Color Palette: Classic Christmas

This weekend was made up of coffee, picking out the perfect Christmas tree, sparkly ornaments and twinkle lights.  I re-checked all of my holiday songs on iTunes and downloaded a new favorite. I miss the fireplace we had in our Charlotte apartment, but I loved decorating our new apartment with a few DIY projects (tutorials to come), my old snowman collection, and new plaid plates and napkins.  I think this color palette is a cozy mix of a few classic Christmas staples.  Plaids, sweaters, colored bulbs, and snow create the perfect blend of wintery prep.

Color Palette: Stream, Logs, Chalk

With the cool air of winter sneaking up on us, all I've been craving lately are chunky sweaters and tall cups of earl grey tea.  I hope this palette helps warm you up this week.

Color Palette: Lace, White-Washed, Cable Knit

Daylight Savings can only mean that winter is quickly coming.  Grab a cup of hot tea, layer up in your thickest sweaters, and enjoy these subtle winter whites.

Color Palette: Cider, Yarn, & Planks

There are few things better in the fall than chunky sweaters, hot apple cider, and warm wooden floor boards under your feet.  I wish my fall wardrobe was as deeply colored and as richly textured as these cozy images.

Falling for Neon

Alright, I admit it.  I'm slowly falling for the neon fad.  At first when I started seeing this trend, I was reminded of the 80's and thought of urban grime (eww!).  But the more I kept seeing it around- in interiors, fashion, paper goods, everywhere- I began to think how it can become a beautiful contrast against whites or neutrals.  While I currently don't own anything neon, I'm thinking that the yellow tape or pink string below might be a good place to start.  Here are a few of the best neon images I've seen.  What do you think about this trend?

interior/ packaging/ tablescape/ letterpress/ skirt/ door/ image board

Color Palette: Rustic Nautical

Nautical isn't just a style, but a way of life that extends through every season.  I love these old oars, lanterns, and textures that all have that rustic nautical feeling.

[Images courtesy of Kinfolk, New England Prepster, BDixon Photography, & House of Turquoise]

Color Palette: Hunting Season

One thing that Chris misses most this time of year is hunting.  He loves being out in the crisp air, listening to nature, and sitting in the tree stand watching.  The few times that I've gone with him, we didn't see any deer (or even any squirrels for that matter!) but I truly enjoyed being absolutely still and feeling like I'm a part of nature. I love the colors, sounds, and textures of the leaves, tree trunks, and the changing sky. Some of the most beautiful things are the natural inspirations that only God can create.

[Images courtesy of Sterling Reflections Photography, Second Hand Nature, DixieTx, & Tumblr] 

Color Palette: Twinkle Lights

I'm craving the warmer weather in which dinner parties are held outside under the twinkling of bulb lights. I can't wait to sit underneath strands strung from balconies and beams while laughing with family and friends with the perfect song playing softly in the background.

[Images courtesy of Tumblr, Unknown, Ritzy Bee, & Aubrey Road]

Color Palette: Abandoned Billboard

There's something so interesting about abandoned billboards peeling with layers of color.  They tell a story of the history of advertisements they've held.  They are scattered across the landscape in fields, on sides of buildings, and along roadsides. But they are also a landscape of their own- hanging on to the layers of their own history.  I was drawn to the color palette of this lonely billboard photographed by the_mel on flickr. Cool steel greys provide the perfect backdrop for musky olives and streaks of rusty caramel. 

[Photographs courtesy of the_mel on flickr]

Autumn Barns

My favorite thing about fall besides pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkins are the turning leaves.  The leaves are at their peak in Charlotte right now, but at the same time I miss seeing rural farms and open fields in autumn. There's nothing like a rustic barn with a backdrop of brightly colored leaves. But until I can go home for Thanksgiving and see them in person, here are a few barns and color palettes to inspire :)

From Art to Inspiration

I discovered Cocoa & Hearts colorful paintings on Ritzy Bee. I love her color combinations and streaky textures of the compositions. I was originally intending on just finding images that contained the same colors as the painting, but as the post evolved, I began to crop the images to become vertical strands that echo the composition of the painting.  I love how this painting translates into inspiration for style, decor, and furnishings.

[Painting] Cocoa & Hearts

[Salmon] Pinterest

[Aqua] Katie Rose Cottage

[Navy] Sacramento Street

[Yellow] Made by Girl

[Peach] Pinterest

Palette: European Sea

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected by the hurricane.  I think this post is a great way to escape from the weather we've experienced lately and get into a peaceful state of mind.  This makes me crave a Grecian vacation soaked with sun rays and discoveries of water passages.

Palette: Vineyard Sky

I think this palette encompasses all seasons.  The dusky sky reminds me of summer while the scratched wood is rich like fall.

Fresh Transitional Palette

I am adoring this fresh color palette.  Its perfect for the transition from fall to winter.  This combination of images definitely makes for one of my most favorite mood boards I've ever created.  Cotton, melon, and minty teals are the common threads throughout all these gorgeous photos.

{Images courtesy of Mary Ruffle, KristyBee on Flickr, Decorology, Suzie Beezie, & Brown Eyed Belle}

Beach Week: Unusual Color Palette

Grey & mustard make a beautiful statement in this beach home's master bedroom & bath. I especially love how the fabrics coordinate without being matchy-matchy.

{Images courtesy of Coastal Living}

Watercolor Wednesday!

A lot of you have seen the autumn watercolor painting on my desktop background and asked where I found it. I found it last year on a random google image search, but I hadn't written down where I had gotten it from. So I found it again just the other day, along with many other watercolors by the same artist. Please check this artist out on flickr, his work is amazing.

So each Wednesday I will plan on featuring a different painting for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Color from the Runway

These interiors take their bold colors straight from the runway's Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collections. If only I could be this bold when I select color!

{Images courtesy of Diane Von Furstenberg, Bahraini Diva, Unknown & Simple Nest}

End of Summer Color Palettes

Say farewell-for-now to summer with these soothing color palettes...

Fall Colors Inspired by Weekend Photographs

This weekend I had the pleasure of going up on Skyline Drive. The colors were so beautiful, and the lookouts over the town were amazing. I decided to bring some of the photographs I took into photoshop, use the color eye drop tool to select colors directly from the picture, and combine them to make different color palettes. As you can see, some of the seasons best color combinations come straight from nature.

I can't wait to go back up once the leaves start changing their brilliant hues.

color palettes from everyday objects

Need a new color combination? Browsing through images, whether outfits or scrapbook pages, are a great source of inspiration. These images from Diane von Furstenberg's Spring 2009 collection are so fresh and summery. Yes, I am still stuck in "summer mode"

These looks from j. crew combine colors that you wouldn't normally think of putting together- yet they still look timeless and fresh.