Curtains, Colors and Style - Oh My

About 10 years ago I painted my kitchen "August Morning," a color made by Benjamin Moore that falls in the category of earth tones.  I like it.  A lot.  Then, I painted four other colors in various sections of the room.  So, there are five colors, all told.  I couldn't decide on just one color, so I found a piece of art that I like and used it as a color guide for the kitchen, which then turned into a guide for the whole place.

Today, on the advice of a feng shui expert I consulted back in December, I got busy with a project to balance the colors in my kitchen differently, to accentuate the element of metal in the southwest part of the room, plus to add a bit of the element of water as well.  This is pretty challenging.  I'd long since come up with a balance in the room that I liked, but I was ready for a change and was curious to give feng shui a try.  I think the jury's still out on that one.

Changing colors in an already comfortable room feels the same as when you learn to dance in certain shoes and can move instinctively and well in them, but then you change shoes and your step is a bit off.

The project is coming along okay, but it's in the phase where you are considering about six ideas and none of them are really winning out over any of the others; they all seem worthy of attention and experimentation.  Either that or I'm just not ready to make a decision.  I'm holding out for the wow factor that hasn't shown up yet.

As part of the same project, in order to introduce the element of metal into that part of the room, we bought an antique clock, a Vienna Regulator that has a single brass weight and a swinging brass pendulum.  It's a wall clock, built in 1864, that's simple and trim in its walnut cabinet, a fine, efficient clock that is just the right size and style for our tastes.

Now, I'm regarding two curtain choices and trying to figure out if I want valances, tie backs.  I am looking at color combinations, textures, styles.  The process of shopping and deciding on what I want is infuriating and fun all at once.  It's a love-hate kind of thing because I know in my mind how I'd love to have it all look in the end but almost surely will not be able to get exactly that.  I try to coax myself into compromise for the sake of shortening the time I spend on the project, but at the same time I know I'll just be a grouch about it if I do.  It's just going to take as long as it takes.

In the small bedroom, we are both thrilled with the outcome of the changes we've made and love to be in that part of the house.  There are lots of red accents and the walls are painted to look like aged plaster.  Four colors there, too, but layered, and it looks great.  The rest of the place is, well, evolving.  Now -- back in the kitchen again -- I'm looking for turquoise, silver, and gold.  The idea is to have whimsy and warmth in the room, a home that hugs me with its color.

I put the kabosh on white walls a long time ago, started down a more colorful path of home decor that I've found to be very satisfying.  I'm wobbling down the path right now, full of ideas, trying to keep my eyes on the goal.  Could be awhile though if today is an indicator.