When choosing paint and fabric for my home, I’m often inspired by fashion — the way textures and colors play off of each other in a terrific outfit. Using an ivory cashmere cowl neck, skinny camel wool pants, chocolate suede boots and gold bangles as a starting point will result in a room very different from, say, a classic Lilly cotton shift and lime green Jack Rogers.
The next time you start a decorating project, snap a picture of your inspiration (whether it’s a Michael Kors ad or a Vermont farm) and check out the Color Palette Generator from BigHugeLabs — a freakin’ fabulous (and free) web tool that converts photos into color palettes.
An ensemble created by Mrs. O (one of my MOST favorite blogs) at Closet Couture…
…turns into this palette!
Cool, huh?
So tell me, when it come to decorating, are you most inspired by nature, fashion, homes or something else completely?
My inspirations are nature in Vermont, and historical periods in NYC or 02138. I skip right past the Victorians (red flocked wall paper) and settle with the colonial palette. Then there are the Shaker’s and I’d take them anytime and anywhere.
For me, it starts with the mood I want to create/experience in the room. I kind of see moods as colors. Then nature, especially as found at the beach, is my greatest inspiration — for everything. And then I just notice how other people have done it — either in person (the villa where we took our honeymoon was a big one!), or via magazines and online. As a result, I have a blue bedroom, with white accents and cherry wood; a deep yellow “venetian painted” living room (with a pallet very much like the one above!) — which I can accessorize with greens in the spring and summer, and deep reds and browns in the winter; a deep red dining room with white accents and cherry wood, inspired by a spread in InStyle of actor Joe Pantoliano’s home — or at least that’s what I used to convince my husband it could work!
Love this tool — thanks!
Another thought. working with your idea of translating an outfit to a palette — I’d love to do that working from a china pattern. Take the pattern and come up with the colors for kitchen and dining room. Guess which plates I’m thinking of!
OMG …LOVE! The palette tool *and* the outfit. 🙂