... I LOVE COLOR!
If you are like me,
you are no stranger
to the glorious images
on Pinterest, Instagram,
and numerous blogs
that are devoted to
the whiteness
and
lightness of being.
I am in awe of those
who "worship"
the 40 shades of white
in their surroundings.
In awe because I've
come to the conclusion
that they are
MUCH BETTER
housekeepers than I --
that they must be
super cleaniacs
who don't have kids or pets
or changing seasons that bring
mud and dirt in to their homes.
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| A new horse my mother found for me! It is resin but resembles driftwood or rustic barn wood. Love it. Thanks, Mom :) |
I WISH I COULD BE MORE LIKE THEM!
I really do, but my lifestyle
does not lend itself
to white or light or greige.
I am so laid back
about the pets and kids --
which is probably why
it is such a good thing that
we live in a BARN.
I love color. I love layers.
I love old stuff with a story,
old stuff with imperfections or
as I like to say
"with charm."
And most of those things do not come in white. :)
So please don't hate me
for not having a bright light home.
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As lovely as it would be
to live in a cloud-like setting,
my practicality and reality
dictate otherwise.
Can you relate?!?
.
I pray you never change your home too much. I love the colors and often go back to old posts to see the plaids and such again. I am trying to get up the nerve to go dark on some walls, and you're my best inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate...I celebrate you, my friend! You know how much I love color and layers; and you inspire me to stick with what I love! Your home gives me life!
ReplyDeleteLove your home and style!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Cindy
Alison, it's the warmth of wood and color that makes your home so interesting and inviting. I love the color! I for one love visiting and revisiting your posts, getting to peek into the rooms of Polohouse. I adore your style!
ReplyDeleteOh No!!! Never. I have a lighter home... cream walls and off white slip covers on some of the chairs and such. Have had for 15 years... Kids, and the last 4 years a pup, chocolate lab. It's not as hard as you think :) Master Vic, chocolate lab, his chair is slipped covered off white. I wash it every week. But I too LUV colours... and I plop it about in my paintings that I do, my red rugs and toile cushions... colours is splashed all over the home , on a cream coloured back drop. But the cream just showcases my art so much better than colours does. My home is my gallery so to speak.
ReplyDeleteBut I LIV your luv of colours... your plaids. Perfection!!
Hugs, Gee
Such a great post. I see those same pictures on Pinterest and on blogs and sometimes it's hard to tell if it's their actual home or if they just took a picture in black and white or gray and white. It looks cold and lonely to me. Everyone has their own taste in décor. I love a cozy colorful home. Your use of plaid is wonderful and I'm especially partial to tartans and plaids as I was born in Scotland. I try to bring in a bit of plaid here and there.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I love color and live with color but dream in white via my blog friends.
ReplyDeleteYou KNOW I don't hate you for this! I think we must be ahead of the trend. How much white can one maintain?
ReplyDeleteKnowing oneself and living comfortably with ones tastes and preferences makes such a fine and interesting life.
Sadly, I'll never live in a barn, but The Polohouse makes a statement that I'd like to "speak" regardless of the size or location of my home. ♥
If we all liked the same thing, life would be pretty boring!
ReplyDeleteWell, I am glad someone finally said it! I love the white but a white couch for me would be dirty by day #1 if I had it! I am not that good of housekeeper and am in awe of those all white homes. I prefer the warmth of color. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI'm a fair housekeeper, but still ---- I love color and cozy. Your home is perfection, in my eyes. Sally
ReplyDeleteThe reason I love your blog is because it is not white! Im a red girl myself. I really look forward to your beautiful photos that you share!
ReplyDeleteI love your home. White/gray/beige seem a little cold to me. Beautiful, but cold. Your home is the type I strive for in my own home. The type that is beautiful but not stuffy, and makes guests want to sit a while and put their feet up. I am also addicted to plaid. I only have it in my home at Christmas time, but I need to change that real soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see a room with white slip covered sofas and chairs, I always wonder why? I think of my white jeans and pants and what a headache they are to keep spotless and I think why would I put my self and family thur that. Now give me the warmth of wood tones and rich jewel tone fabrics and brass and silver, a home that we can enjoy living , that's my style
ReplyDeleteOh i so hope you always love color. I love, love, love your home and everything about it. Just keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteI sure can relate!! Thank you for this post, Alison, and the reminder that we all don't have to live in a white house. I also like a bit of colour for warmth and sometimes get carried away with the white decor and 'wish' I could change mine, so I needed this bit of encouragement today to embrace colour!! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAlison,
ReplyDeleteYour home is decorated in the style that I love. I realize we're all different and sometimes I stumble upon a "neutral" home decor that I admire. But more than the ease and livability of color and pattern is the fact that I cannot be happy with a neutral environment for my own home. I love the layers and accessories too much to have the more subtle setting of a neutral home. Coming to that conclusion has freed me to buy only what I love and know I will treasure for years to come. Please don't change your decor, even if the kids move out (which they all do) and the dogs get old and hardly romp in the mud anymore, I visit your site for ideas all the time.
(sorry this was so long winded!) :-)
xo,
Karen
I can SO relate. I cannot touch a paint brush to a beautiful piece of wood furniture. I love the deep warmth of browns, and golds, and burndt reds...I love the look of the white houses....but I couldn't live there....not with a hubby and Bentley....so I enjoy from afar!
ReplyDeleteHow could anyone hate someone wh0 has one of the most beautiful, colourful home in blogland. It is absolutely gorgeous and one I look forward to seeing time and time again.(I have no white in my home other than the toilet bowls. Keep up your wonderful colourful home. Betty from Ontario, Canada.
ReplyDeleteI love to look at the images of white or cream rooms and always admire their beauty but at the end of the day I just can't decorate that way. I love color, patterns, textures and lots of stuff. It makes a home feel cozy. Yours is absolutely lovely and the shot by the window with the snow outside says it all; warm and welcoming inside and cold outside. That is just yummy!
ReplyDeleteWho can hate a most gorgeous home as yours. Color is back? I don't think it has ever left the building. Things fall in and out of trends but color remains. And what would Pantone do without color. I love color and love that the color of love is red... Not white. Great post Alison!!
ReplyDeleteI would wither and die if I had to live without color...the gorgeous jewel tones make my soul come alive. Thank you for your beautiful blog...a feast for the eyes!
ReplyDeleteI have a home filled with antiques. I love the different wood tones, the oriental rugs, and the warmth. I do have one bedroom, the guest room, that is the white look, but it still has some wood in it that is not painted. I love both looks, but as you say, not all things are available in white! :) Love your home and blog!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
I am right there with you my friend! We have lived here now for over 2 years and this winter it is TIME TO PAINT!!!!!!!!! These WHITE walls are closing in on me! I NEEED color! I can't wait to be surrounded once again by my favorite colors that bring warmth to my heart! Please don't change a thing, your home is gorgeous!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling I love the soothing linen tones and I have done that for others but I keep coming back to color for myself! I too have a box of lone intaglios! Love y our style never change.
ReplyDeleteK
Your home is beautiful, and perfect just the way it is. Even tho White seems to be the fad, I tire easily lately, looking at only white rooms. There are just too many...and most all alike.. Your home is an expression of you, and that is what makes it a joy to see, and it is unique, and it is you..Love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing .. we must remember where we live. White rooms are appropriate in Palm Springs, or Key West, but those of us who live where it's cold half the year need the warmth of color and wood. I gravitate to my library during the cold months where the furniture is dark, the rug is persian, the upholstery is warm floral and Stewart plaid. It feels friendlier, I think. My sunroom will remain light and more appropriate for summer, but the coziness of my warmer rooms are more appropriate for NE Washington, where I live.
ReplyDeleteI love color too. I cannot wait until the trend changes. The neutral colors are nice and soothing, but I find all homes look the same....same art, same furnishings, no personality. I applaud you for color! xo
ReplyDeleteI love your home and cannot get on the white bandwagon at all. I hope that trend is over soon. In these cold months - wood furniture, warm rich patterned pillows, rugs and throws feel so cozy on my leather furniture. I have coveted your home ever since I found your blog. Please don't ever change!
ReplyDeleteDarlin', don't change a thing!
ReplyDeleteLisa
Alison,
ReplyDeleteyour home is gorgeous and your color choices, perfection! I too love and decorate with red, green and browns. It makes me happy and cozy and as you know, works wonderfully at Christmas! Don't change a thing!
Rebecca
LOL, I found this page by typing, "I hate greige" into Google. I've been trying in vain to find inspiration photos on Pinterest that do not have white or greige walls. I do like light sunshiny rooms, but I want color, and I don't mean a "pop" of color from a red cushion thrown into an all white or gray room. They may make pretty photos, but I could never live in an all white room.
ReplyDelete