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In Honor of Fall – An Ode to Orange

When the woman who owns Accessories (the shop that sells my furniture) brought this piece to me it had a glossy pine finish and she had paid a quarter for it. I really didn’t like it. I like furniture with curvy lines or detailed legs, not a piece like this. I did not have a vision for what it could be, so it sat in my workshop for a long time. One day at Sherwin Williams when I asked if there were any mistints, they brought out this crazy orange called Naval. For $.25 I could hardly turn it down. I figured I could mix it and make a rich pumpkin color out of it. When I finally had to face this piece and make something out of it that I would be proud to sign my name to, I went for the can of Naval. My thinking behind that was an ugly piece of furniture deserves an equally ugly color. When it was solid orange, I was ready to leave it on the curb. I grabbed my brush, my white paint, and sat there…staring at it. This needs something graphic, modern, organic. A design on a piece of scrapbooking paper came to mind. Birds & branches! I was wrong about this piece and the orange paint. I love how it turned out and it sold in a week.
This was my sons room before we moved our guest room in here. I love blue & orange together for a classic sporty look. The “Nice Ride” side table sold in the shop a few weeks ago. It was a $5 yard sale purchase that I hand painted. The curtains are made out of denim blue & white ticking fabric from Wal-Mart. The lamp was $5 at Goodwill, the tenis racket and rope bed frame were free from family members.

This chair is now in my guest room. It was free at a yard sale and was the perfect color. The cushion foam is hard as a rock, but I plan to replace that soon.

And here’s my orange guest room with one of my hand painted signs. The orange is warm and a real departure from the rest of my house.

I’ve shared this $30 Craig’s list dresser before, but it fits in perfectly with my ode to orange.

I don’t have the money to go out and buy decorative gourds, candles, and wreaths, so I wanted to share fall through paint.

Marian Parsons 

Paint Enthusiast | Writer | Artist | Designer

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8 Responses

  1. OMG… your post made me chuckle… like you I inherited an orange room when my daughter moved out… I also made it into the guest room… and the colour is unlike anything else in the house… I am in the habit of getting the room set up the way I want it and then I take it all apart and paint… I just haven't got to the painting part yet… It is going to take a day just to fill the holes in on the walls… I inherited them too…LOL…

    I love the table… very sweet… I am not surprised it sold quickly… I think you may start a new trend of colour with that piece.

  2. The little orange table is cute! I never thought about using such colors in my home, but with kids I guess that is going to change! I four year old wants his room to be yellow!

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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