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Hint for choosing color schemes


vbharrington

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I've got several houses I'm rehabbing, as well as a couple new builds.  I have a hard time visualizing what color schemes would look like on the houses (especially ones with a lot of trim, like my San Franciscan 550)  I've struggled for a couple of years with this, but I have finally hit upon a solution that works great for me.  I have an app on my phone (I have "Color My World" but I'm sure there are others) that will take a picture and turn it into a line drawing to color.  I then email it to myself, and print copies - I then use colored pencils to try out different color schemes and I can see how the house will look with the trim and other details painted.  This has saved me a lot of trouble, as I thought I knew what color scheme I was going to use for my 550 (It was based on a 555 I had seen) but once I colored my house picture with those colors, I saw that it really wouldn't work with the 550.  On the other hand, I love the Robin Carey pastel color scheme of yellow, green, pink, and purple.  I was able to take my coloring pages of my 550 and experiment until I found a way to incorporate those colors in my 550.  This is an example of the line drawing this app made of my 550.

San Franciscan Line.JPG

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Thanks Vickie, neat app!

Also can be done with photo/paint software. My old Paint Shop Pro has: Image/Edges/Find All.

Another option for some of the following: Greenleaf; Corona; RGT & Lilliput, is that the dollhouses are already done for you.

Sorry no DuraCraft.

See Custom Dollhouse's free: Dollhouse Coloring Book

RGT's (free) has a few in pdf format

 

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Here's an unrelated but useful tip for choosing colors if you're  stymied. I like the sample combo sheets from the paint stores. Somebody else has already figured out what goes with what. All I have to do is decide which one I like best. I figure if it's good enough for my real house, it's good enough for the doll's house. :)  

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That is a cool app. I, too, have trouble envisioning the colors on 1:12 scale and have been known to completely repaint the house when the colors that " I was sure" were going to look great were terrible. The same thing goes for those talented quilters who take swatches of cloth and create a cohesive masterpiece. 

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What a great idea.  Much better than what I did when I started refinishing my dollhouse.  I probably changed the color scheme about ten times, which involved me actually beginning to paint it.  Such a waste!  Thanks for sharing.

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  • 2 years later...

Ive been agonizing over this and found home depot has a computer where you scan the bar code of pain samples and it lets you try different pains on house, trim, door, etc. I recently spent about half an hour playing with it (ahem, maybe a little longer) and still not sure i found right combo. I am going back after i prime current project.....

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I find that it depends on where it is going to be displayed. If you are planning on placing it in a prominent room in your house, I believe it should compliment the room with similar colors. It should be an accessory to the room, not a “pink elephant”. 

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2 hours ago, Sable said:

I find that it depends on where it is going to be displayed. If you are planning on placing it in a prominent room in your house, I believe it should compliment the room with similar colors. It should be an accessory to the room, not a “pink elephant”. 

Like Lony's Pepto Palace?  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=browse&album=5956

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I'm embarrassed to admit this but I'm hoping to sell and do build to order. Whether it's fully done with furniture, just a completed house that's been decorated or one that's just been primed. I like the process but dont want to keep it. I made my own wedding dress and gave it away. I like creating but not necessarily collecting.  But I know I will want to keep at least one. 

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10 minutes ago, Medieval said:

I noticed almost everyone wallpapers all three walls in a room. I haven't seen one wall papered and the others painted or vice versa.  Is that because of the scale?

More like personal taste, I think. No reason why it couldn't be done.

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1 hour ago, Medieval said:

I noticed almost everyone wallpapers all three walls in a room. I haven't seen one wall papered and the others painted or vice versa.  Is that because of the scale?

In my case it's a matter of what the house suggests.  Sometimes I have done paper and paint:

56d51c1440c68-parlor1.JPG

Or I've done the accent wall thing:

shiney bedroom.JPG

I have a bad habit of decorating my little houses as if I were decorating a house I'd live in.

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7 hours ago, havanaholly said:

I have a bad habit of decorating my little houses as if I were decorating a house I'd live in.

I don't see this as a bad habit. I think it adds to the realism if the mini house looks as if real mini people had a hand in decorating it. If I wouldn't be happy living there, I'm sure neither would they. :) 

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1 hour ago, KathieB said:

I don't see this as a bad habit. I think it adds to the realism if the mini house looks as if real mini people had a hand in decorating it. If I wouldn't be happy living there, I'm sure neither would they. :) 

My sentiments exactly.

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The house I created for a children’s auction was painted in all white. I included my name and number Incase the winner wanted to paper it. So it’s your choice, there is no right or wrong way to decorate a house. 

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