A Wall Vignette Inspires A Whole House Palette + Furnishings! Parts 1 & 2

January 4, 2026
48 Comments
Posted in: color schemes, interior design

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for all of the terrific comments from Sunday’s post about the wall vignette inspiration image. Today, is part 2 where we move on from the inspiration to figuring out what we’ll do for the rest of the space. It’s one of the most important lessons in this volume of blog posts.

If you missed part 1, please begin from the top of the page. Otherwise, if you read part 1 and would like to skip to part 2, please click the link below to skip part 1.

Part 2 Begins Here

Dear Laurel,

I was just looking at the Hot Sales and am captivated by a wall vignette I’ve not seen before. I love everything about it except for the wallpaper, which is reverberating on my computer monitor. lol

It was from this image from Ballard Designs.

But, here’s my question.

Would it be possible to come up with an entire color palette for furnishings and walls based on this one image?

And if so, how would that work?

Your Devoted Follower,

Yes, the “reader” is me. I dreamed this one up yesterday when I saw the lovely wall vignette from Ballard Designs.

No, it’s not possible. Why would you think such a thing? ;]

So, I’m just going to say goodnight.

Of course, it’s possible. That’s not the problem. The problem is there are a billion possibilities!

Well, ~~Laurel has~~ I’ve already decided what I don’t like– the wallpaper.

Let me back up. It’s not that I don’t like the wallpaper; it’s that I’m not fond of it here. It’s not reading as a herringbone, just a muddy color. I could see this in a boy’s room or a home office.

Steve Cordony did something similar in his old office. I need to check to see what he’s been up to!

I think a better choice for a wallpaper would be a beautiful darkish blue grasscloth.

It could also be a patterned wallpaper.

Or, it could be plain ol’ paint.

So, what I did was remove the background of the image on Picmonkey.

With the background gone, I was free to add a new one. I did add the floor back in, too.

It’s terribly fun, but there’s something to remember. When these colors are photographed, you’re looking at one version of the color.

And that’s when I fell down the paint color rabbit hole.

It’s an easy thing to do; no matter how many years I’ve been at this, there’s always a new surprise.

Laurel, what do I mean by “one version of a color?”

I mean that a paint color is never only one color.

Take my den, which is North Sea Green. In real life, I see everything from a medium, deep turquoise to navy blue and many shades in between. Is that color above somewhere in there?

Yes, but it’s not the predominant shade. Also, the ceiling is a much lighter, greener color.

Below is a sample the painters painted on the wall, just to make sure.

Below is Benjamin Moore’s interpretation.

Below, where the light is hitting the door frame and wainscotting, it looks more like it does above. But only in that relatively small area.

So, how does Benjamin Moore decide which one is the color?

I don’t know, but I do know that it’s very difficult. It’s like trying to catch a rainbow.

However, an important point is that dark colors tend to look brighter on a computer monitor than they will in real life. And dark colors tend to photograph brighter than they are, unless one uses very dim light.

Conversely, what you see on the paint chip will overall appear somewhat lighter in real life.

Laurel, I’m confused.

Of course you are! It’s very confusing, because for every rule, you’ll find exceptions, which are not always easily explainable.

For example, I’ve been living with Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray for over 15 months in both of my entries, but totally saturated in the lower entry. I love it. But… for the most part, it does not look like this sample below.

It looks like this:

Or, it looks like this below.

Above, you can see the color in the lighter portions of the stair wall.

And you can see it here, too when I was taking a photo of the beautiful crown moulding – this links to a fantastic post!

Everything is painted one color! When I take the time to examine what’s going on here, I find it fascinating. Notice how pale the stair risers look in the photo! Obviously, this was a daytime shot, and the light was shining brightly on the risers.

Upstairs, the dark green wainscoting is also Knoxville Gray.

The big test, above, which the painters mistakenly laid downstairs instead of upstairs, gave me a good idea of how the color would look. The other green color was a lighter green, Grenadier Pond which I never bothered to test on the wall because I loved this color so much! Please check out this post, to see that paint color because it did look lovely. However, I have no regrets.

So, when I put the web version of Knoxville Gray behind my wall vignette, it looks a lot lighter than it will in real life.

So let’s bring that down and look at it on the wall.

True, it’s quite flat and no matter how evenly a room is lit, it’s never going to look like this.

Now, please don’t be scared; however, the reality that no one ever told you before is that this color will look more like this image below the sample with the wording on it.

I said, don’t be scared. ;]

Laurel, I’m scared.

Yeah, I know you are. Me too! And anyone who says they aren’t is trying to sound like an “expert.”

Aren’t you an expert, Laurel?

(Eye roll). No, I have experience, and 38 years of it. But, when it comes to the laws of physics, there are trillions of variables, and no one can predict with absolute certainty how something will look in every situation.

So, are you saying that all of those mood boards are useless?

No, they’re not useless because they’re good for seeing the colors next to each other. After all, all of the colors will change together.

Okay, we didn’t get too far with the wall vignette because of the rabbit hole. However, it’s an important point.

And it’s also good to know that you might love a color during the night, but not so much during the day. Or, the reverse.

Getting back to our topic of working with the Ballard Design wall vignette, Knoxville Gray could work. However, I tried a few deep blue colors and prefer that, in this case. The one I like the best is Gentleman’s gray.

There are two versions of the wall vignette.

1.

2.

Oooohhh, I love this one!

But, I did one more with wallpaper; not grasscloth, although that would look terrific, too. I chose the Raphael in Blue by Sandberg.

Yes, it’s the same wallpaper we did in Mary’s gorge butler’s pantry a few years ago.

3.

Oh, I like this one, too. It feels very Gustavian, which the paper is. I want you to notice something. Do you see how the shades of blue are varied? This– THIS is something we’ve discussed a few times, and it’s something I’ve fully embraced in recent years. And the something is intentionally not having everything match. It’s like leaves in a forest are all slightly different shades.

But then I did one more variation of the wall vignette.

4.

Yes, I’m such a nutjob that I made it look like there’s the same wallpaper on the opposite wall with artwork hanging that’s reflected in the mirror.

Which one do you like the best– 1, 2, 3, or 4? (Sorry, the numbers were there and some how went missing, but they’re back now.)

I can’t decide.

Please let me know, and I will expand upon it.

xo,

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Okay, this is the part where we take an inspiration image or images, including a beautiful wall vignette.

Now what?

Now it’s time to plan what you need and what your space planning (room layout) will be, given the confines of your space, budget and needs.

If you go over to the 12-step decorating plan that always works, you need to go through all of the steps, up to step 7. That one you’ve already done. Step 7 is your “jumping off point” which is what this post is about.

By this time, you’ve assessed your needs and completed a scale room layout.

Please head over here to learn how to make a simple room layout. Yes, you can. It might feel daunting, at first, but once you know the rules, it’s a lot of fun.

Now that you have your room layout and your inspiration jumping-off point, it’s time to figure out what you’ll be doing for the rest of the space.

Before I go on, I must apologize.

I realized on Monday that somehow three of the numbers (1,2, and 4) were deleted unintentionally, and only the number 3 remained. Somehow, y’all figured it out. Thank you so much for weighing in. I enjoyed reading all of your comments.

I genuinely like all of them. However, none of them are finished. It’s a start. However, did you realize that all of the vignettes work well together? Not necessarily in the same room, but the same home.

However, I do agree that the Raphael, even in the more pale colorway, looks best in small doses.

That is why it’s so successful in Mary’s butler’s pantry. Even on the one wall with no cabinetry, there is still wainscoting and the interior window to break things up.

Of the four boards, the one I chose to work with…

Drum roll~~~~~~~~~~~~~ is…

#2 – The Gentleman’s Gray with the gorgeous painting.

However, as I said, we can certainly incorporate everything else presented, in other spaces, or exchanged.

Now, here’s the thing. In real life, if I were helping someone design a dining room and a living room, on average, it would take at least 30 hours of time, and usually more. That time went towards planning, drawing, shopping, pondering, 3-6 visits to the client’s home, with revisions and edits.

I don’t have 30 hours. However, this is me, and I have a library of furniture I love, and I’ve been doing this for a while, and I don’t have a client saying, “I don’t like that.” But still… This is just me throwing a bunch of things together.

So, where do we begin?

Well, for those of you who own the Laurel Home Paint, Palette, and Home Furnishings Collection, you might recall that there’s a palette for Gentleman’s Gray, one of the 144 (plus 12) colors in the Laurel Home collection.

In fact, Gentleman’s Gray was the first board I made. So, it’s a little crude compared to most of the boards.

This is one way you could go. However, there are numerous other palettes with Gentleman’s Gray in them. This palette is part of a “Palette Family” in the Laurel Home Collection called the warmer side of red and blue. That’s because both the reds and the blues are leaning toward their warmer side.

The beauty of this palette is that you could have a white on white + neutral tones room and only use blue or a warm red as accents, or not at all.

Every board has an accompanying palette of twelve paint colors.

Please understand that not every color is intended to go on the walls. And, there are dozens of other colors in this color palette family.

*So, it’s important to know that just because a color is in the palette, it doesn’t necessarily need to be used, but it could, along with other colors that are in the palette family.

What if I don’t like red or red-orange?

Please see above.* You don’t have to use it!

You don’t even have to use blue.

You can also mix Gentleman’s Gray with Palette Family #7. It’s easy being Green (and Teal) of which there are nine palettes and boards.

Below is one of them, which features Gentleman’s Gray.

In fact, gentleman’s gray can mix with all of the palette families, except the lavender family, making it very close to being a universal color. Those colors are listed in the first part of the paint collection.

Take the room below by Mark D. Sikes for the Southern Living Idea Showhouse.

This room is in the neutral palette family and would work beautifully with Gentleman’s Gray. It’s rare for Mark not to use blue in his interiors.

However, back in 2008, I helped a lovely client in Chappaqua, NY, with this addition, below.

As you can see, it’s very similar to Mark’s showhouse palette with Gentleman’s Gray!

Classic color palettes are classic, and these warm toasty neutrals look fantastic with a warm blue like Gentleman’s Gray.

Let’s take another look at our starting point wall vignette.

Okay, before we get to the widget, here are some things to know about the enigmatic Gentleman’s Gray.

Deep rich blues, well, actually all shades of blue LOVE black. So, it’s imperative to incorporate some. I say imperative because blue without black is like pancakes without syrup.
Blue also loves white, as in blue and white.
And of course, as we just saw, blue adores gold. It also enjoys hanging out with all of the other shades of blue and blue-green.

What about indigo?

I know that many of you like it, but I’m not as fond of it as a wall color. My Bronxville bedroom came painted in indigo. I did like it at night, however.

The above is the House of Hackney Plantasia in Indigo. There are a few palettes and boards in the Laurel Home Paint and Palette Collection that would be beautiful with this wallpaper. However, I find indigo more of a challenge to use as a primary color in interiors.

Getting back to the practical aspects of selecting furnishings, if I’m doing a patterned rug, I prefer to pick that out next.

I very much love white furniture with dark blue walls. Either that, or brown leather, or a combination. That doesn’t mean I would only do white furniture. It could be beige, brown, blue, red, orange, green, yellow– lots of colors.

The fabric we did in the Chappaqua family room was an expensive chenille from Donghia that I had to send for knit backing so it would hold up to this young family of five. You can see it above in the lower left corner of the image.

Aside from that, now that we know the colors, we can begin the furniture selections.

I put together 100 items, including art, rugs, pillows, furniture, tables, antiques, and lighting to give you some ideas. Of course, not all of this would go in one room.

Please enjoy this grouping.