Mix It Up!

Playing in the Dirt!

Fall is my favorite season. The days are plenty warm, but not sweltering hot, and it’s just the most glorious time of year to be outdoors. In that spirit, September’s palette is all about Playing in the Dirt – planting bulbs, raking leaves, and getting the last of the veggies out of the garden. And, what a simple pleasure it is to find fresh dirt on your hands, knees, and face in the process.

Of course, we just happen to have the perfect paint color at the center of it all — and its name is Dirt! That’s right. The actual color is a delicious chocolate brown, but we named it Dirt because we are a salvage business and, believe me, there is a lot of dirt in salvage! And while some may be tempted to overlook it as they seek to breathe new life into their already brown furniture, Dirt has always been a very versatile part of our paint line. It’s a go-to mixer for creating many of our color recipes, including most of the colors featured here.

For the full collection, I drew from things that further evoke that same earthy, fall feeling. We have a ton of pine trees in our woods, and I don’t know what I would do without their greens and blues to fill in the landscape after all the leaves have fallen. Pine Needle is a rich, “piney” blue/green. It is two parts Keep it Teal plus one part Dirt.

Coveralls, which I always wear in the garden, is a buttery khaki. The recipe is two-parts Star City Sunshine plus one part Dirt. And Peacock, a color as beautiful as the bird itself, is mixed up by using two parts Keep it Teal plus one-part Blue Ridge.

Heathered Lilac is a sweet hue inspired by a weed in our garden that starts out as a truly ugly rascal – until it blooms. It really pains me sometimes waiting for it to come into its’ glory, but when it does, it is worth the wait. You can create Heathered Lilac by mixing two parts of That’s Going to Leave a Mark with one part Dirt.

And last, but not least, Rusty Rose. I just had to add a reddish hue to balance out this group. Rusty Rose reminds me of my Grandfather Boyd’s old faded red Ford Tractor. Mix two parts Appalachian Sunset with one part Dirt to make this color.

If you choose one of these recipes for your next project, be sure to let me know! And please send me some before and after pictures. We would love to showcase you and your work on our social media pages.

September is here, so have some fun with our gorgeous new palette — and go Play in the Dirt!

Susan Hudson