Friday, April 18, 2008

Day 293's favorite color


Last weekend, Mom and I were playing with Maddie in the front yard, and Mom found a beautiful robin's egg on the ground. I've been seeing robins in the front yard every day (even though Peepers likes to chase them away), but it hadn't occurred to me to look for hatched eggs, so this was a really fun surprise!

I love colors that are found in nature, and robin's egg blue is one of my favorites. It's happy color that reminds me of spring and of new beginnings, and, of course, it's pretty!

One easy way to incorporate the color in its natural form also happens to be a favorite of mine: antique egg lithographs and prints. Wes and I fell for antique prints on our honeymoon when we stumbled into Carolina Antique Maps & Prints, a charming little shop on historic Church Street in Charleston. We came home with an egg lithograph and a bridge print (can you guess who picked out which?) and we've been hooked ever since.

Tria Giovan for Southern Accents

Designer David Mitchell hung a collection of egg prints over robin's egg blue wallpaper a hallway.


Katie's enviable collection of egg prints hangs neatly in her dining room.


Courtesy of Buck Hollow Farm

It's not just the eggs that charm me, I love the color. This shabby little chest would look great under a big mirror treated like an entry table or bar. I'm a neutral-lover myself, but I still love little bits of color in surprising places.

Courtesy of Pigtown Design

I think my favorite incarnation of this color is also known as "haint blue." You may have seen it on porch ceilings around the South, particularly on older homes. Traditional reasons for using shades of blue vary; some say you should paint it the color of the sky, others say the color deters insects (mosquitoes in particular) and in the low country of South Carolina, blue is said to keep evil spirits away from homes. Whatever the reason, it sure is pretty, and nothing makes me feel more Southern than sitting under a robin's egg blue porch.



Even if you don't have a porch, you can still greet visitors with this happy color, as Housemartin found in New York City (another obsession illustrated here, functioning shutters! more on that another day ...) .



Coastal Living

Blue ceilings work indoors, too.

Courtesy of Bryan Johnson

A blue door or ceiling not enough for you? Paint the house!

What's your favorite color?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love light blue also. It has always been my favorite color. It was our wedding color and I hope to use in the decor of our new house. I have a dream of having a picture of a robin's nest in our living room someday. I'd like to have the nest on a white background with the picture off center so some of the nest is missing. I have a more modern taste but my husband likes traditional things so I think something like that would work good. Oh, and did I mention my name is Robin so it's kind of fitting. : )

Freckles Chick said...

I *heart* robin's egg blue! Such a soothing shade. Thx for the inspirations!

Anonymous said...

Jennifer, thank you for the mention in your Blog. I'm happy my gallery might have a small part in creating memories of your honeymoon. Make sure if you are back this way that you introduce your self again.
Laura Vardell
Carolina Antique Maps & Prints

Mrs. Limestone said...

I love this color too (as evidenced in my office color selection). Its probably the only color I find to be both exciting and soothing at the same time.

Im hoping it won't be one of those shades that become the avocado green of the early 21st century...keeping fingers crossed ;)

Things That Inspire said...

Beautiful post! Robins egg blue is one of my favorite colors, and I have a collection of egg prints in my living room that makes me smile every time I look at it!

Pigtown*Design said...

Hi... I just wanted to let you know that the picture of the blue porch is from my blog... It's from a series I did about painting Tivoli, the historic house where I work. I hope that you will change the attribution to reflect the proper credit, as my friend Hue did.

http://pigtown-design.blogspot.com/search/label/Tivoli%20House

Anonymous said...

Awesome, you learn something new everyday.
Best,
Adam

pve design said...

As an artist and painter, one of my favorite colors is Tiffany Blue, Robin's Egg Blue, Palladian blue HC-144-
Somehow blue brings a freshness, new birth, just as the simple egg shell. I love it with white, with brown, with natural and gold.

Anonymous said...

I have a mild (ok full on) obssession with this color blue. I have it on the walls (Palladian Blue to be exact) in my Master and as accents throughout my living/dining room. heck, my car was even this color (VW new beetle convertible)! Funny thing, is I've liked this color for a long time and now it's become trendy. As with another commenter, I hope it won't date itself like the avacado green does...