Color Palettes: I Can Fly

If there is one thing I love stumbling upon more than anything, it’s vintage children’s books from the 1930s–1960s. And one of my favorite finds is I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Mary Blair, copyright 1950.

This book is written wonderfully, but what really steals the show is Mary Blair’s illustrations. This copy was found at a booksale and originally from a library, meaning it has a few condition issues and is in fairly rough shape. But the cover was just so striking and the illustrations inside have inspired my graphic design work and my son’s imagination so many times the purchase was worth it. Apart from the composition, the colors are my favorite so I thought I would include a few color palettes in case you’re working on reimagining a guest bedroom and need some color inspiration!

While all the patterns might not be for everyone, the colors are so spot on. By Myriam Balaÿ-Devidal.

The color palettes are so vintage and out of the ordinary, not the traditional white and grays that are going on right now. I’d love to have the above palette in my guest bedroom.

This wallpaper has all the colors. Love the red accents. I can’t find the original source for this image, but it is from the blog jenlittlebirdie.blogspot.co.uk/.

Here the wood tones pick up some of the color, and all colors are more subdued. By Frazier and Wing.

And as a special bonus, we’ve put together a Mary Blair board on pinterest here. There are pins from more of her work for you to enjoy.