Color Diary: A Tribute to Turquoise Rooms

Filed under: Color, Your Home, Living Room, Projects, Design, etc, Furniture

Concentrating a few items of the same hue in one spot is a great way to link an accent color throughout your home -- or showcase your favorite color.

I'm obsessed with turquoise. But I haven't always been.

If you'd asked me what I thought about the blue-green hue when I was in college, I would have told you it was a color best reserved for old ladies' jewelry collections and Southwestern motifs that, as far as I was concerned, could stay in the Southwest.


But a few years ago, a little turquoise vase caught my eye at a garage sale. It was only a dollar, so I took it home and put it on my bookshelf. On a trip to IKEA a few months later, I found a flower pot that was a lot bigger and just a little darker. Since it was only two dollars, I couldn't resist. And because everything looks better in threes, I picked up a smaller, lighter flower pot not long after that.


Before I knew it, I had become my grandmother. I had little turquoise accents all over my apartment (including my wardrobe). And then big ones. After I painted my kitchen cabinets turquoise, I decided I wanted it to really pop in the rest of my rooms. So on a small bookcase in a little corner of my living room, I arranged all of my turquoise and turquoise-ish books along with some of my favorite turquoise trinkets. I had created a concentration of turquoise -- just in time for Pantone to name it Color of the Year. (Yes, I felt very cool.)


"Turquoise is one of those colors that's incredibly intense; it pops," says Brad Wheeler, an interior designer at Urban Dwellings Design in Kansas City, MO. "It already lends itself to being a great accent, and sprucing up a space."

If you're using lots of turquoise pieces in one area, Wheeler suggests breaking up the monotony by placing them on an interesting architectural feature, like a bookcase that's (you guessed it) not turquoise.

Here are a few of my favorite turquoise concentrations from Flickr.



I collect vintage Pyrex (including all of the above patterns), so of course, this collection of vinage Pyrex baking dishes, mixng bowls and refrigerator boxes caught my attention.



This tabletop collection beautifully layers different shades of turquoise with different shapes and textures of glass containers.



This sophisticated collection combines my favorite geeky design element, a globe, with an antique map and other vintage pieces, as well as Liberty of London for Target lampshades.



This thrifted, behind-the-couch collection combines traditional Southwestern style with modern design. The front-right piece is a replica of the iconic Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture.



The turquoise collections add much-needed color to this beautiful, bright and airy room. And because the colors are similar, the antique glass works wonderfully with the mid-century dining room furniture.


For more great stories, don't miss:
Color Diary: Turquoise & Poppy
Pantone Unveils Color of the Year: Turquoise is Sooo 2010!
Turquoise in the Bedroom

 

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