A color palette for the whole family

I’ve got a color palette to make her happy, him happy, and the baby too!

It took me a year to decide on the colors I want to use in my house, but here’s what I’m feeling good about right now. Like really, really good about.

Though I won’t necessarily use these as paint colors, they are Benjamin Moore colors. They are:

1. Penthouse 2. Indi go-go 3. Northern Air 4. Cranberry Cocktail 5. Galaxy

This is basically my inspiration for the main colors I want to use in my house. There will be other colors too, but this would be the foundation.

I am wanting to do mostly white walls throughout my house though. All my apartments in New York were white, and I just loved how bright they were. And colors in the room, especially art, really pop when the background is white (or a light neutral).

But, these colors will help me with making decisions on upholstery, art, rugs, and accessories.

I’ll save the details on how I came up with this palette, what inspired it, as well as tips for creating your own for another post. But for now, I wanted to share a couple of mood boards I put together to show how these colors could be used together.

Here is Mood Board No. 1. Isn’t she lovely?

1. “Darrin” leather chair from, surprise, J.C. Penney

2. “Tomasa” acrylic on canvas art by Lola Donoghue

3. “Alberta” table lamp in cherry from purehome

4. Salvaged octagonal mirror in black from Restoration Hardware

5. “Moro” two-door storage cabinet in walnut from Room and Board

6. “Rochester” sofa in performance velvet, Ink Blue from West Elm

7.  “Franklin” pharmacy task floor lamp from Restoration Hardware (similar to shown)

8. Unique persian rug

9. Metal Radius Side Table from West Elm

10. Gray 5″ “Mina” Vase from Zulily

11. Linen pillow covers by Sukanart

12. “Sahara Midnight” lumbar pillow with tassels from Inside Avenue

13. “British Isle” leather magazine rack from purehome

14. “Acton” small brushed brass pedestal centerpiece from Bliss Home and Design

15. “Chalk White” paint from Benjamin Moore

16. Light blue turkish towel

Note that these items aren’t necessarily what I’m thinking about for my house. I’m not ready to purchase things yet, so while I patiently (or not-so-patiently) wait until I have some money saved up to buy furniture, I am engaging in a little mood board therapy where I can shop online to my heart’s desire without actually buying anything. ( I really hope I’m not the only one that will add things to my online cart, and then keep it full for awhile before later deleting them.)

Even if this isn’t exactly my new living room, I really like how this came together. And I do adore most of these pieces and have considered some of them for my home. For example, the Rochester sofa comes in a sleeper-sofa option which I am leaning towards for my living room for our guests (because we don’t have a guest bedroom). Plus, as a mother to an 11-month old, I am constantly finding toys/losing keys under our sectional sofa. The Rochester sofa has a base that goes to the floor, so I wouldn’t have to constantly sweep scary dust bunnies and who-knows-what-else under the sofa!! And, the dark blue velvet upholstery seems to also be a kid-friendly choice.

I also L-O-V-E the “Darrin” leather chair. Can you believe it’s from JC Penney? This chair also often goes on sale at jcp.com and I always have my eye on it. It (and the matching sofa) has tons of excellent reviews. Being that it’s leather, I imagine it’s pretty spill friendly too. As far as the rug goes, it has a rich pattern making it gorgeous but I think it would also hide stains and crumbs from the kids. However if I could take a wild guess on how much a rug like that would cost, I don’t know that I could just let my kids spill their milk on it. That is milk I’d cry over. And the “Moro” cabinet by Room and Board seems like it has a design that would protect it from kids wanting to open it, as it doesn’t have obvious hardware. Yes, I did think about that because right now I spend approximately 17% of my day keeping Jack from getting into drawers and cabinets.

Before I move on to the next mood board, can I just say how much I love the artist Lola Donoghue? I discovered her on etsy and her work is SO ethereal and pretty. I am so happy with how her art fits with my colors. I might have to save up for a piece from her. Plus she’s from Galway, Ireland which is the city my husband’s family comes from, so that’s meaningful too. But pieces like this in the mood board do take this whole look to the more feminine side. I wasn’t sure if my husband would find this look as appealing, so I decided to make another option that would be bit more more guy friendly.

So here’s Mood Board No. 2. Same colors, just presented differently, with stronger neutrals.

* Items also used in Mood Board No. 1

1. “Darrin” leather chair from J.C. Penney *

2. Vintage U.K. Trolley Sign from Room and Board

3. “Linework” table lamp in blue from West Elm

4. Salvaged octagonal mirror in black from Restoration Hardware *

5. “Moro” two-door storage cabinet in walnut from Room and Board *

6. “Rochester” sofa in linen weave, natural from West Elm

7.  “Franklin” pharmacy task floor lamp from Restoration Hardware (similar to shown) *

8. “Shoowa” rug from Room and Board

9. Metal Radius Side Table from West Elm *

10. Gray 5″ “Mina” Vase from Zulily *

11. Linen pillow covers by Sukanart

12. “Norton” kilim lumbar pillow from Pottery Barn

13. “British Isle” leather magazine rack from purehome *

14. Rectangular stone vessel in gray marble from PoshHaus

15. “Chalk White” paint from Benjamin Moore *

By switching out some pieces, this look is now fit for a gentleman. And honestly I love it too. It’s quite gender neutral. Muted colors and strong typography prints like this one help to make it feel less girly. Note the pieces that didn’t change. Chairs with more delicate lines in a more masculine material like leather can be cherished by guys and gals alike. And the brass lamp takes on a whole new personality in this second board, don’t you think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this palette and these two mood boards! Which one is your favorite?

Oh, and I had said in the beginning that these colors would work for baby too. How exactly, you might ask. Do babies care about color palettes? They sure don’t. But, after I put my colors together, I realized later that I had planned a similar combination for Jack’s upcoming first birthday party. Navy blue, light blue, and red. Here’s his pinterest board if you want to see some ideas for my little man’s big day!