Organic Blues: Inspired by Nature’s Color Palette at Blue Harvest Farms

Have you ever gotten stuck trying to create a fresh and inspired color palette?  To the point when you’re nearly frozen in thought?  Whenever that happens to me, I’ll get up and go outdoors for a walk to gather some inspiration from nature.  Except, of course, when there’s a snowmageddon outside, or when the monsoons have arrived with torrential rainstorms, so I’ll stay in the cozy indoors looking for color palette inspiration in other ways.

John Ruskin quote, blueberries, nature, seasons, weather, sunshine, blue and yellow color palette

Like perusing through a stack of fabric samples or images in shelter magazines, online, or personal photographs of interiors that I’ve taken while touring model homes or showhouses, such as this den designed by Brian Patrick Flynn for the Southern Style Now New Orleans Showhouse.

Den, designer Brian Patrick Flynn, for Southern Style Now NOLA Showhouse, Blue Color Palette

Den Fireplace, designer Brian Patrick Flynn, for Southern Style Now NOLA Showhouse, Blue Color Palette

This color palette of blue, brown, and white is really calming and appealing to me.  I love the visual balance and organic feel in the neutrally colored space.  It’s filled with eclectic furnishings, a variety of textures, and whimsical accents.  There’s a very comfortable and cozy feeling throughout this space, too.  Don’t mind that black and white alligator behind the potted fern though.  He’s just chilling out in the cool color palette of the space.

Den with Louisiana Alligator image over Table, designer Brian Patrick Flynn, for Southern Style Now New Orleans Showhouse

Den Fireplace Mantel Decor, designer Brian Patrick Flynn, for Southern Style Now New Orleans Showhouse

Den Club Chairs and Fiddleleaf Fig Tree, designer Brian Patrick Flynn, for Southern Style Now New Orleans Showhouse

Den with crystal teardrop chandelier, Celery Jones original art, Brian Patrick Flynn for Southern Style Now NOLA

There are times when I’ll end up staring out of a window, daydreaming about Mother Nature’s bountiful south Louisiana color palettes, and wondering how she’ll inspire me next.  Maybe she’ll show me a neutral color palette with sepia, sand, or greige tones.  Or, perhaps a lovely blue color palette with various shades of green and violet.  Like in these organic blueberries we’d picked at Blue Harvest Farms, owned by Chris and Rachel Pinto.  It’s absolutely one of my favorite places to pick colors, I mean, blueberries!

Blueberries - nature's color palette with blue, green, and violet

It’s the largest u-pick blueberries farm in St. Tammany Parish, and is only about a ten-minute drive from our home.  So, when those organic blues are in season, we try to get over there during the morning time picks while there’s still a bit of shade and cool breeze in the air.  A gravel road leads to the blueberry fields and the new Pick-it Pavillion, where buckets await the farm’s many visitors.

Blue Harvest Farms - Blueberry picking and inspiration from nature's color palette

Blue Harvest Farms - New Pick-it Pavillion, blueberry picking and inspiration from nature's color palette

Blue Harvest Farms - New Pick-it Pavillion with blueberry buckets and picnic tables

Blue Harvest Farms - blueberry buckets and pickers in the New Pick-it Pavillion

After we strapped on a couple of buckets, we headed into the lengthwise grain blues.  OK, I was on a mission to find a fresh color palette and had fabric patterns on my mind.  It was very calming walking through the blueberry fields, with the birds singing in the wooded area nearby.

Picking Blueberries and a nature inspired Color Palette at Blue Harvest Farms

I caught a glimpse of some bee hives off in the distance beyond the blueberry bushes.  I hoped to pick up a couple of jars of honey before we left the farm.  But first, there were blueberries to be picked.  Lots and lots of farm fresh blueberries!

Nature's Color Palette in the rows of Blueberry Bushes at Blue Harvest Farms

There were so many gorgemous blueberries on those bushes!  And, they were really tasty, too!  At least, that’s what the little children, like these sweet local girls, were telling their mamas a couple of rows over.  I concurred with their youthful honesty by picking a sample or two myself, just to make sure.  Kind of like taking a paint swatch or fabric sample, you know?

Blueberries and a nature inspired color palette at Blue Harvest Farms

Blueberries with nature's color palette at Blue Harvest Farms

Bucket of Blueberries inspiring a fresh color palette at Blue Harvest Farms

It didn’t take long for us to fill our buckets with Premier blueberries, Brightwell blueberries, Climax blueberries, or Powder Blue blueberries organically grown on the farm.  Even though there was a pleasant ever-so-slight breeze blowing through the beautiful blues when we first arrived, it started warming up quickly.  And, when we overheard the little children asking their mamas if it was time to go to the swimming pool, we headed to the check-out counter with our nearly filled buckets.

Check-out counter in the new Pick-it Pavillion at Blue Harvest Farms

Handmade pottery and a nature inspired color palette at Blue Harvest Farms

As soon as we stepped up to the counter, I noticed some lovely pottery pieces that Rachel handmade in her pottery studio that’s adjacent to their stunning custom-built house sited within the farm.  I spotted a small bowl having a nature inspired color palette that was calling my name.  I picked it up, along with two jars of liquid gold (aka, raw and unfiltered honey) harvested from the resident laborers (aka, honeybees) who keep themselves busy tending to the blueberry fields!  Just so you know, these came home with us, too!

Handmade pottery bowl with nature inspired color palette and organic honey from Blue Harvest Farms

We had quite a few blueberries after our pick, so I set them out on crawfish trays to rest for 24 hours before separating them into multiple storage bags to put in the freezer.  And I put aside a couple cups in a vintage colander to make a fresh berry galette.

Vintage Colander of Blueberries picked at Blue Harvest Farms, inspiring a fresh color palette

While I was looking through some of my cookbooks for a recipe, I started to think about creating a blue color palette with subtle shades of green and violet accents in a neutrally colored space.  Yep, I’d say a little nature inspired walk through those blueberry fields was just what I needed.

Detail of Handmade pottery bowl with nature inspired color palette from Blue Harvest Farms

So, if you’re in search of a little color palette inspiration, or if you would like to shop the look of the Den in the Showhouse images above, I’ve put together a collage and a helpful round-up list from various sources for you to peruse at your leisure and to consider for your own place.  Some items are customizable, while others have color palette options for you to pick your own finishes.

Organic Shades of Blue Color Palette - a helpful round-up list of home decor from various sources to select from for your home.

Shop the Look with an ‘Organic Blues’ Color Palette:

(just an fyi y’all…some links on this site are affiliate links meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may get a small commission if you make a purchase):

Furniture:

Wallcovering:

Fabrics:

Rugs:

Lighting:

Wall Décor:

Accessories:

Fresh Blueberries from Blue Harvest Farms, pick your own blueberries, inspiration from nature's color palatte

We had a wonderful time at Blue Harvest Farms picking our own blueberries.  And, it was fun gathering inspiration for a fresh color palette from nature, too.  What inspires you for a color palette?  Do Tell!

XO,

Trisha

P.S.  The third annual Southern Style Now Festival is in Charleston, South Carolina, during November.  Keep up with the news and details at this link for it and Traditional Home’s showhouse tour dates.

Disclosure Note:  This is not a sponsored post.  The opinions are completely my own and based on my own experience.  This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience and to assist with the maintenance of this site.