Mrs. Holland Part III

Taupe and White

Taupe and White with Red and Blue

Catch up with Mrs. Holland here and here.

Dear Christine,

I love the taupe colored walls with white trim and am thinking of leaving this color as is. The kitchen appliances are black and all cabinet knobs, ceiling fans, etc. are silver. A large part of my dilemma is color. I have no idea where to go with furniture and accent color. I am open to suggestion and would be more than appreciative if you could lead me in "any" direction.

Best regards,
Mrs. Holland

Dear Mrs. Holland,

Let me address the window treatments in this room- as I have a good view of them. I love using Roman Shades on French doors. They are pretty when up- and pretty when down. I would do Roman shades- just a flat fold Roman- on each door and the windows above. The window will not be finished without panels- add some floor to ceiling panels to each side.

Liking the paint color gives us a start on your color scheme. Taupe is not a hard one to coordinate with. At the top of the post I included some pics from Windsor Smith that show a taupe and white combination- as well as a taupe, white, red and blue combo. I wanted to show you a third direction- taupe, yellow and green. I like it combined with golds and yellow- they brighten it up- and make it warmer at the same time. This sofa is from Restoration Hardware. With the walls and floors in taupe- DO NOT go taupe on a large item like your sofa- go for the contrast. Find some patterns that combine your gold and taupe. This Roman Shade is from Smith and Noble. This stripe has taupe and gold as well as greens and blues. A rug can also be a starting point on defining your color scheme. These rugs are form the Asian Trade Rug Company. Find a rug that you love that has your wall color. You could do a rug like the one above with the gold Restoration Hardware sofa, and add green and taupe pillows.
When you have more than one rug in an area where you will see them both- don't match them- but rather go with different rugs that look nice together- like the one above and the one below. Combine your patterns also- with a stripe on the window- use the circles- not the stripes nearby. For example- say the area meets up to an office- in your area where you use this striped rug- combine that with a pattern on the windows- like the one below from Smith and Noble.

Whereas you do not want to add a lot of taupe- since there is already so much- an accent chair is a good place to go taupe- this will tie your feel together- the chair below is from Designer's Guild.

Your home is beautiful! Can't wait for you to invite me to New Orleans for some gumbo and a house tour! (do they eat gumbo there? what is gumbo?)

Help her out- which way should she go?

1. Taupe and white with some chocolate brown.
2. Taupe and white with red and blue.
3. Taupe and yellow with green and blue.