep in mind your accent colors, as they will need to play nicely with your wall color.

    Have fun!

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