30 Days of Being Thankful-November 14-White

Wow! Am I running behind! It's been a very busy week with not much online time, so I'm spending Saturday morning, which has now turned to afternoon, catching up!

November 14 - Today I am thankful for the color white. I know that white is very plain and not really considered a color, but I love it! I used to not be so crazy about white. It seemed that it was something you wore after Memorial Day and before Labor Day, but other than that, I didn't give it much thought. Well, I did think of how difficult it was to keep clean, as in when I owned white jeans and decided that the best way to get paint out of them was with bleach, a lot of bleach (I was in college) so I poured it on and it ate holes in my pants! I moved into a house once that had brand new white carpet. I had two dogs and two children, but it was the cable guy who christened it with his muddy shoes! No matter how many times I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed, I never could get it completely clean. I'd read about white slipcovers. A washable couch? How cool would that be? However, my decorating budget has never quite allowed for custom made white slips. Good thing I like my furniture! I do LOVE white painted furniture, especially if it's distressed and chipped. 

Chippy perfection! Cindy Robert's closet made from old windows and doors! Photo by Jennifer Grey, TheOldPaintedCottage.com. Cindy's blog: cutepinkthingscom.blogspot.com

This beautiful room by www.realsimple.com shows various shades of white - not sterile at all!

When we considered moving, I allowed a painter to convince me that all white was the way to go. I must say that after several months, the sterility of the walls was beginning to drive me insane and the color-lover in me was begging for some stimulation! Not over-dramatic, crazy, in your face color, just something other than white. I like black and white a lot! I also like accents of pink, lilac, sage green, grey and turquoise. I am always drawn to all-white rooms and ones with touches of the colors I love yet, I've always said that I could never live with that much white. Or could I? Hmmm.....

See what I mean? The green and black really pop and compliment the white! Photo of Fifi O'Neils' kitchen featured on www.theoldpaintedcottage.com. Photo by Jennifer Grey

I think my problem is that I like too many decorating styles; Old World, Shabby Chic, Romantic, French and have recently discovered Nordic French. I like cottage, farmhouse, vintage and other styles that I don't even know the names of...my head is spinning! It must be the Gemini in me - twins, two left brains, two right brains and I use them all! My solution? Start making design boards of what I like for different rooms and then see what I can pull off with what I have, can find and can acquire on the cheap. This is where the thankful part comes in. I am so thankful for all of you white warriors! You decorating mavens who have stared white in the eye and said "I'm not afraid of you!". You give me so much inspiration and show me how much can be done with a simple color such as white. Some use all white, others use a variety of white tones and some use colors in accessories. The end results are all admirable and beautiful! I love your imaginative and creative use of items in your room designs! So, I'll be on Pinterest, in Blogland and diving into my magazines until I come up with a plan. This may take a while, but I think it will be a fun project and one that will allow me to experiment while I discover my evolving decorating tastes.

White and shades of grey - one of my new favorite color combos! From www.countryliving.com

White, black and grey - love it! Photo taken at Fifi O'Neil's residence, featured on www.theoldpaintedcottage.com

 Thank you for your visit today! I really appreciate you being here! Hugs, Leena