Repainting your home - Using a colour consultant

In my earlier post I shared how I used Pinterest to refine my vision for what I wanted when I repainted my home.

Despite this, I was still unsure. I was not totally convinced that the colour scheme I wanted would work. I also discovered that Benjamin Moore Paints are not available in Australia. However, Dulux do have the colour codes on file.

Repainting the interior of my home was going to be a big job, so I needed to be certain that I would make the right choice. I started exploring the possibility of employing a colour consultant to help me make a decision.

There are many independant colour consultants who can help you with not only colour schemes, but also interior design. After doing some research I decided to contact a Dulux Colour Consultant. I chose to go through Dulux as not only do they have access to the Benjamin Moore colours, they also had a great money back offer, where you received $1 off every Litre of paint purchased 9 Up to $100).

I went to the Dulux Website and sent off an enquiry. Shortly after I was contacted by my assigned consultant and I made a booking. I was very excited when the day arrived for my consult. I ensured that I had my Pinterest board open and ready so I could share my vision.

My Consultant, Cherie, was brilliant. We started with a quick tour of my home so that she could get an idea of the layout, existing colours and permanent features. For example, I havea narrow hallway that receives no natural light other than the light that comes through some 'coke bottle' glass near the front door. We have the afore mentioned cream Kitchen Cabinets, cream blinds and a tile feature in the Kitchen that has a few shades of different colours.

After our tour we sat down and talked about what I wanted. I showed her the pictures of what I liked, including the BM colour I loved. Cherie straight away started pulling out colours from her folder and talked me through them. She suggested a Dulux colour that was similar to the Rever Pewter, but was a little lighter. She then was able to take the A4 sized colour swatch and put it next to my cabinets in the Kitchen to show how the colour worked, as well as on the walls. After some discussion and swapping around we had a great base colour chosen.

We then chose a colour for a feature wall, and a deeper grey colour for the Kitchen. Cherie also had some ideas I wouldn't have thought of, such as painting above my Kitchen Cabinets a darker grey, while keeping the bulkhead between them the same colour of the lounge room. It was an idea I never would have thought of, yet it makes a huge difference in having the colour flow from each area.

After choosing all the colours they were written down, with detailed notes about where each colour went. I was also given some links to some great homeware and furniture stores to help me further along me redecorating path.

After the consult I felt confident that the colours I had chosen were going to be perfect for our home.

Repainting your home - Using Pinterest to gather colour preferences.

I love Pinterest. I think most people do. It is a treasure trove of brilliant ideas, drool worthy pictures and to die for recipes.

Many people use Pinterest to discover lots of great new recipes, plan upcoming parties and wistfully pin craft ideas that they would like to one day recreate (ability, time and materials allowing). I certainly do all of the above, however I have also found it to be a wonderful way to 'brainstorm' design ideas for your home. I want to share with you all how I used Pinterest to develop a clearer plan for redecorating a repainting my home.

 Step 1 - Start Pinning!

I have been wanting to redecorate and repaint my home for a while now, however I had limited time and money to do so. In order to satisfy some of those urges, I started pinning rooms that I liked. There didn't need to be any particular requirement, I simply had to like it.

Step 2 - Look for a pattern

After you have a good collection of pins, go to your board and have a look. See if a pattern has emerged. Do you keep pinning shades of a colour? Is there an accent colour that stands out? Is there a particular pin that you keep being drawn to?

After some time, I found a pattern emerging in my pins. I was drawn to warm grey tones.I even found that I kept pinning a specific Benjamin Moore colour called 'Revere Pewter'.

I especially loved everything about the living room of bloggers Young House Love.

Step 3 - Narrow it down

My dilemma though, was that I was unsure how the grey would work with the cream cabinets in my kitchen. My kitchen/living/dining are essentially open plan, so it needed to flow. I started looking for colour schemes that showed grey with cream tones instead of white.

Now, I had a plan. I was pretty sure that the grey tone would work for my home. It seemed to look good with cream as well. I now had a much clearer idea of what I wanted and what direction I was heading in.

For some, this may be enough. Armed with a colour scheme in mind you might head off to your local paint supplier and be on your way.

For me, I wanted some further clarification. Pinterest had certainly helped me develop a vision for what I wanted, however I was not 100% confident it would work.

In my next installment of this series I will share how I booked a colour consultant to come to my home and help my further clarify my option for repainting my home.

Welcome to my home!

Welcome to my new blog. I have been blogging for a few years over at Sister's Closet. However, I lost my mojo. I took a hiatus and had a think about why I had hit a dead end. I eventually realised that my interests were more diverse now. Sister's Closet was started simply to share tips on Plus Size fashion. However, my interests have now broadened. Rather than overhaul my previous blog, I decided to start fresh.

Here at Home Utopia I want to share the things that make my home my own personal Utopia. I want to explore my home itself, and share any developments I make along the way. I also want to share the goings on in my home. The recipes I make, the craft I do, the clothing I wear and the activities I do with my Children.

I have already started on a very exciting update on my home. We repaired the inside, and my first few posts I want to explore the process that I took to successfully repaint the inside. I am now redecorating as well, and will be excited to share with you my purchases, as well as the thought that goes into making some purchases.

I am an avid cook, and the proud owner of a Thermomix, so I also plan on sharing the recipes that I love to make along the way.

For the last few years I have participated in Aussie Curves. It is a brilliant initiative started by Blogger Dani from Danimezza. Weekly challenges are issued that encourage curvy ladies to dress up and share their fashion. It has been a brilliant community to take part in, as many plus size women have found new found confidence and clothing styles along the way. I plan on still participating in the Aussie Curves challenges and sharing my own style on here.

Being a Mother, I am also a big believer that 'It takes a village'. I use the Internet as part of my 'village' to help raise my children, and I would like to contribute by sharing any activities or wisdom I come across along the way.

So, Welcome to my virtual home. Make yourself comfortable, help yourself to a cuppa and feel free to call in at any time!

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