If you ask me what my favorite color is, I'll tell you blue - all different hues from the deepest, darkest to the lightest and brightest - Hues with green, grey and purple undertones. Blue is a calming color - It relaxes, calms and soothes. If you were to ask me if I like orange, I'm not sure what my answer would be. It's not a color that initially pops into my mind - though as I look around me there are pops of it all over my home... Bursts of it in pillows and throws.

I've been toying with the idea of finding an old coffee table and painting it in a deep orange lacquer or high gloss. But then I toy with the idea of finding an orange and white rug and finding an antique coffee table to place on it in front of the couch. I had been using a beautiful old wooden trunk that I had fitted with a custom piece of glass, but it was too high - it blocked the view of our fireplace so I moved it. I love my fireplace. I want to enjoy it.  

The room has a casual and lived in feel. With three children, comfortable and liveable is important, yet it needs to have a certain sophistication. I must meet the challenge of achieving my style within a limited budget, and a small kid-friendly space. I love an orange room, but because I am renting for the time being my walls will remain ivory white. (I'm finding these white walls increasingly hard to live with - all my homes were very colorful!) 

Orange is really a very versatile color. It brightens, warms and energizes a space. It's youthful and whimsical, yet sophisticated elegant. 

As I do my own research, I share with you the images and items that have captured my attention and my imagination with the hopes that they might do the same for you. Perhaps you're a little afraid of color, these images may inspire you to take a bold leap and repaint, or to venture into it quietly, piece by piece. Or perhaps you're simply looking to change things up in your own home and toying with some new colors yourself.