How I Tackled Seasonal Decorating.
I toyed with an alternate title for this post — something like: “Am I really supposed to buy a new sofa every four months?” You know, it would appear that every few months design magazines, and retailers, present a new seasonal palette complete with a brand new batch of colors, furniture, and accessories. So, in the late summer you find yourself lusting after the pumpkin-hued pillows, and rich gold wall colors. Suddenly, it’s December, and you’re toying with the idea of painting your guest bath in a jewel tone and replacing your ceiling fans with chandeliers. It’s so enticing!
Do retailers and editors really expect you to become a serial decorator and change your wall color every four months? No, of course not! (but the nice folks at My Perfect Color probably wouldn’t mind a bit if you did!) What you can do is use the ever-changing seasonal palette to inspire and enhance what you already have, without making over your house with every season. To weather the meanderings of our fickle decorating hearts, you’ll want to start with a palette that captures the best of each season, so that you can add pieces you really love, at any time, without worrying about changing everything. Don’t forget my painting mantra, “test, test, test.” Testing your wall color is the only way to know if a paint color is a perfect color for you.
Many homeowners assume that a palette for their home or for a room must be all warm or all cool colors, so they choose one or the other. Summer and autumn are vibrant warm color seasons. Winter and spring are calming cool colors. Just as a garden isn’t all warm or all cool colors, the most successful palettes contain both, even if it’s only a warm color accent or two in room full of cool colors. Here are my favorite seasonal palettes, even though they’re designed for year-round color. Each palette allows you the thrill of adding new seasonal accessories to your heart’s content, without making major changes every time season changes. How easy is that?
Summer
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| Butter | Perky Peach | Lemon Freeze | Mellowed Ivory |
| MPC Color Combination Color for the Seasons - Summer | |||
Autumn
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| Violetta | Buttered Yam | Anjou Pear | Rustique |
| MPC Color Combination Color for the Seasons - Autumn | |||
Winter
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| Soft Pink | Winter Lake | Dorset Gold | Cranberry Cocktail |
| MPC Color Combination Color for the Seasons - Winter | |||
Spring
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| Sisal | Indian Wells | Coos Bay | Squash Blossom |
| MPC Color Combination Color for the Seasons - Spring | |||
Great article! I am that person that wants to switch color palettes with every season. These color combinations are great for the accessories and such. Is there a specific wall color(s) that provides a backdrop for all these seasonal color shifts? Thanks!
Hello Melissa!
Thank you! I’m also one that loves changing some colors with the seasons. I’d love to suggest a few neutrals to try as a backdrop to those seasonal palettes. Try Hush Af-95, or Cotswald AF-150 (both from the Affinity Colors from Benjamin Moore’s Aura Paints. You might also test Pale Almond OC-2 or Manchester Tan HC-81 (both from Benjamin Moore’s Color Preview.) Those are all neutral colors with slightly different undertones to account for taste and the light in your own home. Of course, you’ll want to test the colors to see what works in your home, (my mantra here at MPC is “test those paint colors!” Hope that helps!