I was reading a post the other day, where the author had pulled her favourite winter colours. I was surprised, because they didn’t automatically say ‘winter colour palette’ to me, but the longer I looked, yep, it was that truly depressing, grey, dreary and miserable shade that winter normally is round here.
It would be fair to say it definitely was not to my taste, but then I started to think more about what I did think of as ‘winter’ colours. I took a little tour through the Design Seeds site to find what I was imagining winter to be, and here’s what I came up with:
1. Cold, snowy and icy:
2. Cool blue skies and evergreens:
3. Icy and glacial:
4. Gorgeous icy clear sunrises:
5. Frosty leaves:
And then I found what more realistically reflects what I actually see on a more regular basis. Oddly enough she didn’t seem to have a palette for perpetual rain though:
1. Grey and brown gloom:
2. White out:
3. Gloomy dark woods:
4. Stark wood piles:
5. Leafless, soul-less parks:
Hmm, I think I’ve found what I hate about my actual winter, too much brown and grey!
So what do you think of as a winter palette? Do you still imagine bright, cheery colours for winter, or are you more realistic with your choice? Which would you prefer to make a winter ‘something’ from?
As a fun aside, I took this quiz the other night, after seeing it on Jessica’s site. The irony of the colour palette is not lost on me…
I like the colours in the first lot 1and 4. I'd like to think of winter like that!
No 3 in the top picks makes me shiver! Winter is bright blue skies, snow on the hills, dark green leaves and bright red holly berries no muddy browns for me 🙂
I love every single one of those…but then again I love grey and brown!:) It's funny though…I love to sew with the bright, bold fun fabrics but that's not what I want in my surroundings!
Number three is a collection of my favourite colours! I tried completing that quiz but as there wasn't a 'none of the above' option on seven of the questions I couldn't manage it! (And I had no idea who seven of the 'TV heroines' were!!) Hope you get to see some sun this weekend!
I like grey and brown but I would go with the first lot. They seem a bit boring for quilts. It is good to have those in interior though.
I love all those color palettes. I took the quiz and I'm a pottery barn girl
Number four of the first lot is gorgeous!! Of course you're getting better with age 😉
Oh I love this!! It makes you see how certain colors really can go even when you think they might not…. I think I'd have to have a little more red in my winter….
I got Pottery Barn – rustic! Same as Di, so not as bad as I assumed – my knowledge only extends as far as Friends!
I much prefer the imaginative version of winter, especially the first number 3 and 4. I impulsively bought a little bundle with colors similar to #4 at Walmart. I loved the colors so much that I didn't notice the weird little cat print until I got home. 😀 I got "Marimekko pattern meets an Andy Warhol painting" as my design aesthetic result!
I love all your inspiration photos, and the colour palletes are very wintery, I started feeling cold as I was looking at them. I just did the quiz and got Marimekko meets Andy Warhol, and I even have the strawberry Marimmeko fabric that is in the picture so it's pretty spot on!
Icy and glacial is doing it for me, as is stark wood piles.
Must say I like blue in aqua tones for Christmas …which is odd since thats the height of summer here !
Icy glacial and frosty leaves (tho I don't really like purples as a rule) are calming; white-out seems a little warmer and makes me think of a cozy, neutral toned room with a big knitted throw (and a book) to curl up with while there might be some snow outside–this might be my favorite. Stark wood pile isn't bad either. I normally like greens and warm colors but right now, I'm not ready for vibrancy. (I'm still "in" to winter–we got 12" of snow last week and another 6" on top of that days later, tho now most has already melted as the temps are climbing quickly.) Simplicity works for me this time of year, and certainly this time of my life. LOTS of stress and I need simple! Funny how it reflects in my color choices! Hope you're doing well!
I think you need to move to Australia. Winter is great here!
My fav is the Icy and Glacial. Love all those blues.
Numbers 2 and 5 speak to me, although I, like Kirsty, am in Australia so they have nothing to do with our winter colours! Ours would be much more green toned, as the bush and the paddocks turn from yellow and rusts to greens in winter. Love design seeds, such a fun website.
Great post, Katy! Our winter isn't like most winters. Our skies are usually blue and our lawns are green. It was fun taking the quiz. I came out to be a Marimekko meets Andy Warhol but I really feel more like Restoration Hardware!
Ok, I too would like to live in a grandiose library. I actually like most of your gloomy palettes, maybe it is gloomy here too.
Haha, please tell us how you really feel about winter 😉 Your adjectives are great and conjure up every miserable shade of winter. I prefer the blue skies and evergreens to the 'soul-less' park. Wonder what the palette would be for cold cause that's what our winter is: white and cold! Now I'm going to take that quiz, it looks interesting!
Very interesting! I most relate to: Cool blue skies and evergreens. The one totally expresses what it's like where I live. And that quiz. I ended up in the library right there with you. 😉
Here we still have lots of green and brown, no flowers at all, but our skies at night (when it isn't cloudy and raining) are amazing with color. My favorite was number 3 – Icy and Glacial – but those are some of my all time favorite colors.
I was Scandinavian DIY Blog, hit the nail on the head – lived in our house almost 3 years and all of my walls are STILL white!
I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten what winter should look like as it seems we've just had a perpetual autumn since summer ended. Pity it's an autumn with all the pretty colour blown away.
Love some of the photos there. Especially 3 and 5 of the first set. But I also love number 3 of set 2. Even if the colours aren't really me
I think of greys: cloud grey , storm grey, daylight going grey , reflected in puddles grey,
Roll on summer!!!!
Colour is wonderful I love the browns and grey's and black in winter as long as they are highlighted with some orange or red or green in the right shades.
I love all the color palettes here!! The woodpile one may be calling my name. Your restoration hardware summary is so incredibly perfect!!
Then results of your quiz are hilarious! That's a whole lot of brown!!
Sadly, I don't think that in have the best eye for color. Things like color palettes are just lost on me. I just pick what i like and sometimes it turns put great and sometimes it's a disaster.
In Australia winter is green, with grey skies, or blue skies if it's clear and frosty. Those browns and earth tones are our summer colours. Bleached, dry, crunchy. Throw in some yellow and gold and a blazing blue sky.