I had a piece of solid printed color from a wall calendar that I thought I might aim for, so I was schlepping that around. The solid I had been eyeing a couple of months earlier at the store was darker and duller than I had imagined/remembered (or at least compared to the color swatch), so I carried the fabric around the shop for half an hour, looking for alternatives.
I did find a brighter green with a subtle spiral scatter pattern, but I thought it might be a little TOO bright. Another one appeared to have an ideal color, but had a leafy-flowerish pattern. After much mucking around and holding up bolts to different swaths of colors to estimate compatability, I determined by process of elimination that the solid I had picked out earlier was actually the best for my purposes. Not too dark, not too bright, not too yellow, but yellow enough to be cheerful. Whew! You know how difficult these color choices can be--I want them all! But I am pleased with my choice of the background fabric. It sets the tone for the whole design.
Here's the fabric in situ with cat and wall. Already it's a brighter look. But see how cool everything is in that light?
Part of what I am trying to do in the bedroom is to warm it up a little. The *original* paint was burnt orange, and we painted that over asap. I was going for calm and restful, so I used a lovely dark lavender-purple. Most of the furnishing are either dark wood or green stained/painted wood. All of the artwork on the walls is very nature oriented with mostly cool colors. I do like it. We've liked it for years.
However, although the room gets lots of natural light, it often shaded enough that the colors seem a little too subdued at times. That pale green coverlet gets completely washed out in certain light. Sooo, my idea is to bring in deeper shades of my favorite blues, purples, greens, and teals, as well as some of those gorgeous, warm, subtle, desert colors. Oh yes, and to bring in some paler shades for contrast. I am a big fan of contrasting clean whites against darker or mid-tones shades. I have a yard or two of a pale "fresh garden" fabric that is the perfect tone, although I don't think I could get away with a coverlet of the whole thing. Too much cat hair floating around for one thing.
But overall, I want to bring in more of those warmer colors to contrast with all the fabulous cools I already have.
Some of the possible fabrics with the new green in ambient + overhead light. This is important because ambient is most of what it gets!
That upper right fabric (bright cream with leafy splashes) is the one I especially love. I made a mini pillow case out of it once to recover a small pillow I use for back support.
I am thinking I will keep the blocks fairly simple instead of going for a more complicated design, and let the colors shine surrounded by the leafy green. Keep in mind that I could change my mind at any time! (For instance, if I do end up with a more complicated block, I might be able to include more colors and be able to introduce a more scrappy look... Hmmm. More ideas. Can't wait to play!)
Feeling happy. It's a start.
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