If I said to you, “that’s a lovely shade of Hotel St. Francis Clay Angel you’ve got there” would you really believe I was talking about a color? Well you better believe it! Hotel St. Francis Clay Angel (herein referred to as “Clay Angel” because Hotel St. Francis Clay Angel is just too much to type!) is the lovely, subtle, grayish clay color we have painted the majority of the living spaces in our new house.
As many of our devoted readers may recall, we used a paint color called “La Fonda Mirage” on the front door of House #1. There was a great story behind this paint color and the reason for all of these funky names is because these paint colors are part of Valspar’s National Trust for Historic Preservation collection of paints. Again, you can read more about that here and here.
When paint shopping for House #1, we always admired these National Trust for Historic Preservation colors, but for some reason, we just didn’t end up using any of them in the beginning. Now, we are all about these. There is something so intriguing and inspiring about using colors that are designated for such renowned landmarks. What’s funny about all of this is that if Andrew and I had our druthers (and millions of dollars) we would find old historic places and fix them up, which is exactly what the National Trust for Historic Preservation is all about; yet more proof as to why we are drawn to these colors.
Andrew and I both love to travel and we have seen much of the U.S. together. We are wholly inspired by our travels, but we are also very much inspired by our roots, which are deeply planted in the Pine Barrens of Southern (and Central!) New Jersey. Thus, using these paint colors makes us feel like we’ve got a unique, yet personal, little slice of Americana right in our own home.
So, what’s the scoop behind Clay Angel?
The photo above makes the color look very clay-like and almost pink, but I’d have to say that it errs on the site of subtle gray in our living room, downstairs hall and stairway.
Before painting in the living room…
After painting with Valspar Hotel St. Francis Clay Angel…
The color comes from Hotel St. Francis (obviously) which is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to their website, the hotel has a rich history that dates back to 1924 when the hotel first opened its doors. The hotel, at the time, was described as an “early Californian Mission Revival with a touch of European elegance”, which seemingly still rings true today based on the looks of the place.
We are also using another National Trust for Historic Preservation color in this house. This one, which just so happens to also come from the La Fonda Hotel, also in Santa Fe, also from the same exact collection as our other House #1 front door color, “La Fonda Mirage”, is called, “La Fonda Ecru.”
This very light, buttery cream-type color is nice and cheery in the room we have dubbed “the small room.” It’s small, yet powerful! With the back door slider, this room is SO bright and lovely. We plan to use this room as a guest space/closet overflow area.
It seems as though, for some reason, we have really gravitated toward colors with a Southwester flare. Our overall style definitely doesn’t scream, “New Mexico!” (we don’t decorate with dream catchers and crazy, vibrant Mexican blankets or coyote sculptures, the list goes on…) but borrowing these natural neutrals from this South of the Border-style color collection seems to be right up our alley.
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