About Me

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antrim, antrim, Ireland
Hello and welcome to my blog. If you like flowers and gardens, housey stuff, food and banter, then this is the place for you. I am a decorative artist, florist and maker of things. I sell painted furniture, plants and crafts, through a local retail shop, in my native Ireland, and wedding flowers from home. I am married to a lovely patient man and have a smashing little girl. I blog for the fun of it. Thank you for listening.

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Pink and Red


Do you have colour prejudices. or issues, colours you avoid or just plain can't stand? When I was a little kid growing up in the 1970's, I didn't have a clue, I thought 'anything goes!' One day I had a very rude awakening. My friend Heather looked me up and down  and said 'do you see what you are wearing?' Glancing down at myself I said 'yeah.'  'Well. it doesn't go together!' I was gob-smacked, it rocked my world that a stripey jumper didn't go with a spotty blouse, that I wasn't 'colour matched.'

After that, I paid more attention to what goes with what and what definitely does not. Blue and green, 'not fit to be seen' or was that red and green? Anyway, you never wear pink and red together! My beliefs were seriously challenged again at the end of the 70's, by my history of art teacher. She was talking about some Impressionist painter who put pink and orange together, and how she rather liked that combination. Well I was completely horrified, PINK and ORANGE, are you mad!!
Pink, red, orange, lime green WOW!  Photo from here.


Then there was that whole 'magnolia' thing with interior decorating, where the whole house was painted in magnolia, with great debates about who's 'magnolia' was the best. Then everyone went colour crazy, with mediterranean blue walls in the garden, with 'hot pink' planting, and yellow and terracotta colourwash everywhere. Then we turned all neutral again with the 'cream', 'white',. 'stone', and now 'grey' phases. It is totally bewildering, what's a girl to do? It is all 'marketing' of course, and even though I know that I fall into the trap like most everyone else. I was out shopping with my husband and daughter a couple of weeks ago, and a certain chain store had their new interiors stuff in. Yellow was everywhere, a lovely sunny, sunshiney springlike shade. Well, it was just the tonic after all that awful rain we'd been having. Yellow is one of those colours that I have trouble with. I spent too many years painting everyone's kitchen, hall, living rooms and furniture, varying shades of the colour, and so I was rather sick of it. I even avoided it in my garden. However now the spell has been broken, the 'marketing' people have won me over, and I purchased a bright yellow whistling kettle (I need that like a hole in the head). Of course once I get it home, it doesn't go with my lavender things, but that's a whole other post!

Back to pink and red. I now have decided that I rather like these colours together, perhaps not to wear, but as a combination of colours for decorating my guest bedroom. When combined with white I think it is so fresh and lively a mix, that it will give the guest room that much needed va-va-voom. I will keep you posted on the guest room's makeover.I used these colours for some little posies I was making also.See below.




I would love to know what you think about 'colour' and if you are influenced erroneously or otherwise. Have a wonderful rest of the week, love Linda x.

14 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Pardon que j`ai efface celui de ma maman j`ai oubliée de changée l`utilisateur! :0)

    mais bon

    vos fotos sont MAGNIFIQUE !!


    Bonne semaine!!

    xxx Maria xxx

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  3. Hello Linda - I loved your post .... as a child of the 70's also I share your views on yellow... also orange and beige. I love neutrals for their calming effect - but then tend to were lots of colour, including pink and red ..... I guess there is a whole psychology behind it all. Interestingly I used to live in black and white in my long-gone city days. Now I'm married and have children, I don't own a single black item!

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  4. The new magnolia on walls is white I guess! Although these days anything seems to go. I have serious conflicts with myself as I adore both the pale, soft muted and restful colours of shabby chic and scandinavian interiors, but at the same time I love a bit of contemporary punchy colour off setting neutral shades, zesty acid yellows and greens, as well as pinks, reds and oranges together - think Tricia Guild!
    Love the posies you've made, the colours are gorgeous.Look forward to seeing how you transform your guest bedroom!
    Have a good week Linda
    Gill xx

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  5. Lovely posies Linda,
    lovely colours
    all colours are wonderful.

    Hope all is well.

    x

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  6. OMG the seventies..that brown and orange wallpaper...what was going on!!! Haha....
    at the moment we just love the mix of pink. red and orange with maybe a tiny touch of purple and dash of lime..or the antique vintage colours of nudes and lilacs ...lets face it pretty much anything goes..well except orange and blue..one of my pet hates....xx have a great day,,Kay x

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  7. I'm like Gill from Gillyflower - I too love pale, neutral shades, especially in furnishings, but also love vivid, hot pops of colour. I love the first, zingy, bouquet - and the soft roses! Colour can be so uplifting, can't it? x

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  8. HI:) Lovely blog! I really relate to this post because I think I have a colour disease! I can't physically bring myself to put colours that I think don't match together in so many areas of my life! When I have to buy a gift the first thing I think of will be the colour scheme and to make sure the wrapping matches! And I struggle on my blog to keep everything uniform! Oh dear, I do LOVE colour though!!!

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  9. Each time I visit your colorful blog,I'm so pleased with the photo of your little girl who looks so familiar to me !It brightens all around... Have a great week end!

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  10. Lovely pictures...I do love the vibrant shades together like pink, red, lime green...as well as paler shades. In fact I like all colours in the right place, to capture a mood or a feeling. It's fun to change things in the home every few years....mine is always evolving! I love your little posies and the sweet tags.
    Wishing you a happy weekend.
    Helen x

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  11. Bonjour Linda ,
    Merci de votre commentaire !! Non moi et ma mere on habite ensemble a Moscou dans un meme appartement !! Mais moi je vait dans une ecole francaise a Moscou!! C`est pour ca j`ecrit en Francais !!

    Bonne semaine!!

    xxx Maria xxx

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  12. So beautiful and colourful post, Linda! I do love all colour combination in your pictures and even more since I've tried to draw and start to learn fine arts :0) Some of the combination gave us a tenderness of the nature, some make us feel more stronger, some make us wonder and delighted, some make us sad and more and more impressions :0) And I do love to be impressed :0) with all colours. And you?
    Kisses to you and sweet daughter :0)
    Natasha

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  13. Your decoration is looking fantastic with the help of Pink and Red combination. Keep it up..
    I am also online send different colours of flowers to australia with cheap rates via floralmachine.com for cerebration of any occasion.

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