How To Find Your Own Unique Vintage Colour Palette!
‘Vintage’ can be catalogued and stowed away under so many labels, eclectic, vintage, antique, retro, mid-century, Industrial, rustic, bohemian, shabby, French antique, regency to baroque and many more styles in-between. However in choosing a colour palette whether its for a complete interior make over or accent piece like a rug it’s straightforward to take colour inspiration from a single source regardless of which category from the above it falls into. See that’s the beauty of vintage, anything goes! There are no ties to colours that have achieved accolades for being the ‘colour of the year’. The only limits bestowed upon you are the limitations of your imagination or resources from which you draw your materials.
Here I’m going to show you how I’ve taken photographs and drawn vintage colour palettes from them. Finding inspiration in a photograph of vintage treasures or in the colours of a vintage dress can be super inspiring. When you look through photographs look at them from a colour perspective. Think about how the photograph and it’s colours make you feel. The moods colours evoke are so powerful.
1. The Rustic Linen Cupboard
Ethereal tones of stacked French linen interspersed with accents a little bit richer albeit still dusky.
2. Pastures Plain yet Floral
Defined by fresh and balancing, botanical greens with a tiny hint of muted floral.
3. Ephemeral Florals
A prescription of punchy traditional rose hues and flowery tonic.
4. A Game Of Tones
Play with this smorgasbord of bourbon biscuit, Caramac, rich tea and party rings colours.
5. The Old Haberdashery
Covet-able stash of classic vintage pastels that will never go out of fashion.
6. Flower Press
Colours of fading textural viola and blush threads and fabrics.
7. Heart Of The Country
Handmade hues of delphinium & wild-flowers stitched together in the back room of a little cottage.
8. Wild Belles
Unforgettable blue and silvery greens with brassy earthy accents.
To shop the linen pieces photographed in this colour story please check out Leah's 'Pressed Linen' collection.
For colour inspirations the below are a great place to start:
Pantone the market leaders in choosing colour, have an invaluable colour finder tool:
https://www.pantone.com/color-finder
Little Greene:
Frenchic Paint: