rbytsdy Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Hi folks, I am working on the Laurel exterior. I painted the exterior window trim in "Pomegranate Tea" (Valspar interior eggshell; a mistint that I picked up for cheap that I really like), and I wanted to incorporate brown since the intended girls' mother likes browns, so I did the main trim and shutters in raw umber. I thought that I needed something to temper all the brownish colors, so I added accents in Mint Julep Green because I really like that old vintage jadeite color. The main exterior color is powder beige which is really a cream. It all sounds great on paper (almost like some sort of gelatin dessert ) but now that I have an ensemble to look at, I just don't know. I don't usually go beyond one color on the trim, so not very good at this multi-color thing! Something just seems "off" or "harsh" here, or almost "Halloween" which is definitely not a look that I want for this house. Thoughts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otterine Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Maybe I'm strange, but I love it! Are you planning to put flowers in the window boxes? You could incorporate more oranges and yellows...might help tie it all in more for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 To what I'm seeing in the photo (which may or may not be accurate), I would wonder if what is bothering you is the high contrast between the window frame color as it sits next to the shutter color. There is a wide variance of brightness between the two which might be what you are feeling as "harsh". It's really hard to say from the photo because monitors don't always show the true colors to the viewer. Maybe the compromise is to either tone down the window frame or bring up the contrast level on the shutter so they aren't quite as far apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbytsdy Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks Brae; I think oranges and yellows for flowers will tie it together nicely. And thankyou Selkie; I think you might've hit it on the head-- might play around a bit with toning down those frames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlPiper Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 It's very attractive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rackey Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 If Brae is strange, then so am I, because I also love the colors as is. To me the main color looks like a soft pink more than baige, and this blends in nicely with the green and brown tones, which have a neutralizing effect. The window frame is brighter, but it highlights the window nicely. Because the inside window panes match the main color of the house and not the window border, it does not look harsh or Halloweenish to me at all. I vote to leave it as is, but you are the one who has to be happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welcomehomeminis Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I love the colors as-is, with one exception (since you asked and only since you asked—honestly, flowers/plants may smooth it all out and I may eat these next words, but...) —what I notice is that the flowerbox is too *light* to fit nicely in the grouping of colors around the window. It's deep colors left, deep top, deep right, FLOATING bottom. Now as everyone else has said, our monitors may not be seeing your photo properly. I think all the colors play nicely together. I love the jadeite inside the shutters, for instance. The particular placement/ use of the jadeite color on the flowerbox is what's troubling my eye, not the color itself. My solution would be to bring your Pomegranate Tea mistint down to the flowerbox: Use it on the carved center motif and the raised edges that I see on the box. You won't be darkening the box so much that it's depressing, but you'll be bringing the deep color around the window and grounding it. One thing they taught me back in school when I got my degree in interior design is to beware of really light colors on the floor as rooms look funny when the bottoms are floating up, without a great deal of corrective efforts... I think that the flowerbox is having that same effect, at least on my eye. My 2 cents... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra from Olde Cape Cod Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Makes sense Kelly...floating bottoms, sounds interesting.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welcomehomeminis Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Makes sense Kelly...floating bottoms, sounds interesting.... LOL I hate when that happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbytsdy Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks, Kelly; I spent alot of thought about the color arrangement and had even considered doing the entire flowerbox in the pomegranate tea, but your observation makes sense. I spent all my time in school on equations of electrodynamics and quantum theory and I find myself severely lacking in fundamentals of artistic design! (I even send my contest photos to my dad for review and critique as he has an artist's eye...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbytsdy Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Yes, I think this is better, and flowers will give it a good balance also. It is hard to tell but I did put a wash of some old antique gold on the window frame; think I'll put an additional wash on it. Thanks for the help, folks! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otterine Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Brilliant!!! It's beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welcomehomeminis Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Sweet! Don't have to send that to Dad to check on it, your own artist's eyes are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I always choose colors in odd numbers 3 or 5. The colors you chose are some of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Very lovely. Great choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat57 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I thought your color choices were very pretty,too,but agreed with you that something just wasn't right. Kelly had a great idea and I love what you did with it,rbytsdy-it's perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Minis Dollhouses Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I love it! I love multi colors and bringing out all of the beauty of Victorian color schemes but your the one that really has to love it. Tweak it a little until your satisfied because I've found out the hard way that if I don't like it, it never feels "right" and it will bother me to no end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Oh, I love what you did to fix that window box! Although some days I wish I knew how to float MY bottom! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra from Olde Cape Cod Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 A floating bottom would definitely have an effect on that old scale number..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Brilliant!!! It's beautiful! What she said! : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshmonger Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I love it! It is a great mix of colors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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