What's really in a name????

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet--so said William Shakespeare. I'm here to differ. He obviously didn't grow up surrounded by Avocado Green, Harvest Gold and Rust. As a child of the 70s, I've always shuddered at the thought of those colors coming back into style. But the Tuscan-inspired decorating influence of the early 21st century has renamed the colors and somehow obliterated the horror of green shag carpeting from my mind.

I bought some new towels. They're paisley patterned--kind of India-nish looking. Nice and thick, they look great in my bathroom. Persimmon colored with a sand background. In other words, Rust and almost Harvest gold. I bought these three cute little vases to accent the room. Some decorative soap to put in a jar. Everything coordinates nicely. Guess what colors they are???? Green. Gold. And dare I say it? Egad, I do believe that it's rust, or as it was called in 1975, burnt orange.

My living room is painted sand--a.k.a. Harvest gold.

My kitchen is green. Pretty near Avocado.

So. I'm looking through the new Pottery Barn Catalog. I'm not sure why I get this. I can't afford much in it. I should probably clarify this to say, won't pay for it. A store with the word 'barn' in it should not be so expensive. But I digress.

Anyway. I'm looking through this catalog and reading words like 'fresh,' 'eco-friendly,' 'recycle,' 'home,' etc. and I'm slavering (is that a word?) greedily over the stuff displayed so artfully. Man. They're pushing my buttons! I pause to look at some particularly lovely dinnerware. I need this! It's designed to feel good in the hand, looks homemade and has delightful colors. Hmmm. A bit more pricey than my discount store/yard sale dinnerware. I got a great deal at Wal-Mart on a 16 piece set of plain white stoneware on clearance for only seven bucks. This set is only....139 dollars for 16 pieces! On sale. (again, I digress, back to color!) So I look at the colors. Amber, Spice, Celery. Remarkably like, you guessed it--Harvest Gold! Avocado! and the ubiquitous Burnt Orange!

Now why, when I go into a second hand store, or to an auction or garage sale, get a revolted feeling from vintage '70s stuff, but fall in love with the items in the catalog? It's not just Pottery Barn. I'm seeing these colors in the magazines I take, on TV (HGTV is my friend) and anywhere else that carries home decorating items.

Maybe I'm remembering the 70s stuff in it's worn stage. I'm not thinking of pristine, fluffy Avocado shag carpeting, but the matted kind. My mind is not conjuring up visions of the shiny new Harvest gold appliances, but the ones that have been used and scuffed and sometimes have the oven door glass cracked! And Rust. I'm sure my memory fails but I seem to remember everything in our house being Rust, Rust, Rust. I even chose for myself believe it or not a bedspread that was a lovely floral print of rust and brown on a cream background, back in the day when I finally got my own room in 8th grade.

So why, now, does Persimmon, Amber and Celery sound so much better? More modern? More appealing? I love avocados, especially in guacamole. Being a farmer's daughter, harvest gold should bring back memories of golden, ripe wheat. And I'm a fan of vintage, worn stuff. A little rust adds character!

So, maybe I just need to grow up and accept that perhaps, I just might like colors my mom used to decorate with!